IMDb Brings Coverage of the Sundance Film Festival Experience to Entertainment Fans Across the Globe
IMDb coverage of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival includes a celebrity portrait studio, video interviews with top stars and filmmakers, and an IMDb STARmeter Award presentation to Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly
Sundance Institute’s “Opening Night: A Taste of Sundance Presented by IMDbPro” to honor Luca Guadagnino, Ryan Coogler, W. Kamau Bell, and Nikyatu Jusu
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, will feature exclusive, on-the-ground coverage of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival across the IMDb site, apps, and social channels, offering hundreds of millions of entertainment fans around the world an inside peek at the biggest news, titles, and stars in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, Utah. As an official festival sponsor, IMDb will produce exclusive celebrity portraits and interviews with leading actors, writers, and directors of titles including Bad Behaviour, Cat Person, Fairyland, Flora and Son, Magazine Dreams, and Theater Camp in The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village on January 20-23.
IMDbPro (www.imdbpro.com), the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals, is the presenting sponsor of Sundance Institute’s “Opening Night: A Taste of Sundance Presented by IMDbPro” celebration on January 19. Hosted on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival, the event will celebrate the Sundance Institute and artists changing the face of independent cinema. Honorees include Luca Guadagnino (Bones and All), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny), and W. Kamau Bell (We Need to Talk About Cosby). “A Taste of Sundance” will raise crucial funds for the essential work Sundance Institute does year-round, including grants, mentorships, critical resources, and hosting the festival.
At The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village—open January 20-23—celebrity photographer Corey Nickols will capture exclusive photos and slow-motion videos with casts and filmmakers in the IMDb portrait studio. IMDb will also produce original video interviews with select casts in the custom video studio. Coverage will be featured on the IMDb site, apps, and social channels, reaching hundreds of millions of entertainment fans around the world. IMDb customers can add their most anticipated festival titles to their IMDb Watchlist to be notified when they’re available in theaters or streaming. Access to The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village is by invitation only.
Additionally, IMDb will present a “Fan Favorite” STARmeter Award to Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly. Connelly will star as Lucy in the upcoming film Bad Behaviour, debuting at the festival, and most recently dazzled fans as Penny Benjamin in the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick (recently ranked as one of the IMDb Top Movies of the year). IMDb STARmeter Awards recognize the most popular stars on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart, which is determined by the actual page views of the more than 200 million fans who visit IMDb every month. Connelly consistently trends on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart and recently ranked as the #40 most popular star of 2022. Previous IMDb STARmeter Award recipients at the Sundance Film Festival include Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Braun, Mindy Kaling, Bill Skarsgård, and Peter Dinklage. Learn more about IMDb STARmeter Awards at imdb.com/starmeterawards.
“The Sundance Film Festival is renowned for its legacy of discovering the boldest and brightest new stars and stories, and we are thrilled to amplify this work by bringing exclusive coverage of the festival to hundreds of millions of fans around the world on IMDb,” said Col Needham, founder and CEO of IMDb. “We look forward to connecting with professionals at ‘Opening Night: A Taste of Sundance Presented by IMDbPro,’ and offering premium experiences and opportunities for them to promote their work in The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village.”
On January 20, at 2:30 p.m. MST, IMDb and Prime Video will host the “Authentically Successful” panel, featuring a discussion between community leaders who are paving the way for authentic and inclusive productions. Panelists include Alex Schmider, director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD; Andria Wilson Mirza, director of ReFrame; Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative; Kyle Bowser, senior vice president of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau; and Nic Novicki, founder of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. The panel will be moderated by Latasha Gillespie, global head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility for Amazon Studios and Prime Video, with an introduction from Nikki Santoro, chief operating officer of IMDb. This event takes place at the Acura Energy Stage at Acura Festival Village at 480 Swede Alley and is open to the public.
During the festival, fans can see exclusive IMDb interviews and photo galleries at imdb.com/sundance and on IMDb social media channels including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. IMDb will also share an exclusive peek into all of the behind-the-scenes action from The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village, available by following #IMDbStudio.
IMDbPro members on the standard plan can quickly and easily access detailed information about Sundance Film Festival movies, filmmakers, cast, and crew. IMDbPro standard membership includes the following: detailed contact and representation information; tools for members to manage and showcase their IMDb profile, including selecting their primary images and the credits they are best “known for”; exclusive STARmeter rankings determined by page views on IMDb; the IMDbPro app for iPhone, iPad, and Android; IMDbPro Track, which empowers members to receive personalized entertainment industry news and notifications on the people and film and TV projects they want to follow; and a convenient feature that generates custom digital assets to promote their work on social media and other platforms. IMDbPro also offers a free membership plan with features for professionals to self-identify and manage the display of information about themselves and their careers on IMDb and IMDbPro and limited access to industry news, research, and cast and crew notices. Join IMDbPro today at www.imdbpro.com.
About IMDb
IMDb is the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities. Products and services to help fans decide what to watch and where to watch it include: the IMDb website for desktop and mobile devices; apps for iOS and Android; and X-Ray on Prime Video. IMDb also produces IMDb original video series and podcasts. For entertainment industry professionals, IMDb provides IMDbPro and Box Office Mojo. IMDb licenses information from its vast and authoritative database to third-party businesses worldwide; learn more at developer.imdb.com. IMDb is an Amazon company. For more information, visit imdb.com/press and follow @IMDb.
About Acura
Acura is a leading automotive nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to expressive styling, high-performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. The Acura lineup currently features four distinctive models – the next-gen Integra sport compact, TLX sport sedan, the RDX and MDX sport-utility vehicles, along with high-performance Type S variants. Acura’s first all-electric model will be an SUV, the ZDX and ZDX Type S, and will arrive in 2024. All Acura vehicles sold in America are made in the U.S., using domestic and globally sourced parts.
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