Top L–R: Oxytocin, The Vacation, Pro Pool, I AM HOME. Center L–R: Kylie, Willie Nelson and Family, The Night Logan Woke Up, Inglorious Liaisons. Bottom L–R: The Dalles, Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie, Pipes, Azeh.

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the Short Films and Indie Episodic projects selected for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. For in-person attendees, Indie Episodic works will have individual premieres and Shorts will screen in curated programs. Beginning January 24, all Indie Episodic projects and selected Shorts will also screen online through the end of the Festival.

"Short films and episodic projects are an integral aspect of the overall mission of the Sundance Institute — to empower artists who are taking risks, bringing new perspectives to the forefront, and creating work that entertains and provokes conversation," said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. "These platforms provide artists with the ability to expand beyond the boundaries of traditional cinema, while also motivating a unique creativity through an ever expanding format."

The 64 Short Films for the 2023 lineup were selected from 10,981 submissions, the highest number on record. Of these submissions, 4,996 were from the U.S. and 5,985 were international. The four Indie Episodic projects were selected from 519 submissions. This upcoming year’s Short Film program includes work from 23 countries and the Indie Episodic represents works from five countries.

Indie Episodic is an industry leader in the discovery and development of series’ newest talent. The program is a dedicated showcase for emerging creators of independently produced content for episodic platforms. Past projects that have premiered within this category include Bring on the Dancing Horses, Work in Progress, State of the Union, Gentefied, Wu Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and Quarter Life Poetry.

The Short Film program is the premiere exhibition of shorts across fiction, nonfiction, and animation, globally. From the start, the Institute has supported short filmmaking in all forms and styles, which now includes an impressive roster of artist alumni: Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay and Mark Duplass, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Sterlin Harjo, Todd Haynes, Shaka King, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, and many others.

The Institute's support for short films extends internationally and happens year-round, with select Festival shorts presented as a traveling program, at theaters in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film program is presented by Shutterstock.

"Sundance Institute has a long-standing commitment to supporting short independent storytelling and as we continue that commitment, we’re fortunate to have an extraordinary slate of shorts to screen at the Festival," said Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film. "The shorts we selected are all revelations in their own right of: exciting new voices, humorous or moving perspectives, stylistic innovation, and more. The 2023 lineup is thematically varied and consistently interesting — no matter which of the nine programs audiences check out, they’ll be entertained and surprised by what they find."

Full program available at https://festival.sundance.org/program/



The 2023 Festival will take place January 19–29, 2023, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online across the country January 24–29, 2023.