Don’t worry if you didn’t make it to the last Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Many of the films will be available to stream online starting Thursday through the weekend, including the buzzy Channing Tatum drama “Josephine.”
What started as a COVID-era necessity has become one of the festival’s most beloved components, even for those who do brave the cold and the lines to see films in person.
How can I watch Sundance films?
The Sundance Film Festival website has information on the technical requirements, but there are ways to watch on your computer and television. After you click the “Watch Now” button, you have five hours to complete the feature film.
Who can watch?
Anyone in the U.S. can access the online portal. Rights restrictions make the films and shows unavailable to stream internationally.
What films are available?
All of the feature films playing in the main competitions are included on the platform and a few extras, many of which do not yet have theatrical distribution plans. Beth de Araújo’s drama “Josephine,” about an 8-year-old (Mason Reeves) who witnesses a sexual assault in Golden Gate Park, is already one of the most talked about films of the festival. Tatum and Gemma Chan play the girl's parents, who are well meaning but unsure how to help their daughter navigate all the feelings and fear.
The romantic drama “Carousel,” starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate, will also be available, as well as other U.S. Dramatic Competition titles such as “Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty,” set in side Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene and “The Musical,” a comedy with Rob Lowe about a middle school teacher who tries to tank the school’s chance of winning an award by staging an inappropriate play.
Notable films in the NEXT section that will be streaming are Kogonada’s lyrical “zi,” with Michelle Mao and Haley Lu Richardson, and “The Incomer,” a quirky comedy with Domhnall Gleeson.
Documentary offerings include “Seized,” about the police raid on the Marion County Record, “The Lake,” about the looming environmental crisis in Utah, “Everybody To Kenmure Street” about civil resistance in Scotland, and “Hanging by a Wire,” about the six schoolboys (and two others) left hanging 900 feet above a ravine in the Himalayan foothills after a cable car's wire snaps.
What films aren’t available?
Some films already have distributors and won’t be streaming on the platform, like the Charli xcx mockumentary “The Moment,” which opens in theaters Jan. 30. Focus Features will release Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell’s “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” in theaters on March 27. And “When a Witness Recants,” about three teens wrongly sent to prison for a 1983 murder in a Baltimore middle school, will eventually be on HBO, but a date has yet to be announced.
In general, movies that played in the premieres section will not be available online, whether they have distribution plans yet or not. That includes Olivia Wilde’s biting marital dramedy “The Invite,” Gregg Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” Jay Duplass’ “See You When I See You” and “Once Upon a Time in Harlem.”
When can I watch?
Between Jan. 29 through Feb. 1.
What does it cost to stream the movies?
It’s $35 for a single film. Proceeds benefit the Sundance Institute’s artist programs and funds.
