During January’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente was asked to look to the future: Could the fest ever move from the beloved and snowy enclave it has called home for 40 years?
“There is a negotiation coming up,” Vicente told Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni during a live taping of his Ringer podcast The Town. “We’re also spending time doing a lot of strategic thinking of where can we be most relevant. What’s the role of the festival? What’s the role of the institute? How do we evolve in a really ever-changing industry around us? Those are all of the considerations, but we love being here. So, that’s what I would say. We want to make this work. We know there are a lot of challenges.”
Fast-forward three months, and the Sundance Institute — under new leadership after Vicente’s exit last month — has confirmed that it has launched a process to explore potential host cities for Sundance in 2027 and beyond. That process includes the opening of what’s called a Request for Information (RFI), set to take place from April 17-May 1, followed by a Request for Proposal (RFP), May 7-June 21, to explore viable and interested locations in the United States that can best meet the needs of the country’s preeminent independent film festival. A final location is expected to be announced by year’s end or during the first quarter of 2025.
The festival is staying put in Park City for the 2025 and 2026 installments. While its contract with Park City is up for renewal starting in 2027, the festival may not stray far from home as Utah could keep it in the family. Insiders are quick to caution that the exploratory move is not an indication of a forthcoming move or even a decision to move, but rather a routine and responsible process to gather critical logistical information for potential host locations to determine where the best home for Sundance is and could be down the line.
“We are in a unique moment for our festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to responsibly consider how we best continue sustainably serving our community while maintaining the essence of the festival experience,” offered fest director Eugene Hernandez. “We are looking forward to conversations that center supporting artists and serving audiences as part of our mission and work at Sundance Institute, and are motivated by our commitment to ensure that the festival continues to thrive culturally, operationally, and financially as it has for four decades.”
Sundance Institute board chair Ebs Burnough adds that the fest “cherishes and respects” the history and partnership it maintains with Park City and the state of Utah. “We are thrilled with the vitality we see in independent filmmaking and want to assure the continuous discovery and support of independent artists and audiences our festival is known for,” Burnough added. “We look forward to reviewing each proposal and working together with all of our potential collaborators to determine how we can collectively meet the needs of the independent film ecosystem and broader creative community.”
The board, which includes founder Robert Redford, have been involved in the process. Amy Redford, the actor’s daughter, is on the task force looking at these issues.
In speaking to festival insiders about those needs, words like inclusivity, diversity, accessibility, sustainability and growth are commonly used to refer to the vision. Whether those will continue to be found and fostered in Park City is the looming question. It’s also understood that the exploratory process will include a commitment for a long-term deal wherever the fest lands, and conversations will cover expected topics like infrastructure, transportation, adequate theater venues, hospitality and the local (and presumably welcoming) community, among other topics.
There have long been rumblings and rumors about the festival moving out of Park City. Locals complain about the stress it brings to the small town — particularly during a busy ski season — with a massive influx of people crushing the city’s local business and public transport every January.
For the past several years, Sundance has held more screenings and events outside of Park City in the much larger Salt Lake City, where the first iterations of the fest took place. Sundance has also expanded its reach in recent months by announcing a festival experiences in Mexico City as well as Chicago. It’s also transformed drastically over the past couple of years amid the pandemic, as programming went online and hybrid formats were launched that allowed for both in-person and online festival experiences.
While today’s news can seem like the first step in imagining what Sundance could look like beyond the confines of Park City, it could also lead fest organizers back to its foundational home, where the well-worn infrastructure remains. Only time will tell.
