We’ve collected the data regarding the lenses been used on Sundance Film Festival 2020 films to try and find a new trend and/or intriguing conclusions. First, Cooke is killing it. Second, we’re pleased to see a decent amount of rare vintage glass. Check out the data below. 

Cooke, Panavision, Angenieux, Zeiss, and ARRI

The leading manufacturers are shown in the table above. Cooke and Panavision dominate the list, together with Angenieux as the ultimate zoom solution for Sundance’s candidates. However, it’s interesting to explore some old and rare gems on the list, like the Canon K-35, vintage Cookes, and more. Check out the complete list below. The data was collected from the IndieWire survey based on the 55 films in the festival’s Dramatic Competition, Premieres, NEXT, and Midnight sections. To learn more about the making of the films from the DP and director points of view, go to IndieWire’s detailed article. In case you are curious about the cameras behind those films, check out our article: The Cameras Behind Sundance 2020: ALEXA Mini, SONY Venice, and RED Helium.

Here is the list of the Films, directors, DPs, and lenses: 

1. “Blast Beat”- Dir: Esteban Arango, DoP: Ed Wu- Lens: Lomo Anamorphic Round
2. “Charm City Kings”- Dir: Angel Manuel Soto, DoP: Katelin Arizmendi- Lens: Panavision Ultra and Super Speeds
3. “Dinner In America”- Dir: Adam Carter Rehmeier, DoP: Jean-Philippe Bernier- Lens: Cooke Anamorphic/i
4. “The Evening Hour”- Dir: Braden King, DoP: Declan Quinn- Lens: Super Baltar Lenses
5. “Farewell Amor”- Dir: Ekwa Msangi, DoP: Bruce Francis Cole- Lens: Panavision Primos, Cooke Panchros
6. “Minari”- Dir: Lee Isaac Chung, DoP: Lachlan Milne- Lens: Panavision P Vintage prime lenses
7. “Miss Juneteenth”- Dir: Channing Godfrey Peoples, DoP: Daniel Patterson- Lens: Angenieux 12 to 1 zoom-
8. “Palm Spring”- Dir: Max Barbakow, DoP: Quyen Tran- Lens: Panavision T Series Anamorphics
9. “Save Yourselves!”- Dir: Alex Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, DoP: Matt Clegg- Lens: Panavision Primos, 19-90, 24-275 Primo Zooms
10. “Shirley“- Dir: Josephine Decker, DoP: Sturla Brandth Grøvlen- Lens: Bausch&Laumb Super Baltar Primes, Angieneux 24-290 Optimo
11. “Sylvie’s Love”- Dir: Eugene Ashe, DoP: Declan Quinn- Lens: ARRI 16mm Ultra Primes
12. “Wander Darkly”- Dir: Tara Miele, DoP: Carolina Costa- Lens: Speed Panchros- rehoused at Panavision
13. “Zola”- Dir: Janicza Bravo, DoP: Ari Wegner- Lenses: Zeiss Super Speeds
14. “Dream Horse”- Dir: Euros Lyn, DoP: Erik Alexander Wilson- Lens: Panavision T series
15. “The Father”- Dir: Florian Zeller, DoP: Ben Smithard- Lens: Zeiss Supreme
16. “Four Good Days”- Dir: Rodrigo Garcia, DoP: Igor Jadue-Lillo- Lens: Cooke Anamorphic
17. “The Glorias”- Dir: Julie Taymor, DoP: Rodrigo Prieto- Lens: H Series spherical lenses and Primo Zooms
18. “Herself”- Dir: Phyllida Lloyd, DoP: Tom Comerford- Lens: ARRI Master Anamorphic
19. “Horse Girl”- Dir: Jeff Baena, DoP: Sean McElwee- Lens: Angenieux Optimo 24-290 and Cooke S5’s
20. “Kajillionaire”- Dir: Miranda July, DoP: Sebastian Wintero- Lens: Panavision anamorphic C-series
21. “The Last Shift”- Dir: Andrew Cohn, DoP: W. Mott Hupfel III- Lens: Zeiss Supreme primes
22. “Lost Girls”- Dir: Liz Garbus, DoP: Igor Martinovic- Lens: Vintage Leica R
23. “The Nest”- Dir: Sean Durkin, DoP: Matyas Erdely- Lens: Cooke S4, Angenieux 24-290
24. “Promising Young Woman”- Dir: Emerald Fennell, DoP: Benjamin Kracun – Lens: Panavision G-Series Anamorphic
25. “Sergio”- Dir: Greg Barker, DoP: Adrian Teijido- Lens: Leicas Summicron
26. “Tesla”- Dir: Michael Almereyda, DoP: Sean Price Williams- Lens: Super Baltar
27. “Uncle Frank”- Dir: Alan Ball, DoP: Khalid Mohtaseb- Lens: Hawk C-series and rehoused lomo square fronts
28. “Wendy”- Dir: Benh Zeitlin, DoP: Sturla Brandth Grøvlen- Lens: ARRI Ultra 16 Primes
29. “Worth”- Dir: Sara Colangelo, DoP: Pepe Avila del Pino- Lens: Cooke Anamorphic
30. “Amulet”- Dir: Romola Garai, DoP: Laura Bellingham- Lens: Cooke Speed Panchros for present-day and Zeiss Super Speeds for the flashback sequences.
31. “Bad Hair”- Dir: Justin Simien, DoP: Topher Osborn- Lens: Super 16mm ARRI Ultra Primes
32. “Impetigore”- Dir: Joko Anwar, DoP: Ical Tanjung- Lens: Zeiss Superspeed set (18-135mm)
33. “Relic”- Dir: Natalie Erika James, DoP: Charlie Sarroff- Lens: Cooke S4
34. “The Night House”- Dir: David Bruckner, DoP: Elisha Christian- Lens: Cooke S5i primes, Angenieux zooms
35. “The Nowhere Inn”- Dir: Bill Benz, DoP: Minka Farthing-Kohl- Lens: Various Panavision Anamorphic, Panavision Primos, Zeiss Super Speed (S16) Lenses, Canon 6.6-66 T2.7
36. “Scare Me”- Dir: Josh Ruben, DoP: Brendan H. Banks- Lens: Modified Canon FDn Primes
37. “Black Bear”- – Dir: Lawrence Levine, DoP: Robert Leitzell – Lens: Cooke Speed Panchros
38. “I Carry You With Me”- Dir: Heidi Ewing, DoP: Juan Pablo Ramírez- Lens: Cooke Panchro iClassic & super Baltar & 25-250 vintage Cooke zoom
39. “The Killing of Two Lovers”- Dir: Robert Machoian, DoP: Oscar Ignacio Jiménez- Lens: Cooke S4 (40,50,75)
40. “La Leyenda Negra”- Dir: Patrica Delgado, DoP: Matt Maio- Lens: Cooke S4 Minis
41. “The Mountains Are A Dream That Call To Me”- Dir: Cedric Cheung Lau, DoP: Jake Magee- Lens: Zeiss super speed primes, Panavision and Leica zooms
42. “Omniboat”- Dir: Lucas Leyva, DoP: Daniel Fernandez- Lens: ARRI Ultra Primes, Angenieux 24-290 & Nikkor 600mm
43. “Some Kind of Heaven”- Dir: Lance Oppenheim, DoP: David Bolen- Lens: 16-40 Angenieux Zoom
44. “Summertime”- Dir: Carlos Lopez Estrada, DoP: John Schmidt- Lens: Panavision Ultra Speeds and various Zooms
45. “Charter”- Dir: Amanda Kernell, DoP: Sophia Olsson- Lens: Cooke Anamorphic
46. “Exil”- Dir: Visar Morina, DoP: Matteo Cocco- Lens: Cooke Anamorphic
47. “High Tide”- Dir: Verónica Chen, DoP: Fernando Lockett- Lens: Leica Summicron-C Prime lenses set
48. “Identifying Features”- Dir: Fernanda Valadez, DoP: Claudia Becerril Bulos- Lens: Minolta Rokkor MC
49. “Jumbo”- Dir: Zoé Wittock, DoP: Thomas Buelens- Lens: Panavision C-series anamorphic
50. “Luxor”- Dir: Zeina Durra, DoP: Zelmira Gainza- Lens: Zeiss Super Speeds T1.3
51. “Possessor”- Dir: Brandon Cronenberg, DoP: Karim Hussain- Lens: Canon K-35 Primes, Vintage 70’s Angenieux 25-250 Zoom, 24mm Laowa Macro Probe, 90mm Macro Kilar Vintage
52. “Summer White”- Dir: Rodrigo Ruiz Patterson, DoP: María Sarasvati Herrera- Lens: Zeiss High-Speed lenses
53. “Surge”- Lens: TLS Rehoused K35s, Optimo Angenieux 24-290mm zoom, Canon 50-1500mm zoom
54. “This Is Not A Burial. It’s A Resurrection”- Dir: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, DoP: Pierre de Villiers C- Lens: S2 Panchro Spherical Lens Set & 25-100 T3 Cooke Classic Zoom Lens
55. “Yalta, a Night of Forgiveness”- Dir: Massoud Bakhshi, DoP: Julian Atanassov- Lens: Master Primes/ Cooke CXX 15-40 T2/Cooke 25-250/Optimo 24-290

Sundance 2020 Lenses chart

Examine the chart below, based on this data. There are a lot of lenses in the chart, so press the image to get to the larger view to explore the name and glass much more easily. Credit: Y.M.Cinema Magazine. Press here for the Sundance 2020 Cameras Chart.