Sundance film festival: so long Utah, hello Colorado

Boulder chosen for “small-town charm with an engaged community”

Since 1978, one festival has dominated the US independent movie scene: the Sundance Film Festival. Initially started by the head of actor Robert Redford’s Wildwood Enterprises, it changed name and went from a summer to a winter date over the years.

And it grew – far beyond expectations. "I thought, what if we start a film festival where at least the filmmakers could come and see each other's work and form a community?" Robert Redford explained to NPR in 2017. "I thought, this is probably not going to work, but slowly it caught on and then it caught fire. Now it's almost out of control, but the mission was accomplished: to create the space for other voices in film to get their stories told and be seen."

Overwhelmed by spectators and filmmakers

Each year, the town of Park City, Utah is overwhelmed by the number of spectators and filmmakers that crowd into the town to catch the newest and often best new independent movies from around the world. The choice often came down to sleeping far outside town or finding a floor to rent nearby.

So the recent announcement that the festival is relocating to Boulder, Colorado was met with a combination of sadness and relief. "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," the non-profit Sundance institute wrote in a press release. Screenings will center in downtown Boulder, at theater and venues around the pedestrian-only Pearl Street Mall, as well as spots on the campus of the University of Colorado Boulder and online.

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will still take place in Utah next winter.

(Michael Leahy. Source agency. Photo: Travis Wise / Flickr / cc 2.0)