It’s official: Starting in 2027, Sundance will move to Boulder, Colorado—and luckily, not Cincinnati, the possibility of which was a major concern fo
It’s official: Starting in 2027, Sundance will move to Boulder, Colorado—and luckily, not Cincinnati, the possibility of which was a major concern for attendees this year.
After an extensive search that started in April of 2024, the festival revealed Boulder, Cincinnati, and nearby Salt Lake City as the three finalists to potentially host the event. Of those, the Colorado city won out. “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, in a statement Thursday. “We have a profound appreciation for the finalist cities and their communities—including Boulder, Colorado, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Salt Lake City, Utah—who presented overwhelmingly strong proposals and dedicated their time, passion, and commitment every step of the way.”
Since 1981, the festival (originally under a different name) has been held in Park City, an upscale ski resort town where the median home price is roughly $2 million. Throughout the years, producing the festival in Park City has become increasingly costly, and the cost for filmmakers and festivalgoers to attend the event has soared as well. While Park City is a gorgeous backdrop, it doesn’t have the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the ever-increasing number of media representatives, sponsors, and attendees drawn by Sundance.
This reality, plus the pandemic shutting down the in-person festival for two consecutive years, made it necessary for Sundance to find recent options for a home. Sundance remains the preeminent independent-film festival in the United States, having launched the careers of Christopher Nolan, Chloé Zhao, Quentin Tarantino, Ryan Coogler, and countless other filmmakers.
So, why Boulder? “Boulder is an art town, tech town, mountain town, and college town. It is a place where the festival can build and flourish,” said Sundance Institute acting CEO Amanda Kelso in a statement. “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.”
The plan is to utilize downtown Boulder as the heart of the festival and incorporate spaces around Pearl Street Mall for other festival activities. Areas of the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder’s campus will also be used as part of the festival grounds.
“Colorado is thrilled to welcome the Sundance Film Festival to its new home in Boulder, starting in 2027,” added Governor Jared Polis. “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. 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.”
Overall, this announcement seems to have stirred a collective sigh of relief; Boulder was the industry’s unofficial pick for Sundance’s recent home when the matter came up at the festival this year. It’s a college town, an arts town, a place with tons of restaurants and bars—and vibe-wise, it simply aligns with the original Sundance location. Sundance’s move there will also allow the festival to grow; Boulder is a city of around 104,000 people, while Park City has a population of about 8,000. And you still get the picturesque snowcapped mountains as your festival backdrop. Who could ask for anything more?
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