Bear with me. Some of this writing is part nostalgia, part hope for the continued success of the Sundance Film Festival as it moves to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.
Sundance is my favorite film festival, and how I like to start my year. Touching down at the Salt Lake City airport and staring in awe at the Wasatch Mountains on the drive into Park City never gets old every time I’ve come to the small ski town. I’ve been very lucky to be able to attend these past years, no doubt about it. I just didn’t realize how blessed I was until I heard that next year will be its final run in Park City.
I’d caught rumblings from the locals that the Hollywood and filmmaking types overwhelmed a ski town with just a population of about 8,000. Still, Park City had a charm that was unduplicated at any other film festival. It was cozy and the vistas of Park City provided a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop. The elevation was high, sure, and sometimes it was hard to breathe. But everyone who attended there knew they were part of something truly special, Taking in a film festival in such a quaint mountain town that fostered close interactions among filmmakers, critics, and audiences. This environment was instrumental in establishing Sundance as a premier platform for independent cinema.
At this year’s festival I was there when Quentin Tarantino announced what his 10th movie would be. There were like 30 of us in the room at Firewood, situated at the top of Main Street. Same with Bill Murray’s confessional talk. In fact, all the discussions with NPR’s Elvis Mitchell at his Elvis Lounge were pretty special.
I don’t see how that kind of private event space would be the same anywhere in Boulder, which includes the University of Colorado campus. To me, that won’t be the same Sundance. Not that I’m averse to change. I love the SXSW festival, in Austin, TX, and I’m sure bringing Sundance to Boulder will offer greater opportunities for filmmakers in a new region, more desperately needed movie theaters for all the screenings and events and hopefully more affordable housing (because Park City is ridiculous!). The vibrant arts scene, community support and $34 million in tax credits (over ten years) are a great boon for the festival’s long term success.
“People said, ‘Oh, they don't have enough theaters,” explained Colorado Film Commissioner Donald Zuckerman, according to the Denver Gazette. “Well, we have plenty of theaters.”
At SXSW, many of the activities are spread throughout Austin. You can hop on a scooter to get from place to place (affordably) and it’s a fun way to discover the city. Sundance was so different, all the best events were situated on Main Street and trekking up and down that mountainous avenue was a rite of passage at the festival. And an absolute part of its charm. With snowflakes falling, I ran into Niecy Nash coming out of another event at this year’s fest.
The time I ran into the lovely #NiecyNash on Main Street at #Sundance This is what made this festival so special & charming. Man I’ll miss it being in #ParkCity #Sundance2025 pic.twitter.com/HWH2D2a9Im
— Veronica E Bruno (@VBrunoStories) April 6, 2025
The convenience of having everything centrally located meant you could get to a lot more, since most activities stayed on Main Street. The big lounges—such as Audible and the mythical Chase Lounge—will probably just retool somewhere in Boulder. They were right by each other in Park City, and it was pretty awesome to hop from one to the other.
Many of us just took for granted the ability to grab a bite to eat at Chase, catch a panel, and then head over to Audible for another panel and cocktail hour. Audible had Jon Hamm at one discussion while Chase had others centered around the movies that premiered. Chase also offered the free swag item of the festival, a custom-designed cowboy hat that was only given out to 40 people a day. It was an incredible experience, and the hat sits in a special place in my closet (reverently).
Audible is another example of a lounge that found its best footing in Park City. I’ve experienced the Audible lounge at SXSW and the Tribeca Film Festival, and the one at Sundance was my favorite, complete with an outdoor smores bar and igloos.
I’m sure that Boulder will put its best foot forward to roll out the red carpet for Sundance. The festival was bound to outgrow the small space of Park City. With Boulder hopefully there will be better transportation and housing options. The buses that went around PC were great, but it would have been more inclusive to provide convenient bussing between PC and Salt Lake City. Let’s hope that Boulder steps it up in that direction.
“Boulder is an art town, it's a tech town, it's a mountain town and it's a college town,” said Sundance Institute CEO Amanda Kelso. “The key word being it's a town.”
“The city’s convergence of arts, technology, music, food, entrepreneurship, and education presents unique and exciting programming opportunities for future iterations of the Festival,” Sundance added in a statement.
We can enjoy one last year among the magical mountains of Park City. Good luck to Boulder. I’m holding out hope that Boulder finds a way to creatively redefine Sundance for new fans to discover its allure and mystique. Next year, you can just catch me sipping on a hot chocolate from a terrace in Park City in the meantime.