Utah’s famed Sundance Film Festival has canceled its in-person events just two weeks before the start of the annual gathering. Organizers say it will be an entirely virtual edition this year due to the current coronavirus surge.
The festival had been planned in Park City as a hybrid, with in-person and online screenings. Last year’s Sundance was held virtually because of the pandemic.
The cancellation of an in-person festival is a huge blow to an independent film industry that has struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic.
Sundance earlier announced a slate of 82 feature-length films selected from more than 3,700 submissions. The festival will run Jan. 20-30. The virtual festival will start as scheduled on Jan. 20.