Sundance Institute Announces Boulder, Colorado, as the New Home for the Sundance Film Festival Beginning in 2027

The Sundance Institute introduced right this moment that, starting in 2027, Boulder, Colorado would be the new house for its Sundance Pageant. Commented Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute appearing CEO in a press launch, “Boulder is an artwork city, tech city, mountain city, and school city. It’s a place the place the Pageant can construct and flourish. That is the start of a daring, new journey as we invite everybody to be a part of our neighborhood and to be entertained and impressed. We are able to’t think about a greater match than Boulder.”

From the press launch:

Along with the Boulder host committee, the Institute envisions the center of the Pageant centered in downtown Boulder using a big selection of theaters and venues, and incorporating areas across the Pearl Avenue Mall, a pedestrian-only avenue. Close by areas will provide devoted areas for our neighborhood to assemble, together with choose spots on the College of Colorado (CU) Boulder campus. The majestic Rocky Mountains will body the horizon for pageant goers. The Pageant will work with the host committee to boost infrastructure and lodging choices, guaranteeing that attendees can collect and have a good time unbiased storytelling in an inexpensive and sustainable manner — key to permitting unbiased movies to shine and sustaining entry for our neighborhood.”

Commented Sundance Institute board chair Ebs Burnough, “This determination was knowledgeable by an in depth analysis of the important thing parts important to creating our Pageant. Throughout the course of, it turned clear that Boulder is the perfect location wherein to construct our Pageant’s future, marking a key strategic step in its pure evolution.”

Colorado’s governor Jared Polis mentioned, “Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Movie Pageant to its new house in Boulder beginning in 2027. Right here in our state we have a good time the humanities and movie business as a key financial driver, job creator, and necessary contributor to our thriving tradition. Now, with the addition of the enduring Sundance Movie Pageant, we will count on much more jobs, an enormous profit for our small companies together with shops and eating places.”

The transfer out of Park Metropolis, Utah, which has been the pageant’s house since 1981, when it was referred to as the US Movie Pageant, turned public in 2023. The pageant’s contract with Park Metropolis expires in 2026, and whereas the panorama and tradition of the resort ski city has been a defining factor of the pageant’s model for the final 4 many years, Sundance additionally outgrew Park Metropolis years in the past. Housing prices have lengthy been prohibitive for filmmakers, and screening amenities have different broadly in high quality. Over latest years, Sundance misplaced Park Metropolis screening venues such because the Yarrow, the Prospector, and the Racquet Membership, with newer venues added on the Redstone Procuring Heart, which is inconveniently exterior of the pageant’s principal drag.

The choice of Boulder adopted a year-long course of, throughout which over 100 areas responded to a request for data from the pageant, 67 met eligibility necessities and had been thought of for the RFP (request for proposal) stage, and 13 areas had been then invited to submit proposals. The choice pool was then whittled down to 6 areas that obtained website visits from Institute representatives, resulting in the three finalists: Salt Lake Metropolis/Park Metropolis, Utah; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Boulder, CO. Hypothesis and debate across the transfer dominated dialog at this previous January’s Sundance Movie Pageant, with some arguing for the type of complete reboot a transfer to a non-resort, midwestern metropolis like Cincinnati would necessitate, whereas others favored Boulder for the continuity its snowy environs would supply. Certainly, as right this moment’s press launch highlights, “The majestic Rocky Mountains will body the horizon for pageant goers.”

Filmmaker reached out to native producer and director Mitch Dickman, whose Hear Productions relies in close by Denver, for his response. Dickman, whose Sundance credit embody Casting JonBenet and Being Evel, replied, “Boulder, in addition to Denver, have a powerful historical past of supporting arts and tradition alongside the Entrance Vary. I feel audiences will relish the prospect to see the movies that premiere at this prestigious pageant. I additionally really feel that there’s a hungry filmmaker ecosystem, together with many Sundance alumni, in addition to instructional alternatives abound for Sundance to strengthen its relationship with the Colorado neighborhood.”

“The method included a complete analysis of finalists’ infrastructure, ethos and fairness values, occasion capabilities, and the way every finalist might sustainably serve and help the Pageant’s ever-growing neighborhood of unbiased artists and audiences,” reads the press launch. In early March Sundance polled its artist alumni, asking them to price the three finalist cities on classes akin to their perceived security and political local weather, lodging prices and transportation.

“The Sundance Movie Pageant’s transfer to Boulder, Colorado in 2027 preserves and builds on its four-decade journey,” mentioned Eugene Hernandez, Sundance Movie Pageant Director and Head of Public Programming within the press launch. “Collectively we proceed to create a Pageant that acts as a vibrant area for unbiased movies and filmmakers to shine. A spot the place every January, a neighborhood of artists, business, and audiences can collect to find what’s new in world storytelling. This metropolis is able to embrace rising and established world storytellers, our workers and volunteers, and, in fact, world audiences. Whether or not you’re a Sundance Movie Pageant common, or somebody who has dreamed of experiencing the Pageant in particular person, we invite you to affix us in January 2026 in Utah after which come alongside to close by Colorado in 2027.”