These are the lenses that shot 33 narrative feature films premiering at Sundance 2021. Most of the lenses are dedicated to cover Super 35 sensors. The list is characterized by unique pieces of glass (old lenses and vintages), which is what we’d expect from independent visionaries. Are the chosen lenses much different compared to last year’s festival?  Let’s see. 

The glass behind Sundance Film Festival

The lens is one of the most crucial and important factors being chosen to tell the story. Choosing the correct lens demands extensive research, as the choices are endless. Indeed, in this Sundance 2021’s lens survey, we explore a vast amount of lenses been used to shoot the selected films. The list is diverse and reminds us of Sundance 2020 lenses (Read: The Lenses Behind Sundance 2020: Cooke, Panavision, Angenieux, and a lot of Vintages). Let’s reveal the glass selection of the world’s best independent filmmakers.  

Note: This article focuses on Sundance 2021 lenses. Go here to read about Sundance 2021 cameras.

Sundance 2021: Films and lenses

This list shows the lenses used to shoot  33 narrative feature films premiering at this year’s festival (Sundance 2021). The data is based on the IndieWire cinematography survey (Check IndieWire’s article to read more about the creation process of those films). The chart is underneath this list.

1. Censor. DP: Annika Summerson. Lenses: Canon K-35
2. CODA. DP: Paula Huidobro. Lenses: ARRI Signature Primes
3. Coming Home in the Dark. DP: Matt Henley. Lenses: Zeiss Ultra Primes
4. Eight for Silver. DP: Sean Ellis. Lenses: Optica Elite Series-7 Anamorphic
5. El Planeta. DP: Carlos Rigo Bellver. Lenses: Leica R
6. Fire in the Mountains. DP: Dominique Colin. Lenses: Zeiss Ultra Primes
7. First Date. DP: Manuel Crosby. Lenses: Rokinon Cine DS Primes, Letus Anamorphx 1.8x
8. Hive. DP: Alex Bloom. Lenses: Cooke S4/i, Zeiss Super speed MK2.
9. Human Factors. DP: Klemens Hufnagl. Lenses: Cooke Speed Panchro, Leica-R
10. I Was a Simple Man. DP: Eunsoo Cho. Lenses: Cooke Speed Pancho
11. Jockey. DP: Adolpho Veloso. Lenses: Zeiss Superspeeds
12. John and the Hole. DP: Paul Özgür. Lenses:  Zeiss Supreme Primes
13. Judas and the Black Messiah. DP: Sean Bobbitt. Lenses: ARRI DNA
14. Knocking. DP: Hannes Krantz. Lesnes: Modify Contax
15. Luzzu. DP: Léo Lefèvre. Lenses: Zeiss MKI, Canon Zoom
16. Ma Belle, My Beauty. DP: Lauren Guiteras. Lenses: Panavision Ultra Speeds
17. Marvelous and the Black Hole. DP: Nanu Segal. Lenses: Xtal Xpress Anamorphics, Panavision Super Speed Sphericals
18. Mass. DP: Ryan Jackson-Healy. Lenses: Cooke Speed Panchros, Kowa Anamorphic.
19. Mayday. DP: Sam Levy. Lenses: Cooke SF Anamorphic Prime
20. Mother Schmuckers. DP: Sylvestre Vannoorenberghe. Lenses: Canon S16 zoom, Canon EF-S 18-135mm
21. One for the Road. DP: Phaklao Jiraungkoonkun. Lenses: ARRI​ Master​ Prime, ARRI​ Signature​ Prime
22. Passing. DP: Edu Grau. Lenses: Lomo Anamorphic
23. Pleasure. DP: Sophie Winqvist Loggins. Lenses: Cooke S4/i
24. Prime Time. DP: Michał Łuka. Lenses: Panavision Primo
25. Prisoners of the Ghostland. DP: Sohei Tanikawa. Lenses: ARRI Ultra Prime
26. R#J. DP: Diego Madrigal. Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed, Cooke Anamorphic, Angenieux Zoom
27. Son of Monarchs. DP: Alejandro Mejía. Lenses: Lomo Anamorphic
28. Strawberry Mansion. DP: Tyler Davis. Lenses:  Zeiss Super Speed
29. Superior. DP: Mia Cioffi Henry. Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed Prime
30. Together Together. DP: Frank Barrera. Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed Prime
31. Violation. DP: Adam Crosby. Lenses: Zeiss Super Speeds
32. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. DP: Daniel Patrick Carbone. Lenses: Canon Vixia HF R800, Zeiss Superspeed (16mm format), Canon 8-65mm, and 11-165mm zooms
33. Wild Indian. DP: Eli Born. Lenses: Cooke Anamorphic

Lenses chart of Sundance 2021

Explore the chart below based on that data (Credit: Y.M.Cinema Magazine):

Insights

It seems that again, the “Cooke Look” is preferred by independent filmmakers, as it was in Sundance 2020. Other dominant manufacturers are Zeiss, ARRI, Panavision, and Canon. Moreover, it’s interesting to reveal that Super 35 is still the chosen format among indie productions. Indeed, as we saw in the Camera Chart, large-format sensors were a minority, compared to Super 35, which is the most traditional way for movie making, especially in the midst of independent visionaries.