What does the indie film market look like in the wake of Hollywood strikes and a pandemic?

A lot of indie filmmakers are making movies meant to be seen in theaters, but that market doesn't necessarily exist anymore at Sundance, says Variety film critic Peter Debruge. Mat Hayward/Getty Images

The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, ends this Sunday. It is a marketplace for independent film, with moviemakers trying to find buyers. This year, they're pitching a movie industry that's still reeling from two major strikes and is working to find its footing in the wake of the pandemic.

Josh Braun has nine documentaries premiering at Sundance this year. He runs Submarine, a sales, production and distribution company.

He says last year the appetite for docs at the festival was kind of muted, but this year, "the marketplace is starting to get a pulse."

"You just don't know till you get there, screen the films and see the reaction," he said.

Braun said he tries to be strategic about approaching buyers — that includes streaming companies, networks, and other movie distributors.

He looks at whether outlets have holes in their schedules. He also keeps an eye on which companies are announcing giant increases in subscribers, or are having layoffs and might not have big budgets. 

"Every company goes through whatever they're going through. And we just sort of go for where the money is," he said.

Also, he tries to have a realistic talk with each of his filmmakers about whether their movie could bring people into theaters, or if it might find its audience on the small screen instead.

Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente said sales at the festival so far are on pace with last year, including some big deals.

"I think there's still an appetite for that," she said. "And some people are coming in with those big numbers."

She points to Netflix's purchase of the horror movie "It's What's Inside" for a reported $17 million.

And Vicente said buyers are putting a lot of thought into how much they spend. 

"There's also a little bit of, what are the realistic projections of how will the film perform?" he said.

These days a lot of the people who like watching independent films like watching them at home in their PJs. 

"The theatrical side of things is not there, like it was before," said Peter Debruge, chief film critic for Variety. And by "before," he means prior to the pandemic.

He says a lot of indie filmmakers are still making their movies with the idea that they'll be seen at the movies. 

"And that's not necessarily the market that exists anymore at Sundance," he said.

Still, independent films are having a moment, said Comscore media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. 

"They've never been more important, ever," he said.

Audiences are hungry for films that don't feature superheroes or have a roman numeral at the end of their titles, Dergarabedian said. And lots of these independent filmmakers are looking to have their movies submitted for awards. 

"The currency of quality in that case is more important than dollars and cents," he said.

A lot of these films will have a second life once they reach the small screens, though of course, he said, the best possible outcome is to be critically acclaimed, popular, and profitable.

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