After greater than 4 a long time of calling Park Metropolis residence, the Sundance Movie Competition is formally transferring to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027.
The choice is a significant shift for the world-renowned pageant, which has been synonymous with the Utah ski city since its inception. Whereas it might come as a shock to some, for these following the pageant’s trajectory lately, the transfer appeared inevitable.
I’m kinda unhappy that Sundance is transferring to Colorado. I’ve had an superior time attending the occasion in Park Metropolis over the previous 18 years. I even have household within the space that I can stick with without spending a dime through the occasion. I don’t have that in CO, so subsequent 12 months could be the final 12 months I attend.
Boulder beat out Cincinnati, Ohio, and Utah’s last-ditch effort to maintain Sundance in its birthplace, in the end successful the bid with a robust monetary proposal and a imaginative and prescient for the pageant’s future.
The street to Boulder was paved by an ideal storm of trade shifts, logistical frustrations, and a post-pandemic reset. Sundance has struggled with Park Metropolis’s limitations, overcrowded venues, excessive prices, and accessibility challenges, all of which have made the pageant expertise more and more troublesome for each trade insiders and indie filmmakers scraping collectively journey budgets.
“A part of the decision-making course of was round alternative for development,” mentioned Appearing Sundance Institute CEO Amanda Kelso. “That can also be an essential issue for us. Realizing that we might be in a city that has 100,000 individuals implies that it has extra venues, extra areas, and extra alternatives in how we might be expansive of the pageant transferring ahead.”
The seek for a brand new residence was set in movement final 12 months when the Sundance Institute formally opened up bidding to different cities. Boulder rapidly emerged as a frontrunner, due to its arts scene, sturdy native assist, and a profitable $34 million tax incentive unfold over a decade.
Past the monetary incentives, Boulder provided one thing Park Metropolis might now not compete with… accessibility and sustainability. With a inhabitants of round 100,000, Boulder has extra infrastructure to assist the pageant’s evolving wants.
It’s a vibrant school city with a robust arts and tech presence, which aligns with Sundance’s push for a broader, extra inclusive viewers.
“From a way of area perspective, it’s this actually vibrant city that’s surrounded by nature,” Kelso added. “You may think about strolling from venue to venue, metabolizing the movie you simply watched and communing with nature, which is one thing Robert Redford felt so strongly about.
“When you concentrate on a way of place perspective, Boulder is a cool city, it’s an arts city. There are poets, musicians, and filmmakers who reside right here. It’s a tech city. It’s additionally a school city—38,000 college students attend the College of Colorado Boulder, and that creates a possibility for us to consider viewers growth in a extra expansive approach.”
The success of Sundance’s Administrators Lab in Boulder in Might 2024 additionally helped solidify the transfer. Logistically, Boulder is nearer to Los Angeles than Park Metropolis, making it simpler for trade professionals to attend with out coping with the high-altitude struggles that Park Metropolis offered.
Whereas Boulder could lack the ski-town attraction of Park Metropolis, it sits at 5,420 toes above sea stage, which is considerably decrease than Park Metropolis’s 7,000-10,000 toes—making the pageant expertise a little bit simpler to navigate.
Utah didn’t let Sundance go with out a struggle. Governor Spencer Cox and state officers scrambled within the remaining months to drag collectively a suggestion to maintain the pageant in Park Metropolis. However in the long run, Boulder’s bid was just too sturdy to beat.
“Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Movie Competition to its new residence in Boulder beginning in 2027,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis mentioned. “Right here in our state, we have fun the humanities and movie trade as a key financial driver, job creator, and essential contributor to our thriving tradition.
“Now, with the addition of the long-lasting Sundance Movie Competition, we are able to anticipate much more jobs, an enormous profit for our small companies together with shops and eating places.”
With Boulder locked in as the long run residence of Sundance, the countdown begins for Park Metropolis’s remaining pageant, set to happen from January 22 – February 1, 2026. The final hurrah is predicted to be a significant sendoff, with organizers already planning a pageant that can honor its lengthy historical past in Utah.
“We’re already laborious at work on the subsequent Sundance Movie Competition,” mentioned pageant director Eugene Hernandez. “Will probably be actually significant and particular for us.”
The transfer is bittersweet for lots of people. Park Metropolis and Sundance have been intertwined for many years, however with trade calls for evolving, the pageant needed to adapt.
Boulder represents a recent begin and an opportunity to redefine Sundance for a brand new era of filmmakers and audiences.
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Latin
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish