Sundance has a brand new house. The Sundance Institute introduced at present that the Sundance Movie Pageant will relocate to Boulder, Colorado starting with the 2027 version of the competition. After over 40 years in its present house of Park Metropolis, Utah, Sundance will lastly be on the transfer after it turned too financially cumbersome for a lot of filmmakers and different attendees to journey and discover reasonably priced lodging within the mountain city.
Boulder beat out two different finalists, Cincinnati, Ohio and Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, the latter of which might have seen the competition stay in Utah, with restricted occasions in Park Metropolis itself persevering with. The 2026 version of the Sundance Movie Pageant, which takes place January 22 via February 1, might be its final in Park Metropolis, Utah.
Emboldened by founder Robert Redford’s imaginative and prescient that Sundance ought to embody a “sense of place and a way of house,” the search committee mentioned it chosen Boulder for its mountain views, its vibrant arts group, its proximity to a serious worldwide airport in Denver, its walkability and accessibility, and extra. Sundance envisions the guts of the competition centered round downtown Boulder, together with spots on the College of Colorado Boulder campus, in addition to incorporating areas across the Pearl Avenue Mall, a pedestrian-only open air road and buying space.
“We’re surrounded by this beautiful, breathtaking, Flat Iron Mountain Vary. You’ll be able to simply think about strolling from venue to venue, after taking in one of many movies and metabolizing it after which going to the subsequent venue that it actually creates this lovely sense of house,” Sundance Institute CEO Amanda Kelso advised IndieWire the morning of the announcement. “And from a way of place perspective, Boulder is such a cool, eclectic city. It’s a faculty city, it’s a tech city, it’s an artist city, it’s a mountain city, and we’re so excited to essentially have a look at the welcoming group right here and produce the artists and audiences which can be a part of the competition to Boulder in 2027.”
The choice comes after a prolonged and formal Request for Data and Request for Proposal course of that started final April, wherein dozens of cities bid to be thought of for the long run house, and several other of these had been chosen to present detailed proposals about why their metropolis was proper. The opposite semi-finalists that had been initially thought of included Atlanta, Santa Fe, and Louisville.
Very like Park Metropolis in its earlier incarnations, Boulder combines small-town attraction with loads of pure magnificence (clearly, one thing nonetheless of main attraction to the Sundance model) and a scorching arts scene. One phrase that comes up so much when Sundance brass talks about Boulder: it’s a city, and a younger one, one which they hope will develop with the competition. (Present inhabitants: 100,000 folks.)
That additionally means it’s walkable, one thing that has lengthy ceased to be true of Park Metropolis. The competition will orient itself round downtown Boulder and the pedestrian-only Pearl Avenue Mall, which can provide entry to eating places, cafes, classic theaters, efficiency arts areas, a multiplex, a college, and different auditoriums. Amongst them are the Macky Auditorium, a live performance corridor that seats greater than 2,000, the Dairy Arts Middle that seats 500, and the Boulder Theater that seats 850.
“On the coronary heart of Boulder is the Pearl Avenue Mall, which is an out of doors promenade, an open house the place folks, no automobiles, can stroll, venues, cafes, all these cool areas proper on the coronary heart of Boulder,” Sundance Movie Pageant director Eugene Hernandez advised IndieWire this morning. “So something that that we thought could be a problem or could be completely different for us, has created quite a lot of alternative, methods to essentially take into consideration to construct and design the subsequent stage the Sundance Movie Pageant, to construct the subsequent stage of the Sundance Movie Pageant right here in Boulder.”
The competition leaned on seven focus areas when it got here to picking its new host metropolis: ethos, occasion functionality, transportation, hospitality, inclusion and accessibility, monetary sustainability, and host associate help.
These focus areas all mixed to at least one overarching intention, to select a brand new host metropolis the place the competition might construct a group comprised of each the viewers and the artists exhibiting their work, and ideally one that would additional broaden the attain of the Sundance “ethos” and pull in newer (and youthful) attendees. As a school city with a thriving arts scene, Boulder match the invoice. (One good contact: the movie program at CU Boulder, which experimental and prolific filmmaker Stan Brakhage helped form.)
The duty drive trying on the potential cities needed to ask some arduous and quick questions with actual numbers behind them. Like, does the town have no less than one efficiency corridor with a capability of no less than 1,300 that may display screen movies? Are there are no less than six screening areas in shut proximity to one another? What about journey? Is there a global airport with direct flights to large cities like LA and New York inside three hours of the town? And lodging! Do you could have lodging lodging for as much as 30K folks? What about conflicts? Does the town have any pre-existing occasions that may affect Sundance?
Kelso mentioned that Boulder has already negotiated with native resorts within the space to safe reasonably priced charges for the subsequent 10 years. She careworn too that the centralized, worldwide hub of the Denver Worldwide Airport will make it particularly enticing to filmmakers coming in from abroad. The competition can be excited concerning the thought of connecting with the College of Colorado movie division. They had been searching for group, they usually appear to have picked a spot with one readily built-in.
“We’re actually excited concerning the thought of from an viewers growth perspective that we will spend extra time with youthful audiences, and you may solely think about the kinds of programming that we’d be capable to do in 2027 that is perhaps particularly catered to that viewers,” Kelso added.
Sundance began its relocation search in April 2024, with over 100 cities submitting to be thought of as its new host. The group assigned to establish a brand new house, often called the Sundance Movie Pageant Location Activity Pressure and was made up of each Sundance workers members and board members, narrowed that record all the way down to 67 cities that met its preliminary standards and submitted an RFI. From that group, 13 extra cities had been invited to take part within the RFP stage, and that was once more whittled all the way down to the six semi-finalists.
It was clear Sundance wanted to depart Park Metropolis when a few of its long-term venues began disappearing. IndieWire beforehand reported that two mulitplexes that hosted Sundance screenings had declared chapter, leaving Sundance with out some key choices. What’s extra, the Redstone venue decreased from 300 seats to 80 seats, making it a tough venue to host a premiere. Sundance would incessantly spend hundreds changing venues like The Library that aren’t conventional cinemas into movie show venues, which took away {dollars} the non-profit institute might’ve used to help its unbiased artists. So in looking for a brand new house, having venues that had been ready-made film theaters was key for logistics.
Pageant insiders additionally stress that its choice was not a monetary one nor a political one, with all three hosts providing beneficiant monetary incentives that embrace a mixture of public funding and a few unannounced non-public funding that isn’t essentially factored into most reporting.
Main Sundance companions and sponsors had been all notified of the duty drive’s choice early on Thursday the identical time as press. Boulder later this afternoon will even host a press convention for native media about the way forward for the competition.
Each Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Go to Boulder CEO Charlene Hoffman celebrated the information on Thursday and can take part in a press convention with Sundance officers in Boulder later this afternoon.
“Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Movie Pageant to its new house in Boulder beginning in 2027,” Governor Polis mentioned in an announcement. “Right here in our state we rejoice 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 long-lasting Sundance Movie Pageant, we will anticipate much more jobs, an enormous profit for our small companies together with shops and eating places. Thanks to the Sundance Institute and all the companions just like the Metropolis of Boulder, Go to Boulder, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, and I additionally need to thank the bipartisan legislators and management who’ve labored tirelessly to make this doable.”
“We’re deeply honored that Boulder has been chosen to host the Sundance Movie Pageant beginning in 2027,” mentioned Hoffman, Go to Boulder CEO. “Creativity, innovation, and expression are on the coronary heart of what makes Boulder particular, and we’re able to welcome storytellers and cinema lovers from all over the world. Our walkable downtown, iconic venues, and exquisite panorama on the base of the Rocky Mountains units the stage for the Sundance Movie Pageant to flourish in its subsequent chapter. It’s been a exceptional expertise attending to share our vibrant group with the Sundance Institute and we eagerly await the Pageant’s debut in lovely Boulder, Colorado with pleasure and gratitude.”