SALT LAKE CITY — The Sundance Institute has announced that Utah will bid on a split basis for its annual film festival, which is held in Park City and Salt Lake City, and is one of three remaining contenders in the process to select a site for the festival, which will begin in 2027.
Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati, Ohio, are the other two finalists. Atlanta, Louisville, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, which were named as finalists earlier in the summer, have now been removed from the running.
“We see great promise and potential in Boulder, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City/Park City,” festival director and head of public programs Eugene Hernandez said in a statement. “Each city has demonstrated an inspiring blend of possibilities, values and logistics needed to create a vibrant, engaging and inclusive festival.”
The final decision will be made after the next festival, which ends on February 2, 2025.
The timing comes on the heels of an arts report commissioned by Summit County by Americans for the Arts, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group, which found the smaller county punching above its weight when it comes to arts spending.
Although Utah has a population of just 42,000, the report said that the festival’s economic activity, including Sundance, generated $176,888,822 in total economic activity, or 17 percent of the state’s total arts industry spending, driven by nearly 60 percent of attendees from outside the state.
By comparison, Boulder, a city of about 100,000 people, currently generates $115,129,233 in arts-related economic activity, according to the same firm’s research.
But due to concerns that the annual film festival was becoming too large for a small community like Park City, the state of Utah’s plan to keep the event going is to split it between Park City and Salt Lake City, combining the festival’s only two locations since it first ran in Salt Lake City in 1978 as the Utah/USA Film Festival.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall acknowledged Thursday that if Utah continues to host the event, Salt Lake City could become a major site to coincide with Park City. Currently, Park City is required to host at least 70% of the event, but Salt Lake City also hosts some events during the winter.
The exact balance between the two cities has yet to be finalized and is expected to be decided by 2027.
State and local officials recently gave tours of new facilities in Salt Lake City that could host the screenings, including the headquarters of media education nonprofit Spyhop and the black box theater at the Sorenson Multicultural Center on the west side, potentially making the festival more accessible to students and marginalized communities.
“We’re so excited, Sundance is in Utah,” she said. “What we’re offering is a new friendship between Salt Lake City and Sundance that didn’t exist before, a friendship in a bigger way.”
The mayor added that things have changed since the festival began, as the city’s population has grown nearly 30 percent since the festival moved to Park City. The mayor cited upcoming projects like the Downtown Redevelopment District, Main Street Promenade and Green Loop as examples of how the city is still growing and providing ways to accommodate future Sundance Film Festival audiences.
The Utah Department of Transportation is also preparing to expand TRAX service downtown through a planned fourth light rail line.
Mendenhall, Park City Mayor Nan Worrell and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson released a joint statement early Thursday saying they were “proud” of their candidacies.
“As we continue our journey with Sundance, each step brings us ever closer as a bid team, and we hope to build an even stronger bond to inspire artists and enhance the festival experience,” they said. “With our robust events infrastructure, world-class venues and warm hospitality, we are ready to help Sundance shine on the global stage.”
But Utah’s other competitors are also confident in their chances.
Cincinnati is something of a dark horse in the film festival race, but it has a lot to offer the Cincinnati Film Festival, said Allison West, founder of the Thin Independent Film Festival.
“Frankly, I think we have the most opportunity,” West said. Sundance points to its emphasis on accessibility, which dovetails with its walkable cities, transit and support of local businesses and theaters. West argues that Park City is a bit more exclusive, while Cincinnati offers a bottom-up participation model.
She said demand for tickets to the independent film festival has gone up, in part because of the buzz around town about Sundance.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, in a statement, called Boulder the “next natural home” for the Sundance Film Festival, saying it would “perfectly complement the work and creative activity already happening in Colorado.”
