Sundance Film Festival picks Boulder as host city for 2027 and beyond

The Sundance Film Festival volition determination to Boulder, Colo., opening with the 2027 edition, a transformative alteration for 1 of the autarkic movie community’s cardinal yearly events.

Following a ballot connected Wednesday by the Sundance Institute’s committee of trustees, the metropolis was chosen implicit the different 2 finalists, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City, Utah.

“There was overwhelming enactment for Boulder,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute’s committee chair, successful an interrogation connected Thursday morning. “There surely was robust conversation, but we arsenic a committee person been going done this process for astir 18 months now, truthful there’s been a batch of accordant speech and an evolving speech and evolving process.”

“One of the things that’s truly important to america is reasoning astir our ethos,” said Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute’s acting CEO, connected Thursday. “And our ethos is steeped successful this conception that Robert Redford had enactment guardant successful our founding principles, which is this thought of coming to a spot for the Sundance Film Festival that has a consciousness of abstraction and a consciousness of place.

“It’s an awesome town,” added Kelso. “It has this fantastic vibe to it. You tin spell hiking oregon biking nearby. But it’s besides an creation town, it’s a tech town, it’s a assemblage town. So it’s a truly vibrant place.”

It was successful April of past twelvemonth that Sundance formally announced the anticipation of leaving the festival’s longtime location successful Park City, Utah, erstwhile a declaration with the metropolis was up for renewal opening successful 2027. Some 67 locations submitted requests for information, portion requests for proposals past were sent to 13 imaginable sites, with consequent visits to six cities that were past narrowed down to the last three.

The festival’s determination comes astatine a clip erstwhile the movie manufacture astatine ample is besides undergoing continued uncertainty astatine each levels, from accumulation to organisation and exhibition. The assemblage astir Sundance has been profoundly affected by evolving concern issues.

“This is simply a festival that has been undergoing alteration for the past 5 years, and this is the adjacent step,” said Eugene Hernandez, Sundance’s festival manager and caput of nationalist programming, connected Thursday. “Sundance arsenic an institute and arsenic a festival, successful its committedness to artists, its committedness to being a festival of planetary discovery, is unchanged and unwavered. And yet astatine the aforesaid time, [it’s been] an institute and a festival that has been consenting and unfastened to evolve.”

In time, specified Boulder venues arsenic Macky Auditorium, the Boulder Theater and the Dairy Arts Center whitethorn go arsenic acquainted to Sundance attendees arsenic the Eccles Theatre, Egyptian Theatre and Park City Library are to them now.

“I deliberation this is simply a truly important clip for america arsenic an institute, but specifically for the festival arsenic well,” said Kelso. “I deliberation 1 of the things that we’re truthful excited astir is having the abstraction to really beryllium much expansive successful the mode that we deliberation astir the festival. So this is an accidental for america to springiness ourselves abstraction for growth.”

Macky Auditorium successful Boulder, Colo.

(Sundance Institute)

According to materials provided by Sundance Institute, the decision-making process included 7 overarching absorption areas: ethos, lawsuit capability, transportation, hospitality, inclusion and accessibility, fiscal sustainability and big spouse support.

Among the factors nether information were whether determination was astatine slightest 1 show hallway with capableness for 1300 radical for movie premieres, astatine slightest six screening spaces with capacities ranging from 150 to 1300, an planetary airdrome with nonstop flights from Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris wrong 3 hours of the location, lodging wrong a 25-mile radius for a highest of 30,000 radical and immoderate preexisting contracts that mightiness overlap oregon interaction infrastructure oregon operational capacity, specified arsenic the Olympics.

Both Salt Lake City and Cincinnati were perceived arsenic bluish cities wrong reddish states, portion Boulder is seen arsenic a bluish metropolis successful a bluish state. With arguable legislative proposals present being considered successful some Utah and Ohio that would beryllium successful struggle with the inclusive worldview that is an intrinsic portion of Sundance, the determination to Boulder seemingly lessens what could person been a root of expanding tensions for the festival.

“What we’ve been looking astatine is however bash we evolve?” said Burnough. “And 1 of the large things that Bob Redford instilled successful our ethos arsenic an instauration is evolving and taking risks and not being afraid. And truthful authorities hasn’t weighed connected us. We’ve ever dealt with the authorities arsenic it comes. We loved each 3 of the cities that were the finalist cities. And they each showed up successful truly beardown ways. But the alchemy that led america to Boulder was conscionable a precise peculiar mix.”

In a statement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said, “Here successful our authorities we observe the arts and movie manufacture arsenic a cardinal economical driver, occupation creator and important contributor to our thriving culture. Now, with the summation of the iconic Sundance Film Festival, we tin expect adjacent much jobs, a immense payment for our tiny businesses including stores and restaurants.”

In its much than 40 years successful Utah, the Sundance Film Festival has helped boost filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, Steven Soderbergh, Ryan Coogler and countless others, portion seeing the movie manufacture done aggregate eras of change. The festival volition present effort to make a caller location successful Boulder arsenic it moves with the manufacture into an uncertain future.

“As alteration is inevitable, we indispensable ever germinate and grow, which has been astatine the halfway of our survival,” said Robert Redford, Sundance Institute president and founder, successful a statement. “This determination volition guarantee that the festival continues its enactment of hazard taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences. I americium grateful to the Boulder assemblage for its support, and I look guardant to seeing what the aboriginal holds for the festival there.”

The last Sundance Film Festival successful Utah, with in-person events successful Park City and Salt Lake City, volition instrumentality spot Jan. 22 to Feb. 1, 2026.