• by Tanya Gazdik , January 17, 2023

Honda Motor Co.’s Acura brand is planning its largest-ever Sundance Film Festival presence.

The luxury and performance division of the Japanese automaker is expanding its support of the indie film community at the festival, which runs Jan. 20-23. 

Reflecting its heritage as a challenger brand, its goal is to lift up independent artists and underrepresented voices in film, according to the automaker. 

Acura’s Sundance footprint includes two venues, the Acura Festival Village and the new, interactive Acura Energy Lab, which features day-to-night entertainment programming.

The brand will host Sundance panels with partners including the NAACP, The Latinx House, Outfest, Prime Video/IMDb, The Wall Street Journal and Latino Filmmakers Network.

The MDX and MDX Type S SUVs will serve as the official vehicles of the Festival, with more than 100 Acura SUVs  transporting Festival participants around its venues.

The Acura Energy Lab will feature Acura’s just-debuted "New World. Same Energy” brand marketing campaign. Guests there will also experience an interactive installation by Mattaniah Aytenfsu, a design engineer featured as a performance driver in the new campaign. 

Acura also is a 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.