The Sundance Film Festival will be moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2027 after being held near Salt Lake City, Utah for four decades.
"After a thoughtful and thorough process to identify the future location of the Sundance Film Festival, today the nonprofit Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees is proud to announce that Boulder, Colorado, will become the Festival’s home beginning in 2027," the Sundance Institute, which organizes the Sundance Film Festival, announced on Thursday at noon. "Boulder offers 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."
Following the announcement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he is thrilled to welcome the festival to Boulder.
"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," he 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. Thank you to the Sundance Institute and all of the partners like the City of Boulder, Visit Boulder, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, and I also want to thank the bipartisan legislators and leadership who have worked tirelessly to make this possible."
The president and founder of the Sundance Institute, Robert Redford, explained that change is inevitable, but offered his gratitude for Park City, the state of Utah and the community there that helped to build up the organization.
"This move will ensure that the Festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences," Redford said. "I am grateful to the Boulder community for its support, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Festival there."
Redford attended the University of Colorado at Boulder for a year in the 1950s.
Thursday's announcement stemmed from a proposal that the State of Colorado and the Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Boulder), along with its partners, submitted to the Sundance Institute last June to host the renowned independent film festival.
The Sundance Film Festival has called Park City, Utah, home since its first year in 1985, where it screened 86 films, according to the festival's website. The institute started to consider future host locations in April 2024.
In Boulder's proposal, state officials stressed that the Sundance Film Festival would bring hundreds of new jobs and thousands of out-of-state visitors to Boulder as well as provide a boost to winter tourism and small businesses.
The 2023 festival in Park City created 1,608 jobs for Utah residents, $63 million in wages and attracted 21,000 visitors from out of state, while also contributing more than $118 million to the state's economy, according to Colorado's press release last year.
The possible 2027 locations for the film festival whittled down from six to three in September — and Boulder hung on.
On Thursday morning, the Scripps News Group in Cincinnati confirmed that the film festival was not coming to their city, meaning the decision was between Boulder and Park City, Utah. At noon, the final decision was publicized.
The 2025 and 2026 festivals will continue in Utah.
Last summer, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved a one-time $1.5 million incentive that was combined with cash and in-kind contributions from the City of Boulder and other regional partners to provide a match that "will substantially exceed one-to-one," the Scripps News Group in Denver previously reported. An additional $325,000 from the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade was contributed to the proposal, which totaled more than $3 million in combined contributions.
On top of this, Colorado lawmakers are considering House Bill 25-1005, "Tax Incentive for Film Festivals." The bill passed in the Colorado House of Representatives 43-17 and was sent to the Colorado Senate, where it passed on its second reading. It needs one more vote before going to Gov. Polis' desk.
You can read the fiscal note for HB 25-1005 below.
HB 25-1005 would give up to $34 million in tax incentives to major film festivals like Sundance through 2036. The bill would also create this sort of incentive if at least one qualified film festival entity "with a multi-decade operating history and a verifiable track record of attracting 100,000 or more in-person ticket sales and over 10,000 out-of-state and international attendees," the bill summary reads. This credit would be available from 2027 through 2036. In that same time period, the maximum aggregate amount of refundable tax credits for any existing or small Colorado festival entities collectively is $5 million, according to the bill.
If passed, HB 25-1005 would impact Coloradans' TABOR refunds, which are paid from the General Fund. During years when the state revenue exceeds the TABOR limit, the bill would decrease the state revenue that is required to be refunded to taxpayers, the bill reads. Decreased General Fund revenue will lower the TABOR refund obligation. On the other hand, in years when state revenue does not exceed the TABOR limit, the bill would have no impact on taxpayer refunds and would reduce the amount of General Fund revenue that is available to spend or save, the bill reads.
During a debate in the Colorado House a few weeks ago, multiple lawmakers spoke in opposition of the bill, including Rep. Ken DeGraaf, who is a Republican, and Rep. Bob Marshall, who is a Democrat.
“There is no doubt that there are benefits to Colorado, but no one can possibly deny the vast majority of the benefits will inure to Boulder and the area around there," Marshall said. "So, Boulder and the area around there should be responsible for the majority of the money that is being put up.”
DeGraaf said the state is committing taxpayer money that should have been returned to them, and applying the benefit primarily to Boulder.
"People in my district were expecting that money back," he said. "They're not expecting us to send it off to benefit other counties... We need to be responsible with their money and we need to have all the details and we need to have all the cards on the table."
The bill passed in the House on March 13 on a vote of 43 to 17.
In the Colorado Senate Thursday morning, prime sponsors Sen. Mark Baisley and Sen. Judy Amabile pushed for their colleagues to approve the bill ahead of another future vote. Other sponsors include Rep. Monica Duran and Rep. Brianna Titone.
“The number of people who would come in January to Boulder for the Sundance Festival, for spending a week or two in Colorado, and spending their wonderful dollars here and so on — it would just overwhelm Boulder," Baisley said. "In other words, all of the Front Range area would benefit directly, economically, through their restaurants, their hotels.”
He said the return would be overwhelming in how it benefits the state culturally and economically.
Amabile called it a "one-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
“This bill is smart," she said. "If the Sundance Film Festival comes to Colorado, we will have an economic boom from it. And if that doesn’t pan out, then they don’t get the tax credits, so they have earn the tax credits. They don’t just get it.”
“But I think we are going to win, because this is such an incredible beautiful place and they (Sundance) do a beautiful thing," she continued. "And we’re going to put those things together — I feel really confident about it.”
This story was originally published by Stephanie Butzer with the Scripps News Group in Denver.
