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Although Sundance shorts don’t aren’t met with the starry premieres of their feature-length counterparts, there are plenty of strange and wonderful finds — especially for genre fans via the Midnight Short Film Program. One of this year’s standouts was “A Folded Ocean,” written and directed by Ben Brewer. In a 14-minute tale of sex, romance and bodies fusing together in a Cronenberg-esque nightmare, real-life couple Anabelle Lemieux and John Giacobbe star as an erotically charged pair whose closeness literally draws them closer and closer together.

Brewer, who was the lead visual effects artist for “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, was also in charge of the outrageous and nauseating body horror in “Ocean.” But despite the showstopping visuals, the love story between the two leads — mostly unspoken — resonates deeply, especially in a complete work no longer than a few TikToks.

Variety spoke with Brewer — who has also directed music...

While the chances of getting a feature film into Sundance may be slim, the short film submissions are just as competitive. For its first year back to in-person after two years of a virtual event, the festival received a record number of short films submissions, with 10,980 entries from around the world hoping to play in Park City. Shorts programmers Mike Plante and Heidi Zwicker had the task of whittling it down to 64 films and 4 episodic projects, and they assure aspiring Sundance filmmakers that they watch every single submission.

“We love all these films individually, but part of choosing them is how well they speak together as a program,” Zwicker told IndieWire during a recent interview. “They have to come together to create a cohesive whole, where each one is doing something different.”

Building the program holistically allows for a broad spectrum of genres and budgets, something Plante singles out as being unique to Sundance.

Willie Nelson in a scene from ‘Willie Nelson and Family’ (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute)

The 2023 Sundance Film Festival’s lineup will include 64 Short Films and four Indie Episodic projects. More than 10,000 short film submissions were received, and the 64 selected represent work from 23 countries. 519 Indie Episodic submissions were submitted and the four selected represent five countries.

The 2023 Festival will take place in person from January 19–29. Select films will be available online beginning January 24th.

“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,” stated 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.”

Indie Episodic

Chanshi...

The 2023 Sundance Film Festival officially announced the Shorts and Indie Episodic programs.

Notable artists and talent in the shorts program include Paul Feig, Angela Sarafyan, Kate Flannery, Yalitza Aparicio Martinez, Angela Trimbur, Ken Marino, Bi Gan, and Shannon Plumb. Selections range from more than 23 countries, including Iran and Ukraine.

The Sundance Institute will offer in-person premieres for the Indie Episodic works, with Shorts screened in curated programs. Beginning January 24, all Indie Episodic projects and selected Shorts will also be available to stream online through the end of the festival. The 2023 festival will take place January 19 through 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.

This upcoming year’s Short Film program includes work from 23 countries, and the Indie Episodic represents works from five countries. Forty-six percent of the filmmakers identify as women, and filmmakers...