Configure header nav in Payload.

Configure header nav in Payload.

Episode 76 Dolby Creator Talks

Sundance Film Festival in the Time of Covid

February 2, 2021
Listen to the episode

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Sundance Film Festival is entirely virtual. But what exactly does a virtual film festival look like? Glenn sits down with Keri Putnam, CEO of the Sundance Institute, Tabitha Jackson, the brand new director of the Sundance Film Festival, and Michelle Satter, director of the Sundance Labs, to answer all these questions and more. It’s a fascinating conversation about not just the challenges of hosting the Sundance Film Festival in 2021, but also the new opportunities this situation may have uncovered. Indeed, this year could become the road map for the future of The Institute, The Labs, and The Sundance Film Festival itself.

It was such a privilege to be trusted with this incredible thing that is the festival. And so I approached it like holding this precious metal. And I must not break it. I'm going to carry it with two hands. I must not break it. [Then] the pandemic hit. And it was clear that, oh, I've got to break it. I've got to break it into pieces so that we can rebuild something to meet the moment.

Tabitha Jackson, Sundance Film Festival director

  • 2021 Sundance Film Festival
  • video
Open on YouTube
Previous: David Fincher and Ren Klyce Transport Us to The Golden Age of Hollywood in "Mank" Next: VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Back to podcasts
DolbyCinema Page

Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. © 2026 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved.

United States
United States United Kingdom España France Deutschland India 中国 日本 대한민국 Brasil
Build 955e987Environment PR-584 Deployed 1 hour ago