Sundance Without Park City? Festival Exploring Options for 2027 and Beyond

By 2027, the Sundance Film Festival headquarters may no longer be in Park City, Utah, the festival’s home since 1985.

Sundance Institute has launched an open call for American cities to raise their hands as potential hosting grounds as of 2027. The request for Information (RFI) process, which begins today, will include Utah. The RFI does not mean Sundance has made a decision to move.

The RFI closes May 1, with a Request for Proposal (RFP) to run May 7-June 21. The Institute will announce its selection — whether in Utah or elsewhere — in the final quarter of 2024 or first quarter of 2025. The RFI/RFP process will target the usual January dates for the festival in 2027.

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The 2025-2026 editions of the festival will take place in Park City. However, if Sundance wants to extend its contract with Park City beyond 2026, the deadline is October 2024. That already represents an extension of the original deadline, which was in March. The festival also screens films in satellite venues in Salt Lake City.

The announcement comes at a time of flux for the long-running film festival. Last month, Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente stepped down from her post after joining in 2021, with Institute board member Amanda Kelso now serving as acting CEO.

It also faces challenges in Park City, where Metropolitan Theatres Corporation filed for Chapter 11 in March. Metropolitan operates Sundance venues Redstone 8 and Holiday Village Cinemas 4; at the 2024 festival, traditional Sundance venue The Yarrow went to Slamdance instead.

As a festival of 10 days in a city of 17 square miles that’s also home to three major ski resorts, Sundance stretches the limits of Park City’s infrastructure. Crowding and bumper-to-bumper Main Street traffic prove regular challenges, while costs — for industry attendees, media partners, and the public — are at top dollar for everything from lodging rates to studio rentals to Ubers. (Out-of-state visitors in 2023 spent $96 million during the festival, per a Sundance economic impact report.)

In 2024, in-person single tickets cost $30, up $5 from last year, while prices for select ticket packages increased by $50. Since 2021, the festival has run a parallel online event that has expanded the audience outside Utah; online film tickets are $25 each.

Sundance 2024 was also IndieWire founder Eugene Hernandez’s first festival as director. The most recent edition saw a record number of 17,000 submissions from 153 countries, though the festival hosted a tighter program with just 80 films.

“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,” said Hernandez in a statement. “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 2025 runs January 23-February 2 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.