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BREAKING NEWS: Sundance Film Festival To Leave Utah

Posted on March 27, 2025   |   Updated on September 30, 2025
Ali Vallarta

Ali Vallarta

Outside view of the Egyptian Theater in Park City at night during the Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Film Festival is officially leaving Utah. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Good afternoon, Salt Lakers. We’re bringing you some breaking news about the Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance Chooses Boulder

The town of Boulder, Colorado has been announced as the Sundance Film Festival’s new home, beginning in 2027.

Park City hosted the glitzy celebration of independent filmmaking for more than 40 years — a source of pride for Utahns and $132 million in economic impact.

This morning, festival organizers rejected bids from Cincinnati, Ohio and a joint bid from Park City/Salt Lake City, leaving more than $13 million in public and philanthropic dollars on the table in Utah.

The Sundance Institute has been coy about the cause of this move, but journalists have pointed out the organization’s leadership vacuum, financial struggles in the wake of the pandemic, and clashes with Utah’s far-right political agenda.

For more context on what this move means for Utahns, listen to the City Cast Salt Lake podcast on Friday, March 28.

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