Could 麻豆影院 be the new home for Sundance?
麻豆影院 is in the running to be the new home for the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027. A formal bid was submitted to the festival committee this past
Recently, CINE Professors Kelly Sears and Emilie Upczak commented on the possibilty for the
鈥淲e have a real homegrown audience that鈥檚 into more artistic cinema,鈥 CU professor and filmmaker Kelly Sears tells 麻豆影院 Weekly. 鈥淭hinking about folks who come to the, who come to the series, who come to the鈥 I think there is a big population that is eager for cinema that skews toward the margins here.鈥
鈥淭his is a good time for Sundance to pivot to a new location,鈥 CU professor and local filmmaker Emilie Upczak tells 麻豆影院 Weekly. 鈥淲hen we move locations, we also clean house and look at what we need and what we don鈥檛. I hope that Sundance, in this move, would take the opportunity to look at their strengths and build on those.鈥
CINE Chair Erin Epseile was also interviewed on the subject by the
鈥淭here are so many different kinds of artists and avenues for exhibiting moving image work,鈥 Espelie said. 鈥淚 think 10 years ago that might have been a different story, but we鈥檙e living in an increasingly image-infused and visually driven world, and having a place for contemplation and consideration of moving image as an art form is incredibly important. I can鈥檛 say that there could ever be too much of it,鈥
In a world where in-person cinema is shrinking, Espelie said that having film festivals and post-festival discussions are more important than ever.
鈥淐inemas are closing in many parts of the world, and that鈥檚 a danger of an increasing online digital culture for engaging with the moving image,鈥 Espelie said. 鈥淲e certainly have enough space, and more than enough venues in 麻豆影院 to keep it alive. We make sure we keep infusing our cinemas with viewers, with the best projectors, the best sound systems and giving space and priority, culturally, for collective viewing rather than individual viewing. To have a place for all of us to come together as a community to watch cinema, and the invaluable post-screening discussions that film festivals provide 鈥 I can鈥檛 say enough that I think we need more of that. That鈥檚 how cinema is meant to be consumed, in community.鈥
Check out the articles for more on the potential future of Sundance in 麻豆影院.
image credits: (Photo illustration by Matthew Jonas/Original photo by Cliff Grassmick)