Because the devastating fires proceed to burn round Los Angeles, the Sundance Movie Competition will proceed as deliberate in Park Metropolis.
In a letter launched at present, CEO Amanda Kelso and pageant director Eugene Hernandez write, “Our group has a historical past of coming collectively when ardour and perseverance are wanted most, drawing power from the deep bonds that make us so resilient. Proper now, we could mourn, however we additionally know it is very important keep it up.”
The information that the annual indie pageant will proceed as deliberate comes after per week of cancelation of business occasions, together with the Critics Selection Awards, the BAFTA Tea Social gathering and the WGA and PGA nominations.
The fires have straight affected Sundance management. Michelle Satter, the Sundance Institute‘s beloved founding senior director of artist packages, misplaced her dwelling within the Palisades, writing on social media, “Our coronary heart goes out to everybody who’s experiencing loss throughout this devastating time in our metropolis.”
With over 60 sq. miles burned, 12,000 structed have been destroyed or broken within the Los Angeles fires with 92,000 individuals below evacuation orders as of Monday morning. 24 deaths have been reported on account of the fires.
Learn the complete letter from Kelso and Hernandez under.
Pricey Sundance Group,
We’re reaching out at present concerning the ongoing, devastating wildfires within the Los Angeles space. At the beginning, our hearts are with everybody in our Sundance Institute group and with all affected by the unfolding tragedy. Please know that you’re not alone proper now; our ideas are with you in Southern California and past.
Over the previous few days, we’ve had many conversations with artists, volunteers, business/press, trustees, donors, companions, and workers. The losses we’re witnessing and so many are experiencing are laborious to fathom and deeply emotional. But, as we proceed planning for the 2025 Sundance Movie Competition—simply 10 days away—we’re moved by the resilience amidst the devastating loss.
You might be important, vibrant members of our Sundance group, and we all know that lots of you could have been and are being impacted by the continued tragic fires. Our group has a historical past of coming collectively when ardour and perseverance are wanted most, drawing power from the deep bonds that make us so resilient.
Proper now, we could mourn, however we additionally know it is very important keep it up. Quickly, we’ll collect for Sundance’s forty first Competition to find a brand new yr of movies and filmmakers. Regardless of the challenges so many are confronting, we’re making our remaining preparations for this yr’s Competition, as in occasions like these, our mission to help artists, uplift their work, and hook up with communities is paramount. Whereas it could problem us in some ways, coming collectively will even empower and encourage us as we glance to our future. With that in thoughts, we invite you to attach with us within the days main as much as the Competition. If in case you have been affected by the fires, and really feel in a position or are in an area the place you may, please share your scenario on this kind so we will perceive how our group has been impacted.
Sundance exists to find artists, rejoice their work, and help storytelling that connects individuals by way of the facility of movie and we all know that coming collectively as a group will be each therapeutic and catalytic.
Please keep secure as you take care of yourselves and one another.
Considering of you,
Amanda Kelso, Performing CEO
Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Movie Competition & Public Programming