This story by Katie McKellar appeared on Utah News Dispatch on March 27, 2025. Colorado Newsline’s Lindsey Toomer contributed to the story.
After more than four decades of calling Utah and Park City home, the Sundance Film Festival is leaving Utah, in 2027.
The Sundance Film Institute announced on Thursday that festival organizers have decided to move to Boulder, Colorado. The Colorado House earlier this month advanced a bill that would create up to $34 million in tax incentives over the next 10 years (or $3 million to $5 million per year) for the film festival. The same day as Sundance’s announcement, a Colorado Senate committee gave its stamp of approval on the bill, which now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
Utah was one of three finalists bidding to host Sundance after its contract expires following the 2026 festival. Earlier Thursday, news broke that organizers did not choose Cincinnati, leaving just Utah and Colorado in the running.
Sundance’s announcement later Thursday afternoon sealed the deal for Boulder.
“This decision was informed by a detailed evaluation of the key components essential to creating our Festival. During the process, it became clear that Boulder is the ideal location in which to build our Festival’s future, marking a key strategic step in its natural evolution,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, in a prepared statement, said Colorado is “thrilled to welcome” the film festival and thanked Sundance organizers and other partners including the City of Boulder who “worked tirelessly to make this possible.”
“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.”
Sundance’s departure from Utah is a blow not just to local filmmakers, but also the state’s economy. Last year, the Sundance Film Festival generated about $132 million in gross domestic product for Utah, 1,730 local jobs, $70 million in Utah wages, and $14 million in state and local tax revenue, according to its 2024 economic impact report.
While Utah Gov. Spencer Cox expressed disappointment in Sundance leaving the state, calling it a “mistake,” he and other Republican state leaders shared hopeful messages of plans to fill the hole Sundance will leave behind.
“As I’ve said from the beginning, we wanted Sundance to stay. We made that clear to their leadership and put together a highly competitive package,” Cox said in a statement. “Ultimately, this decision is theirs to make — but I believe it’s a mistake, and that one day, they’ll realize they left behind not just a place, but their heritage.”
“In the meantime, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: supporting filmmakers and building a world-class film economy right here in Utah. We have already begun meeting with partners, stakeholders, and creative voices to create a new festival — one that honors our legacy and writes the next chapter of independent film in Utah.”
In response to Sundance leaving, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said in a joint statement, “Our state isn’t defined by one festival or organization.”
“Utah’s number one economy, breathtaking landscapes, the Olympics, our world-class snow, central location, volunteer spirit and business-friendly environment make it a top destination for families, tourists and businesses,” the top legislative leaders said. “We firmly believe that as one door closes, another one opens. We will work to create a new opportunity that enhances Utah’s identity as a hub for arts, culture and film, driven by the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels our growth, innovation and cultural vitality.”
Park City and Salt Lake City are both Democratic strongholds in an otherwise deeply conservative state. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Park City Mayor Nann Worel, and Utah Film Commission Director Virginia Pearce issued a joint statement saying Sundance’s decision won’t jeopardize their commitment to the arts.
“While we are naturally disappointed by the decision, the State of Utah, Park City and Salt Lake City have long been proud partners of the Festival, and we are grateful for the lasting impact it has had on our communities,” they said. “We remain committed to fostering the arts right here in Utah, where the spirit of storytelling will always thrive.”
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, however, had scathing words for Sundance leaders.
“As one of the original employees of Sundance Institute, I appreciate the influence Sundance has had on my life and so many others in our state,” she said. “Unfortunately, the current leadership has lost sight of the legacy and spirit that has been a staple of the organization for nearly 50 years.”
Why is Sundance leaving Utah?
Leading up to their decision, festival organizers had said Sundance had outgrown the Utah ski town of Park City. Robert Redford, in January, told the Associated Press he’d started to “hear some negative comments about how crowded it is and how difficult it is to get from venue to venue when there’s traffic and people in the streets and so forth.”
On Thursday, Redford — an actor and director who founded the Sundance Film Festival — said his mission to discover and develop independent filmmakers will continue on, while thanking Park City and Utah leaders and expressing excitement for Sundance’s future in Boulder.
“What we’ve created is remarkably special and defining,” Redford said. “As change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival. This move will ensure that the Festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences. I am grateful to the Boulder community for its support, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Festival there.”
Sundance organizers said they were drawn to Boulder for its “small-town charm with an engaged community, distinctive natural beauty, and a vibrant arts scene, making it the ideal location for the Festival to grow.”
“Boulder is an art town, tech town, mountain town, and college town,” said Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO. “It is a place where the Festival can build and flourish. This is the beginning of a bold, new journey as we invite everyone to be part of our community and to be entertained and inspired. We can’t imagine a better fit than Boulder.”
Sundance’s announcement didn’t mention some political drama in deep red Utah that some say could have contributed to the festival’s departure and added a wrinkle to Utah’s bid.
The 2025 Utah Legislature approved a bill aimed at banning pride or LGBTQ+ flags in schools and all government buildings, which its supporters said is meant to promote “political neutrality” in government spaces.
Earlier this month, the Hollywood news site Deadline reported that bill, HB77, could pose “an eleventh-hour obstacle to the Beehive State’s hopes of keeping” Sundance. The outlet quoted an unnamed “Sundance insider” expressing frustrations with the bill and calling it a “terrible law, a terrible look for the state.”
“No matter what they say, we all know who it’s aimed at — the LGBTQ+ community, and that’s unacceptable,” the outlet quoted that insider saying.
While state leaders committed millions in funding for Sundance, other Republican lawmakers balked at the decision and were vocal about letting the film festival leave.
It’s not clear how much the pride flag ban factored into festival organizers’ decision to leave Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has yet to sign or veto that bill, though Thursday is his deadline to act. He told reporters in a news conference last week Sundance organizers told leaders “very clearly that political issues have nothing to do with the decision.”
But Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who was involved along with other city and state leaders on Utah’s bid, told reporters Friday she worried that the flag ban could indeed jeopardize efforts to keep Sundance.
“I think there’s a strong track record of bills that have changed the outcome of locations of major sporting events and major conventions,” she said. “I think it would be harmful to our effort to retain Sundance.”
“My encouragement from my lips to God’s ears is that Gov. Cox will veto HB77,” she said. “It is not reflective of the values of this community, of our capital city, and I think of many of the businesses who choose to locate here because of the welcoming and inclusive culture of Salt Lake City. We are an asset to the state of Utah because of our welcoming position to diversity and LGBTQIA rights.”
Sundance’s departure comes after Utah’s bid committee — made up of officials from Park City, Visit Park City, Summit County, Salt Lake County, Visit Salt Lake, the state of Utah, Salt Lake City and Utah’s philanthropic community — spent nearly an entire year forming a bid package that included tens of millions in in-kind and cash public funding, plus even more in private commitments.
In total, Utah’s bid included more than $54.1 million in public cash commitments over 10 years. That included an additional $24.9 million in new cash commitments over the life of a 10-year contract, on top of about $29.2 million that had already been committed to Sundance over 10 years, according to bid committee officials. That would have equaled nearly $2.8 million in new annual public funding committed to the film festival, on top of about $2.7 million that was already committed, bringing the total annual public cash that was on the table to more than $5.5 million a year for 10 years.
The 2025 Utah Legislature appropriated $3.5 million in their budget this year for the film festival, upping the state’s annual commitment by about $1.62 million a year.
That doesn’t even include tens of millions more in private donations. On top of nearly $2.8 million a year in private donations already committed a year, private donors were ready to provide a $10 million one-time lump sum if Sundance signed a contract with Utah. They also proposed $15 million in cash per year for 10 years, totaling $165 million for the next 11 years ( for 2026 plus 10 years after).
Plus, Salt Lake City offered to expand Sundance’s footprint by offering up a lengthy list of venues of all sizes, in addition to the venues in Park City, plus private shuttles to and from Salt Lake and Park City that would have run every 30 minutes
To members of Utah’s bid committee, it was a highly competitive package. But it wasn’t enough to entice Sundance to stay.