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With the Sundance Film Festival right around the corner, excitement for the event is building across campus. At the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, lecturer Matthew Pickard (PhDMediaSt’24) is bringing that excitement into the classroom through a special topics course in film festivals.Ìý

We sat down with Pickard to learn more about the class—which is offered to first-year students living in CommRAP, CMDI’s residential academic community— and to hear his thoughts on Sundance’s move to Boulder.Ìý

Responses edited for length and clarity.

ÌýÌýTell me more about the course.

We’re looking at the ecosystem that follows film festivals—everything from programming, exhibitions, marketing and distribution. We’re watching independent and international films, too, and talking about them from an aesthetic standpoint.Ìý

ÌýÌýWhoa, their Letterboxd logs must be insane! How about your top three movie recommendations?Ìý

Real Women Have Curves,ÌýIn the Mood for Love andÌýBacurau. Those are some of the ones we watch in class, but later in the semester, I let the students pick films from different distributors, as opposed to just assigning them.

ÌýÌýWhat are students curious about?

Mostly about what Sundance is going to look like in Boulder and what it’s going to do to the town. They’re curious about the types of films and whether or not they’re going to see celebrities around campus.

ÌýÌýI hope we do! Your thoughts on Sundance, year one.Ìý

There’s going to be some growing pains. I think we’ll learn some things and then shift and change it as we go, but I think it’ll go smoothly.Ìý

ÌýÌýWhat do you want students to get out of your class?Ìý

I hope they’re taking away the importance of film festivals from an economic and industrial standpoint. I want students to be excited about Sundance, and not be afraid to engage with it.Ìý

ÌýÌýWhat opportunities does Sundance represent for the college as a whole?Ìý

It offers us the ability to sort of stand out a little bit, as far as our media studies program. Yes, we’re reading theories, watching films, learning about global markets and things like that, but it’s important to actually see it in practice.Ìý

Iris Serrano graduated from CMDI in 2026 with degrees in journalism and strategic communication. She covers student news and events for the college.