It was unfortunate that the Sundance Film Festival — a favorite annual event for me when I lived in my native Utah — had to be so radically altered because of the pandemic. However, it was so wonderful that the organizers created ways to share the festival around the country, digitally and in theaters. One of the satellite locations this year was Columbia, South Carolina, my home since 2007. When I learned that I could attend Sundance here I was very excited, but as I was about to buy tickets I decided that even with all of the precautions in place I couldn’t risk it. (South Carolina seems to be competing to see if it can be the state to handle the COVID pandemic the worst.)
However, I hope that this idea will continue in the future. Ideally, Sundance will be back at full strength in Park City and Salt Lake City next year. And I hope those of us around the country will also be able to get a taste of the festival experience in our local theaters!
Christian K. Anderson, Columbia, SC