Today, the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the six finalists of its Request for Proposal (RFP) process for a host location for the Sundance Film Festival, which opened submissions on May 7, 2024, and closed on June 21, 2024. These locations have been selected to move forward to the next phase as potential host cities for the Festival beginning in 2027.
As part of a thorough evaluation of each potential location, the Sundance Institute assessed each city’s infrastructure, ethos and equity values, event capabilities to host the Festival, and how each finalist could sustainably serve and support the ever-growing Sundance Film Festival community of independent artists and audiences. Each finalist was required to demonstrate how they would welcome and continue to foster the diverse Sundance community and culture of independent creativity that is an integral part of the Institute and Festival experience.
The Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah in 2025 and 2026. The location decision will apply to the Festival in 2027 and subsequent years.
The finalists selected to move forward to the final phase are (in alphabetical order):
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boulder, Colorado
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
Members of the Sundance Institute selection committee will visit each of the finalist cities in the coming weeks to further explore the possibilities of hosting the Festival.
“For over 40 years, Sundance has supported, sustained, and helped shine an essential spotlight on independent filmmakers and their work. As we very carefully consider this important decision for our Festival, we believe these six finalists allow us the best opportunity to not only secure a sustainable future for our Festival, but also to build upon its legacy while continuing to support the next generation of storytellers and highlight bold new works of art,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair, and Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO. “We are grateful to all the communities who have expressed interest and been a part of the process, and we have valued the opportunity to learn about the uniqueness of each location. We look forward to the site visits in each of the finalist cities.”
“Throughout this process, we engaged in thoughtful, lively, creative, and supportive conversations with Governors, Mayors, arts advocates, film commissioners, and other local leaders from locations across the country. We’ve been buoyed by the tremendous enthusiasm and submissions from cities around the country and deeply appreciate the energy that went into each proposal,” said Eugene Hernandez, Festival Director and Director of Public Programming. “Getting to six finalists was a difficult decision. 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. 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.”
The Institute will continue to focus on completing a fair and comprehensive review of the six possible partners and will not be providing comments while the review process is taking place. Sundance Institute will provide more information once the location for the 2027 Festival has been selected.
With the Festival’s current contract with Park City up for renewal starting in 2027, the RFP process is providing the Sundance Institute a responsible way to evaluate, consider, and build on its foundation of serving a growing global independent creative community.
The Sundance Film Festival, the largest artist program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute, is the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives and supporting independent film. Sundance Institute was founded by Robert Redford in 1981 to support, sustain, and discover independent filmmakers and storytellers. The Sundance Film Festival, which celebrated its 40th edition last year, serves as an essential space to introduce unique voices and transform careers. Each January, audiences at the Festival are the first to discover and celebrate bold, creative visions and exciting emerging independent talent.
Statements from elected official finalists:
Atlanta, Georgia statement from Mayor Andre Dickens
“Atlanta is a diverse and inclusive city of creatives, thinkers, artists and storytellers who are aligned with the core values of the Sundance Film Festival and who want to see Atlanta add to the legacy of Sundance,” said Mayor Andre Dickens. “As we move through this process, we will continue to shine a light on the art, culture and unique attributes of Atlanta in hopes of winning the opportunity to engage and inspire the next generation of Sundance filmmakers and attendees.”
Boulder, Colorado statement from Governor Jared Polis
“I am so excited that Colorado is a finalist to host the Sundance Film Festival. With the beautiful backdrop of the Flatirons, Boulder’s historical ties to the Redford Family, and the capacity to support a growing, inclusive festival, we are confident that Boulder, Colorado is the right home for the Sundance Film Festival. I am thrilled the Sundance Institute recognizes the potential in relocating to my hometown and look forward to the many benefits this would bring to the entire state, as well as to the Festival.” – Governor Jared Polis
Cincinnati, Ohio statement from Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval
“For over a generation, with consistent support from the City of Cincinnati, Film Cincinnati has positioned the Cincinnati region as a go-to community for movies,” said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval. “We know how to nurture creative talent and the skilled workers behind the scenes, and we know how to celebrate them when they are on the big screen. Easily accessible to so much of the U.S. population, the Queen City is also a big league city for broader tourism, handling major events with professionalism and capacity. Both Cincinnati and the Sundance Film Festival are on the precipice for great change and we look forward to partnering and evolving together.”
Louisville, Kentucky statement from Mayor Craig Greenberg
“The City of Louisville and its diverse arts community is proud to be a finalist city for the Sundance Film Festival. Our rich history hosting world-class events, growing film industry, and commitment to sustainability position us as a perfect stage for the Festival’s future. We are home to the greatest two minutes in sports and we are ready to host the greatest 10 days in film.” – Mayor Craig Greenberg
Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah statement from Mayors Nann Worel (Park City), Erin Mendenhall (Salt Lake City), Jenny Wilson (Salt Lake County)
“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.” – Mayors Nann Worel (Park City), Erin Mendenhall (Salt Lake City), Jenny Wilson (Salt Lake County)
Santa Fe, New Mexico statement from Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber
“Santa Fe and the Sundance Film Festival are a natural fit. Our shared values of inclusion, sustainability, and diversity have long been hallmarks of both our community and the Festival’s independent spirit. Santa Fe will provide an authentic, unique, and inspiring home for storytellers of all kinds. Sundance’s sense of purpose and Santa Fe’s sense of place make this a partnership waiting to happen.” – Mayor Alan Webber
Sundance Institute
As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance Advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Big Sick,” “Bottle Rocket,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Boys State,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Clemency,” “CODA,” “Drunktown’s Finest,” “The Farewell,” “Fire of Love,” “Flee,” “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” “Fruitvale Station,” “Get Out,” “Half Nelson,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Hereditary,” “Honeyland,” “The Infiltrators,” “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” “Little Woods,” “Love & Basketball,” “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” “Mudbound,” “Nanny,” “Navalny,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “One Child Nation,” “Pariah,” “Raising Victor Vargas,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “RBG,” “Sin Nombre,” “Sorry to Bother You,” “The Souvenir,” “Strong Island,” “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” “Swiss Army Man,” “Sydney,” “A Thousand and One,” “Top of the Lake,” “Walking and Talking,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,”and “Zola.” Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of artists such Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
The Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit, Sundance Institute, is the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide. The Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past three decades, including “Past Lives,” “20 Days in Mariupol,” “The Eternal Memory,” “Theater Camp,” “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” “Fair Play,” “A Thousand and One,” “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields,” “Rye Lane,” “Navalny,” “Fire of Love,” “Flee,” “CODA,” “Passing, “Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” “Minari,” “Clemency,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Zola,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “On The Record,” “Boys State,” “The Farewell,” “Honeyland,” “One Child Nation,” “The Souvenir,” “The Infiltrators,” “Sorry to Bother You,” “Top of the Lake,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” “Hereditary,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Get Out,” “The Big Sick,” “Mudbound,” “Fruitvale Station,” “Whiplash,” “Brooklyn,” “Precious,” “The Cove,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “Reservoir Dogs,” and “sex, lies, and videotape.” The program consists of fiction and nonfiction features and short films, series and episodic content, innovative storytelling, and performances, as well as conversations, and other events. The Festival takes place in-person in Utah, as well as online, connecting audiences to bold new artists and films. The 2025 Festival will be held January 23–February 2, 2025. Be a part of the Festival at Sundance Film Festival and follow the Festival at Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.