How to Sundance — while in Fresno


Have you ever dreamed of attending the Sundance Film Festival? That dream can become a reality, as this year’s Festival will take place digitally via a feature-rich, Sundance-built online platform from January 28 through February 3.

Following are my simple steps for a local cinephile’s “How to Fest” at Sundance:

1. Visit the Sundance website at festival.sundance.org. There are myriad options available, but my experience attending Sundance led me to take a simple approach to seeing as many films as possible.

2. Once you have read through the options for purchasing passes and/or tickets to single films, you can build your profile. This takes only a few minutes and allows you to select and purchase films.

3. I began the same way I do when I am attending the festival in person. I select the films I would like to see and then I create a grid using the dates and times offered for each film. What makes virtual viewing especially nice is the option to purchase a 24-hour on demand window for films. This alleviates the stress of having to be home at a specific hour to watch your selections.

4. I chose to purchase the $100 awards pass, which will give me a 24-hour window to view the films receiving awards at the festival. It is the perfect way to guarantee you will have a chance to see some of the festival’s best films.

5. After purchasing my pass, I went on to select ten single films. I spread them out over the week so as not to risk viewer fatigue. For most of my in-person Sundance experiences, I saw 14 films beginning on a Thursday afternoon and finishing 4 days later with a slate of award winners. That many films in such a short period of time can be overwhelming, so I strongly suggest taking into consideration how many hours of viewing a day will work best for you.

6. There are clear instructions for buying a pass and/or buying single tickets. Even this technology-challenged cinephile completed the selection/purchase process in about 15 minutes. Just be sure to have your carefully organized film grid and credit card ready to go.

Happy Sundance 2021 — from your home!

A retired high school English teacher, Cindy Peters Duzi serves on the Filmworks board as venue director. She blogs about the current cinema on her Instagram.