Sundance Film Festival® 2027

About Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival is the annual independent-film festival presented by the nonprofit Sundance Institute. Its programme brings together U.S. and international narrative and documentary features, short films and episodic work across competition and non-competition sections. The 2027 edition will be the festival’s first year in Boulder, Colorado.

Sundance Film Festival 2027 Dates and Location

The 2027 Sundance Film Festival will take place in Boulder, Colorado, from 21–31 January 2027. World premieres are scheduled from 21–26 January, with additional programme screenings continuing through the end of the festival.

Sundance 2027 Feature Film Deadline

Feature-film submissions remain open until 21 September 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Sundance defines a feature as a project with a projected final running time of 50 minutes or more.

U.S. and International Feature Film Categories

Feature submissions are divided into four routes: U.S. Narrative Feature, U.S. Documentary Feature, International Narrative Feature and International Documentary Feature.

Projects with 50% or more of their financing originating in the United States must use a U.S. category. Projects with more than 50% of their financing originating outside the United States use an International category. The classification is based on financing origin rather than simply where the film was shot or produced.

Sundance Feature Premiere and Prior-Release Rules

U.S. Narrative and U.S. Documentary features must retain World Premiere status for open submission. A completed U.S. feature that is publicly exhibited at a festival or cinema, broadcast on television, released on home video or made available through a streaming or online platform before 1 February 2027 can lose eligibility.

International Narrative and International Documentary features must retain International Premiere status. A completed international feature may screen theatrically or at festivals only within its country or countries of origin before 1 February 2027 and remain eligible for open submission. A festival or theatrical screening outside the country of origin can make it ineligible. Public non-theatrical availability — including television, streaming, VOD or online release — is also a material eligibility issue and should be checked separately from the theatrical-premiere rule.

Completion Date, Rough Cuts and Subtitles

Feature-length projects completed before 1 January 2025 are not eligible for 2027 consideration. Sundance accepts rough cuts, but the submitted version should be complete enough for programmers to make a decision. An updated cut may be uploaded later, but the festival only guarantees that the first submitted version will be viewed.

Projects with substantial non-English dialogue must include on-screen English subtitles in the submission screener.

If Your Film Is Selected

Accepted feature-film teams are asked to move quickly on press and festival materials. Film stills and a director headshot may be required within 24–48 hours of acceptance, so those assets should be ready before notification.

For 2027, feature-film exhibition materials are due by 4 January 2027. Sundance requires DCP for in-person exhibition and a ProRes file for online screenings when applicable. Non-English-language films must also prepare standard English-subtitled and English SDH versions.

Before a Sundance Feature Submission

For Sundance, the correct feature route depends not only on whether the film is narrative or documentary, but also on financing origin, premiere status and where and how the film has already been made public. AD1 FILM can review those factors together, clarify the U.S. or International category fit, and prepare the screener and festival materials around the film’s actual submission position.