Sundance Film Festival will move to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027

The Sundance Film Festival has found its new home.

As of 2027, the largest indie film festival in the United States will take place in Boulder, Colo.

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival is confirmed to take place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1, 2026, with the big move going into effect the following year.

“I founded the Sundance Institute with a commitment to discovering and developing independent artists, with the Sundance Film Festival serving as the platform for stories to help expand audiences and broaden the landscape,” said Academy Award winner Robert Redford, Sundance Institute president and founder. “That mission remains even more critical today and will continue to be our core principle. Words cannot express the sincere gratitude I have for Park City, the state of Utah, and all those in the Utah community that have helped to build the organization. What we’ve created is remarkably special and defining.”

He continued, “As change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival. This move will ensure that the festival continues its work of risk-taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences. I am grateful to the Boulder community for its support, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the festival there.”

Added Sundance Institute acting CEO Amanda Kelso, “The Sundance Film Festival is a catalyst for innovation, creative expression, and the discovery of groundbreaking independent films that inspire and shape the future of storytelling … Boulder is an art town, a tech town, a mountain town, and a college town. It is a place where the festival can build and flourish. This is the beginning of a bold, new journey as we invite everyone to be part of our community and to be entertained and inspired. We can’t imagine a better fit than Boulder.”

The film festival has been held in the quaint ski town of Park City since 1981. Last April, the nonprofit behind the event announced that it was exploring options for a new host city for the preeminent festival for independent film, which has essentially become too big for Park City. After having considered more than 100 locations, organizers had narrowed their choices down to three spots by September: Boulder, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City, just 45 minutes away from the fest’s current location.

Film Cincinnati CEO Kristen Schlotman reacted to the city being passed over on Thursday. “While Cincinnati was not selected to host the Sundance Film Festival, we are proud of how our city demonstrated its dynamic role within the film industry,” she wrote in a statement to local outlets. “Our proposal focused on long-term sustainability, growth, equity, [and] accessibility, and aimed to deliver a unique and elevated festival experience — all qualities that mirror the evolving priorities of film festivals worldwide.”

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The 2025 Sundance Film Festival concluded its relatively subdued run on Feb. 2. Its buzziest titles included Together, real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s horrific portrait of a dysfunctional marriage; Train Dreams, a lyrical drama starring Joel Edgerton as a 20th-century logger; Twinless, the comedic Dylan O’Brien vehicle; and Sorry, Baby, a bittersweet black comedy from writer-director Eva Victor.