Whether the Sundance Film Festival remains in Utah or moves to Boulder or Cincinnati in 2027, this year’s gathering will see some gigantic changes.
Whether the Sundance Film Festival remains in Utah or moves to Boulder or Cincinnati in 2027, this year’s gathering will see some gigantic changes. And we don’t mean on the screen.
Just more than a week before Sundance 2025 kicks off, the resort town has made the long-desired decision to make Park City‘s often-congested Main Street car-free for the duration of the festival, which runs January 23-Feburary 2.
“We understand closing Main Street to vehicles improves public safety, but also may temporarily inconvenience locals and small businesses,” Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter said Wednesday of the move.
“After careful consideration and consultation with several important federal, state, and local public safety agencies and event partners, it became clear that this was the necessary and correct decision,” he added. “Public safety is the Park City Police Department’s top priority, and this proactive approach ensures that we can all enjoy the Festival in a secure and welcoming environment.”
While some local business and outlets may not be so pleased with the pedestrians-only approach, at least one local was all for the move. “I think this is great,” a Park City business owner told Deadline today as the no-cars news became public. “It’ll lead to more foot traffic and more customers, which is what we like.”
Bumper-to-bumper traffic on Main Street during Sundance’s opening weekend has almost become as much of a mainstay of the festival as the marquee on the Egyptian. However, the situation has caused numerous problems for years, with filmmakers and cast members often running tardy for events and interviews due to being caught on Main Street. In the past, emergency vehicles have been dangerously stuck in the traffic and more than once those on foot on the crowded sidewalks and the cars on Main Street have collided, to put it politely.
On the other hand, Main Street has also proved a sizzling spot for films that want a little bit of in-your-face promotion by being seen up and down the hilly road. Last year, NEXT Audience Award winner and BAFTA nominee Kneecap put pedal to the metal and caught everyone’s attention for its Sundance debut with a distinctly marked van and three very deafening rappers on the street. The comedy-drama flick of the Irish hip hop band of the same name is also the island nation’s entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for the upcoming 97th Oscars.
Members of Kneecap roll into the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Michael Buckner/Deadline via Getty Images
Despite the destruction and havoc unleashed by wildfires that have burned down Hollywood-heavy neighborhoods like Altadena, Pacific Palisades and parts of Pasadena, Sundance organizers insisted this week that this year’s Robert Redford-founded show will go on in Park City and Salt Lake City.
Having announced last year that the festival was opening up to bids for a possible novel home once Sundance’s current contract with Park City expires in 2027, the pageant has come down to a final trio, with a joint Utah pitch that would shift the center of the festival to Salt Lake City in the running alongside Boulder and Cincinnati.
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