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Sundance Film Festival to continue as planned despite LA wildfires chaos: 'We may mourn, but it's important to carry on'
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival is not being cancelled or postponed on account of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Even as many Hollywood events are being postponed and cancelled due to the ongoing fires in the Los Angeles area, the Sundance Film Festival is still planning to move forward with the 11-day event next week in Park City, Utah. (Also read: Oscars 2025 may get cancelled for the first time in 96 years due to LA wildfires: Report)
Sundance Film Festival not postponed
In a letter Monday to registrants from Southern California, the Institute’s CEO Amanda Kelso and festival director Eugene Hernandez wrote, “we may mourn, but we also know it is important to carry on.” Those who received the letter were also invited to share more about how they’ve been affected by the fires.
Michelle Satter, a founding director of the Sundance Institute and its artists programs, wrote on social media last week that she lost her home in the Palisades fire. Satter is among those being honoured at the festival’s opening gala on Jan. 24.
Sundance is not the only big event in the American entertainment calendar that is proceeding as planned. Music's biggest awards, The Grammys, would also proceed as planned, and would air on television, organizers said Monday.
Oscars may be cancelled for the first time in 96 years
However, the Oscars are facing the risk of cancellation for the first time in 96 years. Already, the body that awards the Oscars announced that it was cancelling its ritzy nominees' luncheon. Now, the awards themselves may not be held this year, reports have said. An insider told the Sun, “The board’s main concern at this time is not to appear as if they are celebrating while many Angelenos are dealing with heartbreak and unimaginable loss. Even if the fires were to subside in the next week, the reality is that the city is still hurting and will continue to deal with that pain for months. Therefore, the hierarchy has decided that the focus will shift toward support and fundraising when the right opportunities present themselves.”
The LA wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes, and 24 people have died as a result of the fires. More are reported missing, and officials expect that number to increase. Stars including Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson and Billy Crystal lost their homes to the fires, and production was halted for TV and film.
(With AP inputs)
