The Sundance Film Festival is relocating to Boulder, Colorado after 40 years in Park City, Utah.
The annual cinematic event will relocate after a bidding process that included locations in Salt Lake City, Utah and Cincinnati, Ohio, Deadline reported earlier Thursday.
In another development, there was major turnover in both the Sundance Institute executive group, as well as the Hollywood film industry, coming off the strikes of 2023.
Amanda Kelso, the CEO of the Acting Sundance Institute, told Deadline that ‘part of the decision-making process was around opportunity for growth’ for the independent film festival.
Kelso added that upside was ‘also an important factor’ in the decision to relocate to Boulder, which she said provided additional opportunities not available in
Knowing that we can be in a town that has 100,000 people means that it has more venues, more spaces, and more opportunities in how we can be expansive of the festival moving forward.’
Kelso told the outlet of the majesty of the new locale: ‘From a sense of space perspective, it’s this really vibrant town that’s surrounded by nature.
‘You can imagine walking from venue to venue, metabolizing the film you just watched and communing with nature which is something Robert Redford felt so strongly about.
Kelso said that ‘when you think about a sense of place perspective, Boulder is a cool town, it’s an arts town.
She said that ‘there are poets, musicians and filmmakers who live here. It’s a tech town.
‘It’s also a college town — 38,000 students attend University of Colorado Boulder, and that creates an opportunity for us to think about audience development in a more expansive way.’
The outlet in the summer of 2023 reported that the cinematic event was courting new locales to operate of, confirming the news in April, with Boulder prevailing due to its size and amenities.
The festival director Eugene Hernandez confirmed to the outlet last month that the announcement would be coming in March.
The Sundance Institute board greenlit the move earlier this week in a vote for Boulder, where the University of Colorado is located, according to the outlet.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said Thursday, ‘Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Film Festival to its new home in Boulder starting in 2027.
‘Here in our state we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator, and important contributor to our thriving culture,’ Polis said. ‘Now, with the addition of the iconic Sundance Film Festival, we can expect even more jobs, a huge benefit for our small businesses including stores and restaurants.
Said the Democrat politician: ‘Thank you to the Sundance Institute and all of the partners like the City of Boulder, Visit Boulder, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, and I also want to thank the bipartisan legislators and leadership who have worked tirelessly to make this possible.’
A number of people commented on social media about the relocation to Colorado amid the festival’s values clashing with popular political sentiments in Utah.
‘Bye Felicia…,’ said one user. ‘Sundance promotes porn. Sundance promotes alternative lifestyles. Sundance promotes anti-lds themes. Sundance does not fit in Utah anymore.’
Said another user: ‘Sundance Film Festival is moving to Colorado!. No more woke nonsense. Great news for Utah! Adios!’
