Sundance Film Festival will require a boost to attend

By Pauline H. Shaughnessy Last updated Dec 27, 2021

Top line

The Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that all attendees eligible to receive their booster shots are required to do so to attend the event next month, as omicron has also run some awards ceremonies to cancel their in-person events. , leaving the entertainment industry’s return to normalcy in limbo.

View of the Egyptian Theater during the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on Main Street on January 20, 2006 … [+] in Park City, Utah.

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Highlights

The annual film festival, which hosts previews and screenings of what tends to be some of the best and most discussed of the year, will require all attendees and staff to be fully immunized and that all 16 and over more received their booster shots. .

Sundance, which takes place January 20-30 in Park City, Utah, will provide PCR and rapid tests to attendees and will require employees and some guests to provide a negative test result before attending. to assist.

Participants must wear masks in all interior areas and in queues, and it is’ highly recommended[ed]â€That they are also worn outside.

Sundance will limit the capacity of most events, including film screenings, and food and drink will not be permitted in theaters.

Other big film festivals, including Venice, Tribeca, Toronto and Cannes, take place later in the year and have not announced their plans.

Tangent

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences postponed the Governor’s Awards ceremony on Wednesday, which was scheduled to take place in person on January 15. The Critics’ Choice Awards also postponed their Jan.9 ceremony to Wednesday, citing health and safety concerns.

Large number

122,297. This is the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in the United States. The CDC announced Monday that last week the omicron variant accounted for more than 73% of new cases in the country, overtaking the delta variant as the dominant cause of infections.

What to watch out for

The Golden Globes, which will announce their winners on January 9, have yet to reveal what form the ceremony will take. The Grammy Awards, which air on January 31, and the Oscars, which air on March 27, have yet to announce changes to their in-person ceremonies due to the increase in cases.

Key context

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival has been significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the events and screenings were virtual. Although scattered drive-through screenings in Los Angeles were scheduled, they were eventually canceled as the United States saw a surge of cases after the holidays.