Update: Colorado Bound? Sundance Film Festival could make dramatic change to Colorado
Sep 12, 2024, 1:00 PM | Updated: 2:08 pm
(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Update: Colorado Bound? Sundance Film Festival could make dramatic change.
The Sundance Institute on Thursday narrowed its list of finalists to host its film festival starting in 2027, and a Colorado city made the cut.
The City of Boulder’s bid to host the festival advanced to the final phase of the selection process. The other two finalist cities are Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah.
“Boulder is the next natural home to the Sundance Film Festival and we are excited to be one of three finalists to host starting in 2027,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a news release.
“Here in Colorado we cherish our creative communities, the jobs they create, and the economic contributions they make to our entire state, and the Sundance Film Festival would perfectly complement the work and creative activity already happening here in Colorado.”
Original story:
A new proposal was announced on Thursday, suggesting that the Sundance Film Festival should relocate from Utah to Colorado. Boulder has expressed its intention to submit a proposal to host the festival in Boulder starting in 2027.
This proposal has been put forward by the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Boulder), the City of Boulder, the Boulder Chamber, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Stanley Film Center.
The Sundance Film Festival, which is the largest independent film festival in the nation, has been held in various locations in Utah since 1978, including Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort near Provo. In April, the Sundance Institute began considering new host locations for the festival, with the change expected to take place in 2027.
Colorado state officials, in a news release on Thursday, highlighted that hosting the festival would bring job opportunities to Colorado and attract visitors from out of state, thereby boosting winter tourism and benefiting businesses in Boulder and the state of Colorado.”
The Sundance Film Festival has a deep history in the Mountain West, and we can think of no better home for its next act than Colorado,” said Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO). “With the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop and our deep commitment to the arts, we can help the festival achieve even greater success while preserving what makes it special, building on Colorado’s iconic creative brand and our strong arts community.”