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EXCLUSIVE: Like an applause-filled debut at Park City's Eccles Theater, the Sundance Film Festival's potential move to a new location in 2027 is attracting big bidders and also providing a significant boost to hometown audiences.
San Francisco, Minneapolis, Santa Fe and Atlanta, home of Hollywood South, are among the jurisdictions that have told SFF organizers they are raising their paddles for a chance to host the festival in their city. I hear Chicago has also reportedly taken steps to bring Sundance to the already film festival-rich Windy City. Some locations in Upstate New York and Savannah, Georgia are also in play.
Last year, as Santa Fe was making its case, Deadline exclusively reported that Sundance was considering a move as its current, decade-plus contract with Park City expired. Insiders tell me that the capital of the increasingly purple Peach State, full of infrastructure, manufacturing, tax incentives, hotels and screens, could be the one to beat even at this early stage.
With Sundance still in Park City next year and in 2026, there's still a long way to go before any final decisions are made.
The deadline for submitting requests for information announced by the Robert Redford-founded Assembly on April 17 expired on Wednesday. I'm told there was a flood of applications coming in under management, which is pretty normal in situations like this. In the next phase, a Sundance Institute task force, including founder and board member Amy Redford, will divide RFI applicants into serious players in the next few days.
Once this core group of applicants is identified and notified, Sundance will begin a proposal submission process from May 7 to June 21. In this comprehensive effort, Sundance executives will dig deeper into the numbers and survey potential host candidates with a focus on inclusivity and sustainability before selecting a winner later this year.
The new home of the Sundance Film Festival, which has been based in Utah since the early 1980s, is expected to be unveiled in late January 2025.
Or not.
Despite the metropolis's goal of making a name for itself and Slamdance's recent revelation that they are moving to LA next year, Park City isn't ready to say goodbye to the festival, which attracts tens of thousands of attendees and grosses over $118 million , attracted the state's economy and the world's media to Utah in 2023.
“The Sundance Film Festival should stay in Utah,” Park City Mayor Nann Worel told Deadline this morning.
“We have an experienced, innovative and unified team to ensure this happens,” added the first female chief executive of the increasingly expensive resort located 7,000 feet above sea level. “Park City is not alone in this process. Our regional partnerships are strong and we are committed to a renewed, forward-looking effort to reimagine the festival together. Ultimately, we believe our 40 years of experience and strong partnerships will be key to our success, and we thank the Sundance Institute for this opportunity.”
Frankly, given the growing pains that both the community and the festival have experienced over the last decade, and the grumblings from some locals about the PiBs (People in Black) who parade up and down Main Street every January, that's seeing it Snowy Park City “An aggressive package will be presented to Sundance to ensure the festival stays where it is, according to a local source.
To that end, part of the reimagining involves expanding Sundance's presence in the Beehive State, literally and figuratively.
“After 40 years of successfully hosting the Sundance Film Festival, we truly understand the festival’s unique needs and challenges,” Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission, told Deadline on Thursday. “We coordinated a response to the RFI with Park City and Salt Lake City. Sundance is important to key partners across the state and we will continue to work together to collaborate on the RFP and reshape the future of this festival in Utah. We look forward to the future and are committed to making the festival more accessible for artists, staff, volunteers and audiences.”
Given Sundance's rocky road out of the pandemic and the general shift toward streaming and tentpoles in the industry and the festival itself, the collaboration with Made in Utah could represent a suggestion for a shift to SLC. “There’s a brand new airport, financial flexibility, venues and history in Salt Lake,” says an insider. “This would allow Sundance to both remain in Park City and grow in Salt Lake.”
As for Sundance itself… there's radio silence for now.
While Sundance is focused on conducting a fair and comprehensive review of all potential partners through the RFI and RFP processes, the institute did not comment on potential offers or shortlists on Thursday.
Sundance will begin labs in Chicago, Santa Fe and elsewhere in the next few months and will experience its next full-fledged festival in Park City and SLC from January 23 to February 2, 2025.
