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Utah among six finalists in bid to host future Sundance Film Festival

Jul 19, 2024, 11:11 AM | Updated: Sep 12, 2024, 10:38 am

FILE - The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre appears during the Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 28, 2020...

FILE - The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre appears during the Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 28, 2020, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

(Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is still in the running as a possible host for the future of the Sundance Film Festival, as the six finalists were announced Friday.

Utah’s bid includes both Park City and Salt Lake City, a two-city approach in the bid process that was announced by the Utah Film Commission in May after the Sundance Institute opened a request for information period on April 17. The finalists are possible hosts to the festival after 2026.

The non-profit Sundance Institute, which runs the festival, said in a statement that it will send its selection committee to each of the final six cities in the coming weeks. Fifteen cities submitted proposals.

The six finalists are, alphabetically:

  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Boulder, Colorado
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Louisville, Kentucky
  • Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Santa Fe, New Mexico

The next festival will be in Utah from Jan. 23-Feb. 2, 2025, with free local film screenings this weekend in Salt Lake County and Park City.

Sundance Film Festival Director Eugene Hernandez said the organization was pleased to have Utah among the finalists.

“We have a third of our staff who are based here in Utah so it’s really exciting for us to say that the Utah community is moving forward as a finalist,” Hernandez said.

He said the process helps the institute and the film festival to focus on its founding principles and mission, and the process helps evaluate how best to do that.

“That’s the core of what Mr. (Robert) Redford and the institute created, a place to discover and support new artists. In keeping with that mission and developing the right strategy to continue to do that, we’ve opened up a process … to figure out what the next right steps are for the institute and the festival,” Hernandez told KSL TV.

Park City Mayor Nann Worel. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson released a joint statement:

We’ve been fortunate to host the Sundance Film Festival and witness some of the greatest films made over the past 40 years. And now, we are committed to working in partnership on a new vision of ‘Two Cities, One Experience’ with a shared goal of reinvigorating the Festival with an even greater tradition for storytelling over the next 40 years. At the heart of our proposal is a commitment to ensuring it remains an inspiring showcase of independent film, bringing together audiences and creators from all walks of life.

The non-profit institute said it will focus on completing a comprehensive review of the final six cites and will not comment during the review process. The release states: “Sundance Institute will provide more information once the location for the 2027 Festival has been selected.”

Sundance offers free film festival screenings to Utah July 17-21

The Utah Film Commission, Salt Lake City, Visit Salt Lake, Salt Lake County, Park City, Park City Chamber and Visitors Bureau and Summit County filed a joint bid to host the event, as KSL reported from a Salt Lake City Council meeting. The festival in recent years has had many of its screenings in Salt Lake City with most of the major premieres and Hollywood stars landing in Park City.

An economic impact report from Y2 Analytics stated that the festival contributed the following to Utah’s economy in 2023:

  • $118.3 million in Utah gross domestic product
  • 1,608 jobs for Utah residents
  • $63 million in Utah wages
  • $12.8 million in state and local tax revenue

The Sundance Film Festival has been in Utah for all of its 40 years, growing out of the Utah / United States Film Festival, established by the Utah Film Commission in 1978 in conjunction with actor Robert Redford who had moved to Utah by then and served as that festival’s board chairman.

After some changes, it made a leap in 1981 when the Sundance Institute, also founded by Redford, took over the event. It expanded to 10 days and its current form in 1985 and grew to become one of the most influential and important festivals in the world for independent film.

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Utah among six finalists in bid to host future Sundance Film Festival