So long, Park City. Sundance Film Festival to relocate to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027

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2020 Invision

FILE - The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre appears during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

After a yearlong search, the Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, keeping Sundance in the mountains but moving it out of Park City, the Utah ski town that had for decades provided the premier independent film gathering its picturesque snowy backdrop.

Organizers said that after 40 years in the mountains, the festival had outgrown Park City, and lacked the necessary theaters or affordable housing to continue hosting what has become one of North Americaā€™s most sprawling movie events. Sundance had narrowed down the options to Salt Lake City (with a smaller presence in Park City), Cincinnati and Boulder.

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Boulder emerged as their choice due to its close proximity to nature, its small-town charm and an engaged community that, organizer said, provides Sundance the ideal setting for its future.

ā€œBoulder is a tech town, itā€™s a college town, itā€™s an arts town, and itā€™s a mountain town,ā€ Amanda Kelso, acting chief executive of the Sundance Institute, said in an interview Thursday from Boulder. ā€œAt 100,000 people, a larger town than Park City, it gives us the space to expand.ā€

Kelso, Sundance Institute board chair Ebs Burnough and Eugene Hernandez, director of the festival and head of programming, spoke shortly before announcing the festivalā€™s move. Local officials, who helped lure Sundance with $34 million in tax credits over 10 years, applauded the decision.

ā€œHere in our state we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator and important contributor to our thriving culture,ā€ Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said Thursday that Sundance will come to regret leaving Utah.

"As Iā€™ve said from the beginning, we wanted Sundance to stay,ā€ Cox said in a statement. ā€œWe made that clear to their leadership and put together a highly competitive package. Ultimately, this decision is theirs to make, but I believe itā€™s a mistake and that, one day, theyā€™ll realize they left behind not just a place, but their heritage.ā€

A change endorsed by Sundance founder Robert Redford

A shift from Park City to Boulder means Sundance stays in the mountains but trades a luxury ski resort enclave for a growing, outdoorsy small city. The mile-high Colorado city set in the foothills of the Rockies also maintains a sense of surrounding nature ā€” something organizers stressed as a major factor in their decision.

Boulderā€™s four-block pedestrian mall on Pearl Street, with nearby theaters, could provide a similar sense of central hub like Park Cityā€™s Main Street. The Macky Auditorium, on the University of Colorado campus, is expected to be a central stage for Sundance.

The Sundance Institute was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, who sought a location far from Hollywood to foster independent voices in film. In 1984, the institute took over the Sundance Film Festival, but the nonprofitā€™s mission of helping young filmmakers grow through labs and workshops ā€” Redfordā€™s real passion ā€” continued year-round away from the festival.

The 88-year-old Redford, who attended the University of Colorado in Boulder in his youth, gave the move his blessing.

ā€œWords cannot express the sincere gratitude I have for Park City, the state of Utah, and all those in the Utah community that have helped to build the organization,ā€ Redford said in a statement. ā€œWhat weā€™ve created is remarkably special and defining. As change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival.ā€

How Sundance chose its new home

The festival made ā€œethos and equity valuesā€ one of its criteria, prompting many to wonder how much local politics would influence the choice by Sundance, which emphasizes inclusivity.

Later Thursday, Cox said he was allowing a first-in-the-nation policy banning certain flag displays at schools and government buildings, including the LGBTQ pride flag, to become law without his signature. The bill's Republican sponsor, state Sen. Trevor Lee, said in response to the Sundance news that it ā€œpromoted filthā€ and ā€œwould not be missed.ā€

Organizers said Boulderā€™s ā€œwelcoming environment aligns with the ethos" of Sundance.

ā€œThis process started 18 months ago and weā€™ve been in Utah for 40 years. So politics really didnā€™t guide the process,ā€ Burnough said Thursday. ā€œIt was really and truly about evolution. Thatā€™s where it landed. We didnā€™t constantly spend time examining what bill was going forward or may or may not be signed.ā€

With its current contract expiration date looming, the hunt for a new host city began in earnest in April 2024. The initial group of six contenders also included Atlanta, Louisville, Kentucky, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

What Sundance has meant for Park City, and the film world

Before packing up, Sundance will have one last edition in Park City in January 2026.

ā€œThe Sundance Film Festival will be the Sundance Film Festival wherever we go. Whatā€™s consistent is our mission,ā€ said Hernandez. ā€œThis is a festival of global discovery. Whatā€™s exciting about Boulder is this is a place we can build.ā€

Over the years, Sundance in Park City swelled into a premier marketplace for American film, drawing studio executives and parka-wearing celebrities into the Wasatch mountains every January. It helped launch countless filmmakers over the years, from Steven Soderbergh (ā€œSex, Lies and Videotapeā€) to Ryan Coogler (ā€œFruitvale Stationā€). Sundance scored its first best picture winner with ā€œCODAā€ in 2022.

Sundance meant big business for Utah and Park City. In 2024, the festival had some 72,840 in-person attendees, 24,200 of whom were coming from out of state. According to the festivalā€™s economic impact report, out-of-state visitors spent an estimated $106.4 million in Utah during the festival. Its total economic impact was estimated to be $132 million, with 1,730 jobs for Utah residents.

But the festival had also sparred with local ski resorts ā€” Park Cityā€™s other major money maker ā€” as festivalgoers filled the hotels and left the slopes virtually empty for two weeks during peak ski season. The festival was a boon to some local businesses, but a hindrance to others. For visitors flying into the 10-day festival, ballooning rental costs increasingly factored into attending.

Debbie Gold, a festivalgoer from Florida who ā€œgot bit by the Sundance bugā€ 20 years ago, said sheā€™s not yet sure whether she will continue attending at the new location.

ā€œItā€™s the end of an era, for me anyway, in Park City,ā€ said Gold, whose experiences at Sundance inspired her to get involved with her local Miami Film Festival and some independent film productions. ā€œI donā€™t think itā€™ll be quite the same in a new place. But between Boulder and Cincinnati, Boulder at least sounds a little enticing because itā€™s a cute mountain town.ā€

Sundance's relocation puts two of the top U.S. film festivals in Colorado. The Telluride Film Festival, held further west in the state, runs in late August.

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Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum and Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.


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