Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Ken Regan
By the Archives Team
There’s no better way to celebrate Preservation Week (April 28–May 4) than to peek inside 40 years of Sundance Film Festival history and the work of the Archives and Collection team!
We’re very fortunate that the Institute had the foresight and saw the value of collecting photos, video, and ephemera documenting the Festival and Labs from the beginning, which has provided incredible insight into the organization’s history and growth. Because of this (and continued focus on creating access to the Institute’s archives over 40 years), the archives team can more efficiently review and discover gems within millions of photos, thousands of hours of video, and millions of documents and ephemera.
For the 40th Edition of the Sundance Film Festival, which took place this past January, preservation was key to telling the story of supported artists and the community that make the Festival possible — from the in-theater screenwash and volunteer appreciation video to collector cards and photo features in the catalog.
In order to help make this possible, the team took a deep dive into the Institute’s collection of photos, video, and information, researching and identifying assets to help give shape to the overall narrative. Working closely with teams across the Institute, we developed a sense of scope and then collaboratively winnowed down selections, all the while considering diversity of coverage.
The video editing, design, and editorial teams wove together these various parts to bring the 40th Edition to life. After a final review, each piece of the story was set to make its debut and be shared with Festival audiences. And now we have the pleasure of presenting them to you!
If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Festival, such as when the Shorts Program and World Cinema sections were introduced or which film won the inaugural Audience Award, check out our Festival history page!
