Slamdance was created in 1995 after the founders had trouble getting their films into the Sundance Film Festival.
The two festivals are both in late January in Park City. While Sundance has venues spread around town, Slamdance contains itself to the Treasure Mountain Inn at the top of Main Street.
Slamdance focuses on lower-budget independent films from emerging artists, and calls itself “anti-algorithm.”
Movies selected must be directorial debuts with no U.S. distribution and a budget under $1 million.
Notable festival alumni include "Parasite" director Bong Joon Ho, “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan, and Ari Aster, director of "Midsommar" and "Hereditary."
Slamdance is scheduled from Jan. 19 - 25 with an online version of the festival from Jan. 22 - 28.
Slamdance films usually do not feature big budget stars like Sundance premieres and tickets are much cheaper.
An all-access pass, which gets you into every screening, panel, and happy hour event, costs $250.
Students and locals can get the pass for half the cost at $125. A virtual pass is $50.
Each pass option includes a free annual subscription to the Slamdance Channel, an online streaming platform with films from the festival.
Slamdance will also be hosting its ‘Unstoppable’ program for the fourth straight year at the University of Utah from Jan. 22 - 24. The Unstoppable program features filmmakers with visible and non-visible disabilities. All screenings are free.
The film lineup for the 2024 festival has yet to be announced. Complete details about Slamdance and tickets are available at slamdance.com.
