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The search for Sundance Film Festival’s new home has been as full of suspense as many of the movies that debut at the prestigious indie showcase. Behind closed doors, starting in May, the selection committee reviewed proposals from as many as 15 cities across the country, including big bidders like San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta. Boulder survived the first cut, down to six, in July, then found itself in the final three—alongside Cincinnati and Salt Lake City/Park City—announced on September 12.
The winning city will inherit not just the glitz and glamour of the late January event, but also its economic impact: Studies suggest that if Boulder is chosen, Sundance would create roughly 1,600 new jobs and $63 million in wages and annually attract approximately 138,000 in-state and out-of-state visitors, $118 million in gross domestic product, and $12 million in state and local tax revenues.
“In addition to a thriving arts and culture community, breathtaking surroundings, and the logistical capacity to comfortably accommodate the Sundance Film Festival in 2027 and beyond,” says Sarah Huntley, the city of Boulder’s director of communication and engagement, “Boulder regularly demonstrates strong alignment with the Sundance Institute’s values of innovation, free expression, inclusion, and sustainability.”
Founded in Park City, Utah, in 1980 by University of Colorado Boulder grad and legendary actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, the Sundance Film Festival has become the largest independent film festival in the United States. In addition to premiering Oscar contenders, giving filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson their big breaks, and showcasing rising stars on glamorous red carpets, the festival—organized by the nonprofit Sundance Institute—helps independent creators from outside Hollywood find audiences, funding, and distribution deals for their passion projects.
The final decision is expected in the first quarter of 2025. Should Sundance leave its longtime home in Utah for Boulder, it would represent a major shift in the film festival’s landscape—specifically, a cultural detachment from Park City, the launch of a new identity, and a potential shift in audience perception, attendance, and indie film exposure.
What Does Boulder Have Going For It?
Sundance Film Festival’s contract with Park City is coming up for renewal at the end of this year, but a string of tumultuous events has also influenced its decision to consider a venue change. There was the two-year pandemic hiatus. There was the SAG-AFTRA strike. Sundance Institute’s CEO Joana Vicente departed, and last year, the organization laid off a dozen staff members. Metropolitan Theaters Corporation, which operates several multiplexes used as key venues for the festival, declared bankruptcy. And, perhaps most alarmingly, 2024’s festival saw attendance and sales drop by 26 percent.
“We are in a unique moment for our festival and our global film community,” Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Film Festival and head of public programming at Sundance Institute, says. “This exploration allows us to responsibly consider how we best continue sustainably serving our community while maintaining the essence of the festival experience.”
For Coloradans, the appeal of Boulder is pretty obvious. The Flatirons. Pearl Street Mall. Craft beer and biking. Small business, higher education. Plus, Boulder ranks third in the nation for the highest concentration of professional artists per capita, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, and it’s been named a top city for filmmakers by MovieMaker Magazine.
“Since the 1950s, Boulder has traditionally been a place for artistic exploration, through the springboards and catalysts of academic institutions and beyond into a highly creative, nonconformist community,” Erin Espelie, department chair of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts at CU Boulder, says. “The roots of Sundance exist in a place of experimentation, too, outside the strictures of Hollywood and removed from the corporate demands of mainstream cinema.”
A key attribute of Sundance has long been education—from its emerging filmmaker program to mentorships and grants to public programs that inspire new ideas and foster a community around independent storytelling. That’s why CU is an essential piece of Boulder’s bid. “Our department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts foresees being able to work with Sundance closely,” Espelie says. “We’ve already given their team tours of our spaces and talked about how we might grow, building new theaters on campus and in the community.”
Of course, cold hard cash is also a factor in Sundance’s decision. The Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau’s proposal (with support from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, and a regional coalition of partners, including the city of Boulder, the Boulder Chamber, CU Boulder, and the Stanley Film Center) includes a major carrot in the form of a $1.5 million incentive from the state’s Strategic Fund Reserve. Plus, the package offers additional contributions in the amount of $325,000 from the city of Boulder and regional partners, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, the Colorado Tourism Office, and Colorado Creative Industries.
“It’s the partnership with the University of Colorado, including venues, the ease of accessibility from transit as well as from the airport, lodging, not just in Boulder, but really the entire corridor (Westminster and Broomfield to Boulder),” Colorado Governor Jared Polis says. “The excitement of the community around supporting the arts and supporting this film festival and really engaging with both the mayor and the chamber of commerce has made this a major priority for the city.”
That enthusiasm shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that Boulder has been supporting its own well-respected film festival (held in mid-March) for the last 19 years. Says Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) co-founder and director Kathy Beeck: “If Sundance chooses Boulder, BIFF may move out slightly on the calendar, but we think there’s room for both BIFF and Sundance in Boulder. We would look forward to working with Sundance in ways that would benefit us both.”
What About the Other Contenders?
Although Boulder remains a serious contender for Sundance, it’s hard to ignore the obvious choice: Salt Lake City/Park City. All the logistics are already in place in Utah, and with Salt Lake City hosting the Winter Olympics in 2034, the expectation is that infrastructure for that event would remain in place to support and grow the festival long term.
The other final Sundance contender is a bit more surprising. Cincinnati’s Midwestern riverfront vibe stands in stark contrast to the Rocky Mountain backdrop shared by Colorado and Utah, but it boasts a thriving film community. The city recently provided nearly $54 million in tax credits to 25 different films employing over 1,800 film professionals and $750 million in capital projects for cultural institutions and infrastructure. Next year, the city will host the 50th anniversary celebration of the Association of Film Commissioners International, which provides critical resources and helps establish best practices for film commissioners globally to increase production, film festival support, and film education in every community.
All three finalists, according to the selection committee, were chosen based on “ethos, equity values, infrastructure, and capabilities to host Sundance, as well as how they hope to foster a community of indie filmmakers in the future.”
“As we move to the next phase in our search for a sustainable home for the Sundance Film Festival, we see great promise and potential in Boulder, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City/Park City,” Hernandez says. “Each has shown us the blend of exciting possibilities, values, and logistics needed to produce a vibrant, inviting, and inclusive festival. We’re excited for a future Sundance that can discover, support, and inspire artists and audiences for the next 40 years.”
That type of long-term deal is expected, and key to the decision will be ensuring that wherever Sundance goes, there will be adequate transportation, theater venues, hotels, and a community ready and willing to host thousands of filmmakers, enthusiasts, VIPs, and industry types.
“We need to be competitive with resources and incentives, and I feel we are,” Polis says. “But most importantly, we feel we are a strong cultural fit for the success of Sundance Film Festival—i.e., to help them write the next chapter together with the state of Colorado, with the mountains, with the historic ties to the Redford family and CU Boulder, and with the creative community and support Colorado has for the arts.”
