At the Sundance premiere of “Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius),” one of the festival directors thanked Park City and the state of Utah for hosting the event — and was immediately interrupted.

“And it should stay here!” yelled out Cindy Sanders, a budding documentary filmmaker who lives in Humboldt County.

Like so many ski towns, Park City depends heavily on tourism. Visiting skiers and hikers prop up Park City’s economy year-round. But the biggest week of the year is the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place in late January and has built a reputation as the epicenter of independent filmmaking. Founded in 1978 as the U.S. Film Festival and transformed into Sundance by Robert Redford in 1985, the fest has become synonymous with Park City over the past 40 years — but that’s about to change, and in the process, could leave a $132 million hole in the town’s economy.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

As Sundance’s contract with Park City approaches expiration after the 2026 event, the festival announced that it will be taking bids for a new home for 2027. It’s made little official comment to explain the decision to leave Park City, but many locals and festival attendees posit that the reason is a mix of sagging revenue from lowered in-person attendance (which in the pandemic era has dropped about 40% since 2020), plus the strain on the mountain town’s infrastructure. The overwhelming complaint from locals is about traffic — but those interviewed also say the economic benefit outweighs a week of congested roads. 

Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Mark Anthony Green, Ayo Edebiri, Juliette Lewis and Murray Bartlett attend the “Opus” premiere during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theatre on Jan. 27, 2025, in Park City, Utah.

Many cities (including San Francisco) jumped at the chance to host a festival that’s known for incubating young filmmakers (Oakland legend Boots Riley is an alum of their educational programs) and launching breakout indie hits (last year alone boasted “Will & Harper,” “My Old Ass” and Oscar front-runner “A Real Pain”). The finalists outside of Utah appear to be Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati. A third alternative would keep the festival in Utah, but move its headquarters to Salt Lake City while downsizing its presence in Park City.

“Our vision is two cities, one experience,” Lindsey Nikola, deputy chief of staff to the Salt Lake City Mayor, who has been working on Utah’s Sundance proposal, told SFGATE by phone. “It imagines the expansion of the festival in the state, which would give attendees that Park City, bespoke mountain experience they’ve come to treasure, while folding aspects of the festival into Salt Lake City in a way that meets some of the modern festival needs.”

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Regardless of the........

© SFGate