15 Tips for Navigating the Sundance Film Festival 2017 This upcoming January will mark my 8th year of incredible moving watching at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. My husband and his best friend started going while they were still in university. Once I arrived on the scene I was welcomed to the annual pilgrimage as a fellow film lover. They were pros by then and knew the cheap and sneaky ways to navigate the festival. Many years later we're now a much larger group of friends and family who come together every chilly January to celebrate the joy of movies.
Over the years we've seen star-studded blockbusters and watched new filmmakers cry after their first movie screening, we've seen documentaries on topics from immigration and gun control to video game creation and Vogue magazine, and what might be enough experimental animated shorts to fill a lifetime.
If you're making the trip this January 19th-29th, here are my 15 tips for making the most of the Sundance Film Festival.
1. Don't buy tickets online in advance First off, the process sucks. Secondly, by booking yourself early you'll end up missing some incredible gems that might not have had as much press.
We like to head to the ticket office super early in the morning of our first day and read the brochure while we're in line. When it's our turn to buy, we pick movies based on ticket availability and our schedule. We end up with an eclectic mix which is absolutely the point!
2. Plan for travel time Our goal is to see 3-4 movies per day while we're there. (Usually 3 full movie watching days.) That schedule means we need to get up early and go to bed late. We leave plenty of time between movies to get to and from each theater location and try to factor in some meals while we're at it.
3. Embrace the wait lines Yes, you will be standing in line! There are no designated seats. You might not sit next to your friends. You might not get in. Get to screenings early and be prepared to stand in line.
4. Don't focus on the big name blockbusters Between the actual studios and Netflix etc., most of them get bought these days anyway so you'll get to watch them later. You'll spend a ton of time waiting in line and really all you get is bragging rights that you saw it first.
5. Use the buses Park City has been hosting the Sundance Film Festival for a long time now and they know what they're doing. They have a few movie theater dedicated bus loops that are FREE and run quickly and on schedule.
6. Try not to mob the celebrities Just, try.
7. Mix it up It's easy to stick with the US or World Dramatic categories, but it's way more fun to see films from every category. After Dark midnight movie showings are always weird and fabulous. Shorts Collections have never let me down. Make sure you see anything with subtitles in the middle of the day after some coffee. And support the NEXT category of up and coming filmmakers.
8. Book early and start saving early Yes, going to the Sundance Film Festival is expensive. This is not new news. It has only gotten more expensive over the years. The movie tickets themselves were $8 when my husband started going in 2006, $12 when I did, and now they're up to $20. Plus flights, food etc.. But, for us, the experience is still worth it.
9. Enjoy everything else Park City has to offer For my group, this means food and booze! I recommend the Jalapeno Cream Ale and apple pie at Wasatch Brew Pub, the whiskey and mac and cheese at High West Distillery, the huevos rancheros breakfast at Main St Pizza, the birria and tacos at Lorenzo's Mexican restaurant, and the salad bar and meatloaf or prime rib at Grub Steak. You're welcome!
10. Watch out for Salt Lake City listings There are a couple of theaters that show Sundance Film Festival movies in Salt Lake City - which is a couple of hours away from Park City. So beware of accidentally purchasing tickets to those theaters.
11. Blindly but confidently pick award winners! If you go for the second weekend you'll see most of Sunday's listings are yet to be named Award Winners. The awards ceremony is held on the final Saturday night of the festival and most all of Sunday's showings are films that win those categories. Just buy tickets for them. You are guaranteed to see something amazing. Hands down some of the best movies I've seen at Sundance have been winners of the best editing category.
12. Plan for extreme weather Park City is a ski town - there's lots of snow! Sometimes a cozy sweater will do and at other times you'll want jackets and scarves and hats and boots. Maybe there will be flurries or maybe you'll be navigating your route in a blizzard. We've twice had to stay an extra day because the airports have closed. It's part of the experience. Bring extra socks! Don't give up!
13. Use the waitlist system carefully The Sundance powers that be only sell out a set percentage of each showing so there are a certain number of seats available on the day. First dibs go to fancy Festival pass folks and then the festival workers. After them there's the waitlist. It's an automated system on the Sundance Film Festival free app. Two hours before each showing the waitlist opens up and you log in to get a waitlist number.
As of last year you were able to log in two people at a time. Your whole party will need to have profiles on the app to do this. You'll hit the button right at the 2-hour mark and get a high number probably in the 100s. But don't despair! Most people don't show up so if it's a film you really want to see, set aside the time and head to the theater. You'll need to be in the waitlist line at least a half hour early.
14. Get to know your theaters The biggest theater holds over 1000 and the smallest
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
21/10/2025
QuickLink, the leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest integration solutions, today announced the appointment of Austin Hinton as it...
21/10/2025
nternet connectivity startup Miri Technologies Inc. will use this week's NAB Show New York as the launch pad for its latest ground-breaking innovation, the ...
20/10/2025
Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores could redefine sports workflows By Paul Markham
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 08:57
Print This Story
A penalty...
20/10/2025
Transformational production: Inside TVN's remote production push for the DFL...
20/10/2025
How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDRMulti-year plan harmonizes workflows, simplifies operationsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...
20/10/2025
NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast...
20/10/2025
Under pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus considers the German sports broadcasting ...
20/10/2025
(L-R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the Plainclothes pre...
20/10/2025
In March, we launched Concerts Near You to help listeners find concerts from their favorite artists. Since then, more than 3 million people have used it to disc...
20/10/2025
Em diversas cidades do Brasil, um movimento tem se fortalecido para celebrar o poder, a beleza e a profundidade da criatividade negra. O Dia AMPLIFIKA, agora em...
20/10/2025
In cities across Brazil, a movement is growing that celebrates the power, beauty, and depth of Black creativity. AMPLIFIKA Day, now in its fifth edition, return...
20/10/2025
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft rendering...
20/10/2025
DENVER and MUNICH Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of...
20/10/2025
LOS ANGELES G Morgan has joined Globecast, a provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, as executive vice president of sales, Globecast Am...
20/10/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. Heartland Video Systems and Zixi have partnered to enable broadcast-quality live video delivery over any IP network....
20/10/2025
A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine In an interview with Berklee President Jim Lucchese, the Oscar-winning composer reflects on how courage and...
20/10/2025
Monday 20 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
20/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications Companies work collaboratively to ensure continuity and ongoing support for existing customers...
20/10/2025
RT 's Prime Time is set to host the final Presidential Election Debate this Tuesday night, October 21, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Irelan...
20/10/2025
NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding access to accelerated computing to transform the full spectrum of enterprise workloads, from visual computing to agentic a...
19/10/2025
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026
Entertainment
19 October 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to cl...
18/10/2025
New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...
18/10/2025
NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...
18/10/2025
Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...
17/10/2025
NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...
17/10/2025
Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...
17/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...
17/10/2025
L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...
17/10/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
17/10/2025
(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...
17/10/2025
M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...
17/10/2025
Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...
17/10/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...
17/10/2025
MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...
17/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...
17/10/2025
The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...
17/10/2025
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...
17/10/2025
Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...
17/10/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...
17/10/2025
The University of Arizona (UofA) has significantly upgraded its broadcast communication infrastructure with the integration of Riedel Communications' advanc...
17/10/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North, has selected Harmonic as its en...
15 Tips for Navigating the Sundance Film Festival 2017 This upcoming January will mark my 8th year of incredible moving watching at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. My husband and his best friend started going while they were still in university. Once I arrived on the scene I was welcomed to the annual pilgrimage as a fellow film lover. They were pros by then and knew the cheap and sneaky ways to navigate the festival. Many years later we're now a much larger group of friends and family who come together every chilly January to celebrate the joy of movies.
