“What makes the Festival special is the long lasting relationships made over coffee or in line for a panel. This year, we’re excited to be back in Park City championing the vibrancy of our communities, authentic storytelling, and joy,” said Amber Espinosa-Jones, Senior Manager of Sundance Institute’s Artist and Audience Impact team.
After two years of online programming, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival is returning for in-person theater screenings, panels, and community building. Compiled by the Equity, Impact, and Belonging Department, this comprehensive list of events offers multiple opportunities to celebrate and learn about equity and inclusion in the industry, all while gathering with friends and colleagues again.
The Equity, Impact, and Belonging Program meaningfully engages artists and audiences from historically/traditionally marginalized communities which include Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, undocumented artists, and artists with disabilities.
Starting Wednesday, January 20, these ongoing activities and community spaces will amplify conversations and connections throughout Park City, Utah. Check out our Beyond Film lineup for all the events going on around the mountain, and get ready to be inspired. We hope to see you in person!
Ongoing Activities and Community Houses at the Festival
We have amazing partners creating spaces for artists of color and hosting important conversations. New to this year are 1497, Sunrise House (a partnership between Gold House, 3AD, and The Asian American Foundation), who join IllumiNative and MACRO, hosting private events at their houses throughout the festival January 20–22! The Blackhouse Foundation and The Latinx House will also be back hosting events, check their pages for RSVP information.
Events
All times in MST. Note: events hosted at the Filmmaker Lodge or The Box are first-come first-served and require a valid Festival account.
Friday, January 20
Hollywood, Racism, and the New Age of Censorship (presented by Color of Change)
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Public
The Box, 1768 Park Ave, Park City, Utah 84060
This session seeks to inspire more robust storytelling about race and history to resist the rise of white nationalism and efforts to censor critical thinking about anti-Black racism. In a dynamic conversational format, Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson and the African American Policy Forum founder Kimberlé Crenshaw will address how historical and contemporary efforts to write Black history out of the national memory are impacting Hollywood. In addition, they’ll discuss why creatives cannot allow the chilling effect of this censorship to affect cinematic storytelling and what Hollywood’s role should be in standing up to silence diverse storytellers from telling their truths.
The Big Conversation: Complicating Representation
2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Public
Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., Park City, Utah 84060
Increased visibility for historically underrepresented people is empowering but also can bring new, complex questions and challenges. This panel will provide a chance for successful creators impacted by current (and sometimes false or performative) interest in diversity in Hollywood to discuss the struggles, boons, doubts, and responsibilities of balancing more grassroots, edgy artistic spaces. Panelists include Alethea Armaquq-Baril, Marlee Matlin, Randall Park, and Zackary Drucker. The panel will be moderated by Bird Runningwater.
This event will provide American Sign Language Interpretation. For additional accommodations, please submit an accessibility request.
Authentically Successful (presented by IMDB and Prime Video)
2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Public
Acura Energy Stage, 480 Swede Alley, Park City, Utah, 84060
This panel will feature a discussion between community leaders who are paving the way for authentic and inclusive productions. Panelists include Alex Schmider, director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD; Andria Wilson Mirza, director of ReFrame; Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative; Kyle Bowser, senior vice president of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, and Nic Novicki, founder of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. The panel will be moderated by Latasha Gillespie, global head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility for Amazon Studios and Prime Video, with an introduction from Nikki Santoro, chief operating officer of IMDb.
Cinema for Change: How to Use Film to Make an Impact (presented by the ACLU)
4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Public
The Box, 1768 Park Ave, Park City, Utah 84060
Filmmakers, producers, marketing teams, and creatives have the power to educate, inspire, and activate audiences on social justice issues through their films. Join the ACLU to learn exactly how you can turn emotion from a film into concrete action. In this panel, we’ll discuss the steps, tools, and resources needed to create a great social impact campaign.
The BlackHouse Filmmaker Lodge: Black Storytellers to Know (presented by The BlackHouse Foundation)
4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Public
Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., Park City, Utah 84060
Join Blackhouse in a deep-dive conversation with the filmmakers behind a selection of the Festival’s hottest films. We will reflect on the stories behind the buzzed-about films and their paths to the Sundance Film Festival. In keeping with the goal of elevating emerging artists and independent voices, we will discuss where their careers are headed and how they are using dynamic and innovative platforms to advance their creativity and art.
Saturday, January 21
Democracy & Narrative Change: Those who tell the stories hold the power (presented by Luminate)
10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Public
The Park, 950 Iron Horse Drive, Park City, Utah 84060
The panel will explore how those with the power, access, and platforms to tell stories can shape society and democracy for good or for ill. It will explore the ways in which many storytellers including filmmakers, journalists, and activists share stories to create a positive future and what needs to be done to rein in the unchecked power of the Big Tech companies and social media platforms to disseminate toxic narratives. Stephen King, CEO of Luminate, will moderate this panel that includes Academy Award-nominated actor Yalitza Aparicio (Roma); Academy Award-nominated director Petra Costa (The Edge of Democracy); and Will Miller, Producer of The Territory and co-founder of Documist.
Onyx Collective’s Storytelling Showcase (presented by Disney’s ONYX Collective)
2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Public
The Box, 1768 Park Ave, Park City, Utah 84060
Join prolific creatives Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and Academy Award–winning director Roger Ross Williams for a sneak peek and conversation on their upcoming Hulu Original docuseries, The 1619 Project. Additionally, Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Academy Award–winning director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer of Soul) will take the stage for intimate Q&As discussing the art of storytelling with a lens on cultural authenticity.
Sunday, January 22
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Public
The Box, 1768 Park Ave, Park City, Utah 84060
For the fifth consecutive year, Asia Society Northern California will spotlight Asian and Asian American filmmakers and talent at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, January 22 at 11:30 a.m. MT at the Box Theater in Park City. This Lunar New Year, we will welcome the Year of the Rabbit with Representative Karen Kwan of Utah’s 34th district. Speakers include: Anaita Wali Zada (Fremont), Chiaki Yanagimoto (AUM: The Cult at the End of the World), Kayla Abuda Galang (When You Left Me On That Boulevard), Shalini Adnani (White Ant), Liz Sargent (Take Me Home), and more!
The Big Conversation: The Story of Us
2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Public
Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., Park City, Utah 84060
Democracy is at risk around the world. So what happens now? As we think about the future of democracy, this Big Conversation builds on the previous two iterations of Kimberlé W. Crenshaw’s The Story of Us to explore how storytelling has long been and continues to be a critical enterprise in grounding the shape and contours of democratic inclusion. Leading thinkers in the arts, history, and social justice will challenge us to consider how narrative plenitude is not simply an expression of inclusion but is essential to strengthening democratic ideals. Panelists include Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, W. Kamau Bell, Jason Stanley, and Roger Ross Williams.
This event will provide American Sign Language Interpretation. For additional accommodations, please submit an accessibility request.
MPAC Hollywood Bureau’s Party at the Park (presented by MPAC Hollywood Bureau)
7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Public RSVP
The Park, 950 Iron Horse Drive, Park City, Utah 84060
This event is sponsored by founders of The Muslim House, the MPAC Hollywood Bureau. After two years of virtual events, we can’t wait to see you on the mountain at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Hear from Muslim creatives who are moving the needle forward in cultural and narrative change in the entertainment industry. Director of the MPAC Hollywood Bureau, Sue Obeidi, program director of the Islamic Scholarship Fund, director-writer Iman Zawahry, professor and author of Broken: The Failed Promise of Muslim Inclusion, Dr. Evelyn Alsultany, documentary filmmaker and Sundance Institute Producing Film fellow Razi Jafri, writer-director Imran J. Khan, writer-actor Aizzah Fatima, and more will participate in panel discussions. Dinner and dessert will be available. This is an alcohol-free event.
Monday, January 23
2:00pm-3:30pm
Public
The Box, 1768 Park Ave, Park City, UT 84060
GLAAD’s panel will welcome The Stroll co-directors Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker to discuss how the documentary came to be and broader paths to reclaim and shift the lens on stories from the transgender community. Anthony Allen Ramos of GLAAD to moderate.
Latino Filmmakers Network: Our Road to the Sundance Film Festival
2:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Public RSVP
Acura Energy Stage, 480 Swede Alley, Park City, Utah, 84060
Join the Latino Filmmakers Network for our main event on Monday, January, 23, 2023 at the Acura Energy Stage during the Festival. At 2 p.m., “Our Road to the Sundance Film Festival” panel celebrates some of this year’s filmmakers with projects in the festival. At 3:15 p.m., we will have another panel “Funding and Distribution for your Films”, followed by an industry mixer at 4:30 presented by Acura. Get inspired and connect with your future collaborators!
Sundance Institute is committed to improving overall experiences and belonging for our staff, audiences, and artists, in alignment with our core values. Our goal is to make all experiences (in-person and online) as accessible as possible for all participants. If you have an accessibility request, please use our Festival Accessibility Request Form or call the accessibility hotline at (435) 776-7790. For more information: How To Fest: Accessibility.
