In normal years, the Sundance Film Festival kicks off in late January with Hollywood's award season already in full swing.

Producers, stars and journalists meet in the spectacular Utah mountains to swap last-minute Oscar tips, and catch a first glimpse of the upcoming batch of contenders.

However, due to the pandemic, everything has been turned upside-down.

Indie film extravaganza Sundance, beginning Thursday, will take place largely online.

And with the Oscars delayed to their latest-ever date - April 25 - several top contenders have not been released or even screened for critics yet, meaning Sundance could play an outsized role in the awards conversation.

"It certainly became apparent that 'oh, this is new, we're going to be in the awards window,'" Sundance festival head Tabitha Jackson told AFP.

Warner Bros has set a Sundance world premiere for its much-hyped Judas and the Black Messiah, with Daniel Kaluuya's turn as the young, tragic Black Panther leader Fred Hampton hotly tipped for recognition.

Others that could contend are wilderness drama Land, the directorial debut from the House of Cards star Robin Wright, and period romance The World To Come, produced by and co-starring Casey Affleck.

"In one sense it's a short runway [to the Oscars], but in the other there's still uncertainty about what 2021 is going to look like" for movie releases, said Jackson in December 2020.

"So I'll be interested to see how people choose to use that window."

Even beyond Sundance, indie films appear poised for a landmark year at various delayed awards including the Golden Globes - which would ordinarily have taken place by now, but are yet to even announce nominations.

With the majority of US theaters closed by coronavirus, studios have repeatedly pushed back the releases of their biggest, most expensive movies.

Presumed big-budget Oscars frontrunners including Dune have missed the award window, while this week's latest pandemic domino effect saw James Bond film No Time To Die and Sony comic book spinoff Morbius push back their releases.

In fact, with several major 2020 film festivals scrapped or curtailed, bizarrely Sundance hits may end up contending with front-runners that debuted at the very same festival in 2020.

These include Anthony Hopkins' harrowing dementia drama The Father and #MeToo revenge thriller Promising Young Woman starring Carey Mulligan.

Also in the mix from the previous Sundance are Minari, a Korean-American family portrait hoping to emulate 2020's best picture Parasite, and documentaries Boys State and Time.

"So many of the films that are now feeling the heat of the cultural conversation began their life at Sundance last year," said Jackson.

For now, Sundance organizers are urging Hollywood to stay home and watch virtual premieres and Q&As on their laptops.

Industry networking events will see filmmakers' and artists' "avatars" roam and mingle with audiences in chat rooms and virtual-reality cinemas.