The shorts for 2024 were curated from 12,098 submissions, the highest number on record for the festival.
The Sundance Institute has announced the lineup of Short Films and 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events set to captivate audiences during the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, occurring from January 18–28, 2024. The festival will feature in-person screenings in Park City and Salt Lake City, with select titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024.
The Short Film programme will introduce new films across eight curated programmes, showcasing emerging voices and diverse storytelling. Additionally, the festival’s 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events, starting on January 23, will include retrospective programming, offering audiences the chance to revisit iconic films from Sundance’s rich history through archive screenings followed by Q&As with film contributors. The Celebration Screenings and Events will feature 4K restorations of noteworthy films such as Napoleon Dynamite, Go Fish, Three Seasons, and an extended version of DIG! titled DIG! XX.
There’s also restorations of The Babadook and Pariah, and restorations of Mississippi Masala and The Times of Harvey Milk.
In addition, there are several Sundance alum panels including Power of Story: Four Decades of Taking Chances about the legacy of independent storytelling featuring Miguel Arteta, Richard Linklater, Dawn Porter, and Christine Vachon; a screening of seminal short films from Sundance’s history hosted by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass; and a workshop for emerging creators with Carlos López Estrada and others.
Festival Director and Head of Public Programming Eugene Hernandez said: “As the 2024 Sundance Film Festival marks our milestone 40th edition, we are thrilled to announce the myriad ways we’ll celebrate four decades of visionary storytelling and the emerging artists in this year’s program. The 40th Edition Celebration Screenings will showcase films from Sundance’s rich history, each having made an indelible impact on culture. Our outstanding Short Film programme selection, chosen from more than 12,000 submissions, simultaneously welcomes the next generation of voices and storytellers to watch. In gathering some of the extraordinary artists who have been part of our history along with our community of emerging creators and audiences, we hope to demonstrate Sundance’s role as the premier place for international discovery and the vitality of independent cinema.”
Kim Yutani, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival, added: “We are pleased to revisit some Festival history through our 40th Edition Celebration Screenings and Events. These are a great complement to our new programming premiering across sections, and our curatorial team is looking forward to bringing the mix of offerings in the 2024 lineup to audiences. From the inception of the Festival, we’ve been huge supporters of short filmmaking and we’re proud to carry that support into this 40th edition of the festival as well.”
Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film, stated: “Selecting the shorts for the festival programme every year is an exercise in taking the pulse of film culture, and the outlook is always bright. In our 40th year, the world of short films is more vibrant than ever. With so many ways to see and experience shorts now — at festivals and online through varied platforms — so many artists are coming to the art form and creating shorts that excite us, and short film fans, in new ways.”
The Short Film programme, consisting of 53 films selected from 12,098 submissions, continues to champion filmmaking’s most original voices, with this year’s program featuring works from 22 countries.
