Sundance Names Salt Lake City, Boulder, Cincinnati as Finalists for 2027 Host
The Sundance Institute has revealed the three finalist cities competing to host the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027. The contenders—Salt Lake City/Park City in Utah, Boulder in Colorado, and Cincinnati in Ohio—were selected based on their alignment with the festival’s core values of diversity, inclusion, and community, as well as their infrastructure and capability to support the festival's expansive programming.
The search process has been extensive, with the Sundance Institute also initially considering other cities like Atlanta, Louisville, and Santa Fe before narrowing down the finalists. The Institute’s search committee evaluated how each location could foster a thriving community of independent filmmakers while continuing to uphold the festival’s longstanding ethos of creativity and social equity.
Eugene Hernandez, the director of the Sundance Film Festival, emphasized the importance of the finalist cities’ ability to offer both logistical support and a shared vision for the future of the festival. "Each has shown us the blend of exciting possibilities, values, and logistics needed to produce a vibrant, inviting, and inclusive Festival," said Hernandez. "We’re excited for a future Sundance that can discover, support, and inspire artists and audiences for the next forty years."
Currently, the Sundance Film Festival is held primarily in Park City, Utah, with some events also taking place in Salt Lake City. The 2027 transition could see an expansion of the festival’s presence in Salt Lake City, should Utah's bid win, with more programming shifting there. The festival will continue to be hosted in Utah for its 2025 and 2026 editions, before making the move to the selected finalist city in 2027.
The Sundance Institute plans to announce the winning city in early 2025, following the 2025 festival scheduled from January 23 to February 2.
The selection of the new host city marks a pivotal moment for the festival, as it charts its course for the future, aiming to remain at the forefront of independent cinema for decades to come.