Acura Expands Support of Indie Film Community at Sundance Film Festival; Announces Schedule of Sundance Programming Jan 20 – 23

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January 18, 2023

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Acura offers largest-ever Sundance presence to lift up independent artists and underrepresented voices in film
2023 Acura Sundance footprint includes two venues – Acura Festival Village and new, interactive Acura Energy Lab – packed with day-to-night entertainment programming
Acura Sundance film partnerships include Ben Platt’s upcoming Theater Camp and Going Varsity in Mariachi
Acura to host highly anticipated Sundance panels with partners including the NAACP, The Latinx House, Outfest, Prime Video/IMDb, Wall Street Journal and Latino Filmmakers Network
Acura’s full lineup of Precision Crafted Performance vehicles will be on display throughout Sundance with MDX and MDX Type S SUVs serving as the Official Vehicle of the Festival
R&B Pop duo Emotional Oranges to headline Acura Energy Stage with musical performance Friday, Jan 20

TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Reflecting its heritage as a challenger brand, Acura is headed to Park City as the Official Vehicle and Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival committed to supporting emerging artists and underrepresented voices in film. The brand’s efforts will be brought to life through engaging programming partnerships and the independent spirit of Sundance’s filmmakers whose innovative thinking and power of imaginative storytelling will be on full display. This year, Acura is showcasing its dedication to highlighting like-minded organizations such as the NAACP, The Latinx House, Outfest, the Latino Filmmaker’s Network and a DEI panel discussion with Prime Video/IMDb, by providing a platform for creative partners to shine a light on important initiatives.

Acura MDX is the Official Vehicle of the Sundance Film Festival

2023 Acura Sundance Film Festival Programming Highlights

For 2023, Acura’s Festival footprint now includes two venues, offering day-to-night engaging entertainment programming. The Acura Festival Village and the new, interactive Acura Energy Lab will host interviews, panels and premiere parties with A-list actors, writers and directors; and feature live music performances. Guests will also get to experience Acura’s just-debuted New World. Same Energy brand marketing campaign – a fast-paced journey across the Acura multiverse highlighting their Precision Crafted Performance lineup and all-electric future at both venues. Additionally, R&B sensation, Emotional Oranges, will headline The Acura Energy Stage on Friday, January 20th, and Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas will also DJ a special program that same evening. Miami’s DJ Cardi will be treating festival-goers to live music throughout the first weekend as Acura’s resident DJ.

As Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the 2023 MDX and MDX Type S performance SUVs will serve as Official Vehicle of the Festival. More than 100 Acura SUVs will transport filmmakers, talent, festival jurors and Sundance Institute staff around the Festival. In addition, Acura’s full performance lineup will be on display throughout Park City, including the all-electric Acura Precision EV Concept that previews the styling of the zero-emissions 2024 Acura ZDX and ZDX Type S, all-new 2023 Integra sport compact, and Type S models, including the TLX Type S PMC Edition. 2023 marks 13 consecutive years for Acura as Official Vehicle and Presenting Sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival.

Where to Find Acura at Sundance

At the Acura Energy Stage within the Acura Festival Village, guests will be treated to live music, DJs and refreshments from 4 to 6 p.m. daily, courtesy of White Claw. Artists, filmmakers and festival-goers will experience digital installations and enjoy hot beverages to warm up from 12 to 6 p.m., courtesy of Acura. The brand’s new second location, the Acura Energy Lab, is a visually charged experience featuring Acura’s New World. Same Energy. brand marketing campaign and includes a unique interactive installation by Mattaniah Aytenfsu (@muhtanya), a viral design engineer who mixes art with technology, who is featured as a performance driver in Acura’s new campaign. Refreshments from 4 to 6 p.m. will be available daily, courtesy of Rabbit Hole Distillery.

This year, Acura is once again hosting The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village where IMDb will capture exclusive interviews with leading actors, writers and directors that will serve as the cornerstone of IMDb’s Sundance Film Festival coverage.

Acura also is a proud sponsor of the U.S. Dramatic & U.S. Documentary Audience Awards and The Vanguard Awards honoring filmmakers who have displayed excellence in their respective categories.

The Acura Festival Village is located on Swede Alley at 5th St. (480 Swede Alley). Public hours: Friday, January 20 through Monday, January 23 from 12 to 6pm (subject to change). The Acura Energy Lab will be located at 364 Main Street and is open to the public from 12 to 6pm (subject to change).

2023 Schedule of Acura Sundance Programming

Friday, January 20

10am – 4pm – INVITE ONLY – The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village
Doors Open @ 12pm (Acura Festival Village & Acura Energy Lab)
2:30 – 3:30pm – IMDb & Prime Video “Authentically Successful” Panel (Acura Festival Village)

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.

4 – 6pm – PRIVATE IMDb & Prime Video Networking Event (Acura Energy Lab)

Following the Authentically Successful panel at Acura Festival Village, Acura will host Prime Video, IMDb and participating organizations for a private networking event at the Energy Lab.

4 – 6pm – Acura Hours (Acura Energy Stage)

Open to the public, Acura Hours provide Festival attendees with a place to recharge and connect with fellow festival-goers. Guests will be treated to live music from Acura’s resident performer, DJ Cardi, and refreshments, courtesy of White Claw.

7:30 – 10pm – Adrian Quesada DJ Set and Emotional Oranges Headline Music Concert (Acura Energy Stage @ Acura Festival Village)
11pm – 4am – INVITE ONLY – TAO Park City with special performance by Diplo

As the Official Vehicle of TAO Park City, Acura will shuttle VIP attendees to Tao Group Hospitality’s annual afterparty.

Saturday, January 21

10am – 4pm – INVITE ONLY – The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village
Doors Open @ 12pm (Acura Festival Village & Acura Energy Lab)
12 – 3pm – The Outfest Outpost at Acura Festival Village (Acura Festival Village)

12 – 1:15pm: Reception, Welcome and Introductions with Outfest Board and Staff
1:15 – 1:30pm: Fireside Chat Featuring Readyset X D. Smith “Subverting Marginalization: How We Tell Our Own Stories”

Speakers include: Ready Set CEO, Y-Vonne Hutchinson and two-time Grammy-nominated music producer D. Smith

1:30 – 2:15pm: Panel – The Road to Abundance: From Sundance and Outfest to the Oscars

Moderated by Martine McDonald, Outfest Director of Artist Development and panelists including: Dania Bdeir, Warsha; Jen Rainin, Holding Moses; Chester Algernal Gordon, The Inspection; Zackary Drucker, The Stroll; Roger Ross Williams, Cassandro; and Saim Sadiq, Joyland

2:15 – 2:55pm: Outfest LGBTQIA+ Actors Roundtable

Speakers include: Zoe Terakes, Talk to Me; Lio Mehiel, Mutt; Travina Springer, To Live and Die and Live; and more to be announced.

4 – 6pm – Acura Hours (Acura Energy Lab)

Open to the public, Acura Hours provide Festival attendees with a place to recharge and connect with fellow festival-goers. Guests will be treated to live music from Acura’s resident performer, DJ Cardi, and refreshments, courtesy of Rabbit Hole Distillery (Acura Energy Lab).

6 – 8pm – PRIVATE Theater Camp Premiere Party (Acura Festival Village)

Acura will host the Official Premiere Party for Theater Camp, the new film from Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman that follows the eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York. Produced by PictureStart, Topic Studios and Gloria Sanchez Productions.

11pm – 4am – INVITE ONLY – TAO Park City with special performance by Mel Debarge and Rachel Winters

As the Official Vehicle of TAO Park City, Acura will shuttle VIP attendees to Tao Group Hospitality’s annual afterparty.

Sunday, January 22

10am – 4pm – INVITE ONLY – The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village
Doors Open @ 12pm (Acura Festival Village & Acura Energy Lab)
1:30 – 3pm – PRIVATE WSJ Panel & Networking Event (Acura Energy Lab)

The Environmentalism On Screen panel discussion will feature a conversation with The Wall Street Journal’s Entertainment Reporter Erich Schwartzel; Matthieu Rytz, Director of the documentary Deep Rising; and Elaine McMillion Sheldon, director of the documentary King Coal, whose work explores the theme of preservation and how the world reckons with the future of energy.

4 – 6pm – Acura Hours (Acura Energy Lab)

Open to the public, Acura Hours provide Festival attendees with a place to recharge and connect with fellow festival-goers. Guests will be treated to live music from Acura’s resident performer, DJ Cardi, and refreshments, courtesy of Rabbit Hole Distillery.

4 – 6pm – PRIVATE – The Latinx House Presents Going Varsity in Mariachi Premiere Party (Acura Festival Village)

Acura will host the Official Premiere Party for Going Varsity in Mariachi, presented by The Latinx House. In a South Texas high school auditorium, trumpets ring out, thick guitarrón strings thrum, and violin bow hairs snap and swing wildly through the air. This is the world of competitive scholastic mariachi. Produced by James Lawler and Julia Pontecorvo (Osmosis Films), and Luis A. Miranda, Jr. (Embeleco Unlimited).

Monday, January 23

10am – 4pm – INVITE ONLY – The IMDb Studio at Acura Festival Village
Doors Open @ 12pm (Acura Festival Village & Acura Energy Lab)
12 – 1pm – NAACP Black Equity in Mainstream Media Panel (Acura Festival Village)

The panel will focus on the cultural contributions generated by the Black community and explore whether the originators of such valuable assets possess a stakeholder interest in the commercial outcomes derived from their “mainstream” exploitation. Moderated by Kyle Bowser, Senior Vice President NAACP Hollywood Bureau, panelists include: Trovon Williams, Senior Vice President Marketing & Communications, NAACP; Kenya Parham, Cultural Strategist, The Legacy Firm, Inc.; and Brian Walker, CEO of Picture Motion.

2 – 4pm – Latino Filmmakers Network Panels (Acura Festival Village)

2 – 2:45pm Our Road to the Sundance Film Festival

A candid conversation celebrating some of the Filmmakers and their films playing at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. This panel will inspire you to get your projects going, no matter the obstacles.

3 – 4pm Funding and Distribution for Your Films

An insightful panel discussion with industry professionals, about the sources of funding and distribution paths for independent films in the 21st century.

4:30 – 7pm – Acura Hours (Acura Energy Stage)

Open to the public, Acura Hours provide Festival attendees with a place to recharge and connect with fellow festival-goers. Guests will be treated to live music from Acura’s resident performer, DJ Cardi, and refreshments, courtesy of White Claw.

Tuesday, January 24

6:30 – 9pm – PRIVATE – Sundance Film Festival Feature Film Competition Celebration (Acura Festival Village)

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.