Sundance Beyond the Screen: Panels, Workshops, and Brand Activations

As week one of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival comes to a close, the first week of the fest included an array of events, panels, and workshops, as well as other educational and networking opportunities for filmmakers and enthusiasts alike. 

Adobe, Acura, Audible, Canon, Chase, Shutterstock, and United Talent Agency are among the brands with brand-sponsored lounges during the festival, along with publications like The Cut, Variety, Vulture present at the fest for press coverage. Partner venues on Main street include Hyatt and Cotopaxi. 

Here’s the top experiences from Sundance 2024 beyond the screenings and premieres: 

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UTA House

The renowned Hollywood talent agency hosted an exclusive, invitation-only house with programming from Jan. 19-21 at the UTA House, located at 508 Main St., Park City. 

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Indigenous House

IllumiNative brought Indigenous House back to Main Street for a second year, running from January 19-21 and featuring music, art, food, and Native culture celebrations. The venue’s weekend lineup included a mix of events and discussions for insight on contemporary Native stories and issues within the film industry; discussion leaders include director Sydney Freeland (Navajo), Reservation Dogs writer-director-producer Tazbah Chavez, and filmmaker-activist Julian Brave NoiseCat.

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Canon Creative Studio

Canon Creative Studio, located at the Park City Museum at 528 Main St. from January 19-22, had daily filmmaker panel programming and a wide range of equipment for guests to explore. Additionally, Canon Pro Reps were on site to answer any questions and perform gear demos. Among the equipment on display and available for guests to try is the EOS C500 Mark II, EOS C300 Mark III, EOS C70, EOS R5 C, RF Cinema Primes, Flex Zooms, HDR Cinema Displays, Full PTZ Lineup, EOS R Cameras, and RF Lenses. 

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DoorDash 

DoorDash partnered with GroupM to debut a pop-up convenience store right off Park City’s Bear Walkway off Main Street. Festival goers were enticed to visit for free hot chocolate, snacks, hand warmers, sanitizer, and other festival essentials. 

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Adobe

Adobe, who has been a lead sponsor for 13 years and is the official editing platform of this year’s fest, launched a new flagship space with Adobe on Main. The space offered three days of panel discussions, creator interviews, and how-to talks. Programming over the weekend included a fireside discussion hosted by Variety, the Changemakers in Film panel, and IndieWire’s 2024 Creator Collaborations in Filmmaking discussions. 

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Acura 

Another longtime sponsor, Acura, has completely redesigned their festival space to be more interactive and engaging. As a Presenting Sponsor of the festival, Acura has elevated their day-to-night entertainment programming through “The Acura House of Energy”; the fully integrated venue hosted interviews, panels, mixers, and premiere parties throughout the weekend along with live music. Film partnerships in the space featured Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun and Alessandra Lacorazza’s In The Summers, alongside partnerships with GLAAD, WIF, ASCAP and Gold House.

The IMDb Studio returned to the Acura House of Energy once again, with IMDb capturing exclusive content for festival coverage. Getty Images photographer Monica Schipper led the invite-only creative hub, executing celebrity portraits, interviews, and social content.

Acura also collaborated with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for the 26th Annual Sundance ASCAP Music Café, where festival goers could catch exclusive sets from an array of songwriters, composers, and filmmakers.

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Audible 

Audible’s Listening Lodge returned to the festival and invited all festival guests to enjoy their a roof-top lounge or heated yurt with free beverages and snacks- including fireside s’mores. Guests could also listen to a selection of audiobooks and podcasts within listening gondolas. The lounge hosted actors, directors, and other creatives for their annual “Variety x Audible Cocktails and Conversations” sessions, as well as the Variety Studio which featured interviews with key industry players such as Jodie Foster, Lionel Richie, Pedro Pascal, Ji-Young Yoo, Richard Linklater, Glen Powell, and Zach Galifianakis. 

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Chase Sapphire 

Chase Sapphire welcomed cardmembers into their exclusive lounge that hosted various panels and music performances, offered complimentary food, and unique activations. Program highlights include a menu takeover from Chef Melissa King, a performance by pop-violinist Ezinmaand, the Exhibiting Forgiveness panel moderated by LA Times Film Writer Mark Olsen, and plenty of A-list cast parties. 

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The LatinXHouse‍

Nonprofits that worked to uplift and inspire at this year's festival include The LatinXHouse, a diversity-centered organization that held space for LatinX Storytellers through their three day activation, spotlighting speakers like Ponyboi director Esteban Arango. 

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The Sunrise Collective 

The Sunrise Collective hosted discussions at Riverhorse on Main Street throughout the first weekend of the festival, with programming guests including Daniel Dae Kim, Lucy Liu, Steven Yeun.

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Tao

Nightclub Tao returned to Park City for a three-night residency, with headliners including Sofi Tukker MelDeBarge. Casamigos returned as the official tequila partner at the ski-inspired pop-up, complete with an ice chalet bar and chair lift photo opt. The impressive guestlist included Malia Obama, Kieran Culkin, Aubrey Plaza, Dylan Mulvaney, Kenya Barris Bijou Phillips, AnnaSophia Robb, Leslie Grace, Meredith Marks, Will Forte, and Will Sharpe.

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From crafting permanent bracelets and taking polaroids in the Chase Sapphire Lounge, to indulging in tasty treats at Hulu’s tater tot food truck to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite, there's something for everyone to enjoy at this year's festival.

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All images courtesy of Sundance Institute.

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