For over 50 years, the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place in Park City, Utah, has been the spotlight of American filmmaking. Each January, filmmakers and film lovers gather from all over the world, excitedly anticipating the premieres of some of the best movies that will come out each year. The energy around Park City is palpable, with everyone gearing up for long days and nights of moviegoing!
But, planning your first trip to Sundance is overwhelming! There’s so many different ticket packages that all guarantee you access to different theaters and screenings (and the sticker shock of them), I almost gave up the first time. It felt like too many blind decisions to spend a bunch of money on, and I want to help break these choices down, hopefully making the festival more accessible to you!
The Sundance Film Festival happens in 15 theaters across Salt Lake City (SLC) and Park City (PC). There’s also a small screen at the Sundance Resort, but this one is pretty exclusive, and a pretty significant drive away from Park City.
SLC is a big airport that you can get to on almost any major airline. From SLC up to Park City is about a 45 minute drive into the mountains, and is a really beautiful trip in January! Things can sometimes get slowed down because of weather, but the area does a really great job at maintaining the roads. As someone who doesn’t frequently drive on snow, I felt comfortable the entire time, and we made the drive in the dark a couple times.
Whether or not you should rent a car depends on your length of stay, and if you’ll just be staying in Park City. Once you’re in PC, transportation around is easy and free. Festival shuttles run frequently, and are very easy to navigate. But, you’re looking at about a $50 rideshare trip each way, so if you’re only in town for the weekend, you may be able to find a rental car more affordable than that.
Regardless of whether you’re attending screenings in PC or SLC, stay up in the mountains around Park City! This is where all the action is, and while I think there are pros to attending screenings in Salt Lake, all of the special film talks and movie premieres happen in PC, and it’s where you get the true film festival experience.
It’s no secret why people are flooding Park City this week, and hotels are well aware of the fixed demand on their rooms. Compared to a normal summer week, hotel prices are generally 2-5x what their usual rates are. And while you can find some fair deals on Airbnb, you’re still going to be spending big to stay in the heart of PC.
But, you really don’t need to stay right in the middle of the action, even if you don’t have a car. The free Park & Ride bus network stretches pretty far outside of the Main Street area, and is so fast and easy to use. During Festival season, they even increase the number of pick up locations that have an Express shuttle, meaning once they pick you up, they don’t stop until they drop you at the main depot downtown. We’ve stayed on the fringe of the city near Summit Park, and the 10-15 minute ride into Main Street was well worth the extra money saved.
When you first see the prices for Passes and Ticket Packages, your brain might explode a little bit. That’s justified! And also reasonable to be curious and know exactly what you’re getting. Most of the options are broken down into First Half (Thursday-Tuesday) and Second Half (Wednesday-Sunday), meaning your selection is only valid on certain days. Only a handful of media people actually stay for the entire festival, and it’s quite the marathon to do so! But, let’s break down what you get out of each option. I also won’t list pricing, because it’s subject to change each year, but I’ll use a $-$$$$$ metric to give an idea of the most affordable options.
I’ll start with the basic Ticket Packages, because these come with a little extra effort. Buying a ticket package gets you 20 tickets to the half of the festival of your choosing. These are guaranteed seats, but you have to choose and book these showtimes before the festival - usually sometime in January. You can book up to 4 seats per showtime, based on availability, so while this is pricey, it’s also something that can be split. The downside to a Ticket Package is that it does not give you access to any public panels or special events.
These aren’t offered for every venue, but a couple of the larger theaters have an All Access Pass exclusively for that space! The Grand Pass ($) is for the Grand Theatre in Salt Lake City, and works Fri-Sun both weekends. This is by far the best value of any ticket pass, and is made even better by also giving access to the public panels and special lounge areas in Park City. In a given weekend, there are 10 showtimes at the Grand, so even if you only go for one weekend, you’re getting a steal for the price - this has been pretty stable at $300. You have guaranteed entry for every showtime, as long as you’re there 30 minutes prior to start (i.e. you watch a movie, then walk out to get back in line). The only downside is that you’re in Salt Lake, but for moviegoing days, there’s not much of a difference as to which city you’re in! Every movie we saw in Salt Lake also included a panel with the talent.
The All Access Passes for Park City theaters ($$$$) are significantly more expensive, but are more likely to be used for massive movie premieres and some of the most hot ticket screenings of the festival. They also include access to all the extras (panels, etc), but these are likely a budget breaker for most attendees.
The Express Pass takes all the perks of the theater specific passes, but removes the restrictions. Get access to any screening you’d like for the half of the festival you’ve purchased for, and have a guaranteed seat. You can’t beat this, but you’ll certainly spend for the freedom!
Not every screening is going to be filled with pass holders and ticket holders, so Sundance has a waitlist option that now operates through their app. A few hours before a screening, the waitlist will become active, and a finite number of spots are handed out. For major screenings, these go in milliseconds. There were multiple times that I was actively refreshing the app at the exact time ready to go, only to be shut out. But, the waitlist can also be your best friend, and get you into screenings you wouldn’t otherwise have tickets for!
Once you’re on the waitlist, arrive at the theater about 30 minutes early and follow the waitlist signs. It’s kinda like Southwest, where you awkwardly compare numbers with the people around you to get yourself in order. Once all the badge holders and ticket holders get inside, they start funneling the waitlisters into open seats. If you make it, it’s $25 cash as you walk in. So, if you’re planning a trip around using the waitlist, make sure you have cash! Although we’ve mostly used the Grand Pass, we’ve bailed on guaranteed seats to use the waitlist multiple times.
This all depends on your preference for your time there, how long you’re staying, and your ticket situation, but I’d encourage you to take at least a day to experience Park City, and if you’ve got the time, Salt Lake as well!
If you have a pass, the film talks are a great chance to get up close and personal with filmmakers and talent from the festival films, and often come with free snacks! There are typically also a couple event tents that have a rotation of live music, and are a great place to sit down and chill if you’re taking some time off from the movies.
Time outside the theaters is also great for meeting people! Walk into a coffee shop or restaurant and start a conversation with the person you’re next to in line. It’s so fun to see what’s brought everyone to Sundance, and if you’re getting started in the industry, a great chance to network in a low pressure environment.
We’ve had such incredible experiences with Sundance, and while you might be repulsed when you first see the price of passes, I hope you’ve seen there are a number of ways to enjoy the festival on different budgets. It’s absolutely worth the trip for some of the best moviegoing experiences I’ve ever had, and I hope this post was helpful in sifting through the glut of information that Sundance provides!
