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- Sundance Film Festival tickets go on sale Thursday, with screenings in Park City and Salt Lake City.
- Despite Los Angeles fires, the festival will proceed, offering both in-person and online options.
- Utah residents can access free screenings and home viewing options during the festival.
PARK CITY — Despite the devastating fires in Los Angeles, which forced the postponement of many film industry events, the Sundance Film Festival will proceed as planned.
Deadline reports the Academy Awards nomination announcement, the Mammoth Film Festival, a handful of movie premiers and the the 2025 Critics Choice Award ceremony have been postponed, among other events, due to the fires.
In a letter signed by Eugene Hernandez, director of the festival, and Sundance CEO Amanda Kelso, the team wrote, "First and foremost, our hearts are with everyone in our Sundance Institute community and with all affected by the unfolding tragedy ... right now, we may mourn, but we also know it is important to carry on."
Individual tickets for the 41st Sundance Film Festival are scheduled to go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday for screenings across Park City and Salt Lake City. The events run from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2 in person, and online starting Jan. 30.
Tickets are $35 for in-person and online screenings, and a short-film pass is $50. According to the website, all festival passes are sold out, and with ticket selection for package holders already open from Tuesday, several screenings have already filled up.
Movies to watch
Audiences are highly anticipating "Omaha," the directorial debut of 20-year Utah resident Cole Wembly; the film is primarily shot in Utah. Written by Brigham Young University professor Robert Machoian, the movie appears to have sold out, but anyone interested still has the option of purchasing an online ticket, according to the website.
Machoian also co-directed a short, "The Long Valley," documenting agriculture in the Salinas Valley, set to play in Short Film Program 5. Another animated short, "Paradise Man (ii)" was directed by Jordan Michael Blake, who went to BYU.
A handful of movies depicting the West are set to premiere next week. Kate Beecroft's "East of Wall" is about a horse trainer on a broken-down ranch in the Badlands. The movie "Rebuilding," starring Josh O'Connor from the recent "Challengers," is about a rancher who finds community after a wildfire.
"Train Dreams" is a movie based on Denis Johnson's novella of the same name, following a day laborer on the railroads at the start of the 20th century. The 1983 film "El Norte", about siblings fleeing to the U.S. after their family is killed in the Guatemalan Civil War, also returns to screens.
Screenings free for locals
Several screenings will be free for Utah residents during the festival. You must register for the ticket by adding one of the following screenings to your cart and checking out as normal, festival organizers say.
- Jan. 29, 6:15 p.m. — "Omaha" with a screening of "The Long Valley" at the Ray Theater in Park City.
- Jan. 30, 4:30 p.m. — "Deaf President Now!" at the Rose Wagner Theater in Salt Lake City.
- Feb. 2, 3 p.m. — Best of Fest program at the Ray Theater, Park City.
- Feb. 2, 5:30 p.m. — Best of Fest program at the Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City.
Festival organizers are also making one of four movies available to locals for screening at home. You can get tickets to one of the four movies — "Sally," "Speak," "East of Wall," or "Where the Wind Comes From" — by getting a promo code at this link.
Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter said Wednesday that Main Street will be closed to cars during the festival. Carpenter says the move "improves public safety, but also may temporarily inconvenience locals and small businesses."
"After careful consideration and consultation with several important federal, state, and local public safety agencies and event partners, it became clear that this was the necessary and correct decision," according to Carpenter.
