Sundance Reveals Six Final Contenders For Fest Relocation; Park City Bid Among Frontrunners

After months of taking bids, the Sundance Film Festival has narrowed its search for a possible new home beginning in 2027 to to six contenders.

One of five far-flung cities across the nation could be the new setting for the Robert Redford-founded indie festival, or Sundance could stay in its long-time home in Utah under a new deal, it was revealed Friday. Along with the united Utah bid of Park City and Salt Lake City, the final contenders for a revitalized Sundance are Atlanta, GA, Boulder, CO, Cincinnati, OH, Louisville, KY, and Santa Fe, NM.

A civic leader in one of the possible new homes for the festival told Deadline today that his city intends to “blow Sundance’s mind with what we have here, and why they should move here.” As various jurisdictions in a divided America enact restrictive laws and regulations during this election year, Sundance brass are putting a distinct emphasis on “key values” of inclusion, equity, caring for the environment and a commitment to culture and independent film in particular in their deliberations.

A final decision on whether Sundance will be moving after the 2026 festival is expected any time from the fall to the end of the 2025 event, though some inside Sundance are pushing to get the news out sooner rather than later. Under the current contract, the 2025 and 2026 festivals will be held in Park City, with screenings in SLC and other Utah locales.

News that the Peach State metropolis and New Mexico’s capital could become Sundance’s new stomping ground were exclusively reported by Deadline as far back as last summer. Last month, after we unveiled the 15 cities that had summited proposals, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock exclusively spoke with Deadline about his desire that “the folks at Sundance have the clarity of perspective to recognize that it would be in their best interest to bring the festival to Georgia.”

Of course, even with the obvious need for Park City to grow to meet the evolving needs of a 21st century Sundance, the Hollywood South hub of Atlanta and the other four candidates must overcome the possible hometown advantage of Utah. Coming in with a self-titled unified “Two Cities, One Experience” bid, the Beehive State has been widely seen as the one to beat almost since Sundance announced in April that it was taking proposals on a move after a rocky last few years.

“‘Two Cities, One Experience’ leverages what has worked for the last 40 years with our dedicated funding assistance, our amazing volunteers, and of course this world-class venue we call home,” Park City Mayor Nann Worel told Deadline today. “From the beginning, this has been an all-hands-on-deck approach to keep Sundance in Utah and that is reflected in this exciting new vision.”

Seeing a bit of drop from previous pre-pandemic years, the 2023 SFF brought in more than $118 million to Utah’s GNP, according to the most recent data. Getting more specific, and not counting the prestige and massive media presence, Sundance that year delivered $12.3 million in tax revenue to the state coffers, $96 million in spending by out-of-state visitors, and $63 million in wages.

While the likes of Boulder have said that they would inject $2 million into the fest if they were to win the bid, the Utah effort is based to some degree on the long-established tax breaks and infrastructure the state has provided Sundance for decades. Looking for maximum bang for their buck, the new Utah bid also offers what officials are terming a “restructuring” of their present $4 million the festival receives directly from government sources and the $2 million “in cash and in-kind support” that comes from donors, both individual and corporate.

With all that in mind, the Sundance Institute selection committee is planning site visits to all contenders in the “coming weeks to further explore the possibilities of hosting the Festival,” according to organizers. A bit of a state secret, that committee is said to include Sundance board member Amy Redford, recently installed CEO Amanda Kelso, and Festival Director and Director of Public Programming Eugene Hernandez.

“Getting to six finalists was a difficult decision,” Hernandez said today.

“Each of these cities has a vibrant creative ecosystem, either expanding or established, and has enabled creativity to flourish in their cities through their support of the arts,” he added. “These cities understand our ethos, are aligned with our key values, and have shown us interesting possibilities for partnership with our Festival — for our artists, audiences, and all who want to be a part of the Sundance Film Festival — and that makes us want to see more.”

Still, plan to book your tickets for Utah for next year as the 2025 Sundance Film Festival will be lighting up screens in Park City and Salt Lake City from January 23-February 2.