The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, or OEDIT, is so grateful to have Boulder selected as one of six finalists to host the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027. This pinnacle event is a launching pad for unknown filmmakers, embracing the rebels, the artists and the next generation.
As a film producer, premiering three films at the Sundance Film Festival catapulted my career in a significant way and continues to be a personal point of pride. Financiers look at producers and directors in a meaningful way when their films are chosen for this prestigious festival, and it makes a major difference in raising funds for the next picture. The films that premiere at the festival also set the stage for storytelling all over the world, and having a showing at Sundance is a massive achievement for new and seasoned filmmakers.
The benefits of hosting the festival are also clear.
In 2023, the festival contributed over $118 million to Utah’s economy while creating 1,608 jobs for state residents, $63 million in wages and attracting over 21,000 out-of-state visitors. If the Sundance Institute selects Boulder as a host, it could create hundreds of new jobs for Coloradans, boost winter tourism in Boulder and surrounding areas in a traditionally quiet time, and support small businesses that depend on tourism.
Hosting would also benefit the state’s film industry. Among the finalists, Colorado is the only state with an emerging film industry.
The festival would uplift the industry and film festivals across our state. Over 60% of filming in Colorado takes place in rural areas outside of the Denver metro, according to our production tracking. Exposure to our beautiful mountain ranges has the potential to increase film, television and media production from studios, high-level producers and directors attending the Sundance Film Festival.
We have already seen the impact of hosting Sundance Institute programming in Colorado. In May, the iconic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park hosted the Directors Lab, which nurtures diverse, original voices through an immersive filmmaking experience over two to three weeks.
One of the participants developed an interest in shooting their project in the state and is now approved for a Colorado Film Incentive, which provides a tax credit of up to 22% if using local infrastructure, rural or marginalized urban areas. This project is expected to hire 20 cast and crew from Colorado, and we anticipate a total of $838,805 in local expenditures along with an overall economic impact of more than $1.5 million.
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What’s more, the film exemplifies how, together, Sundance Institute programming and Colorado’s film industry can lift up diverse voices and stories, from around the world and across Colorado. The filmmaker grew up in Beirut, while one of the producers is from rural Colorado.
Hosting the Sundance Film Festival will be a great opportunity to continue showcasing Colorado talent as well as diverse Native, LGBTQ+, BIPOC and marginalized voices by providing new opportunities and resources. As OEDIT has supported Visit Boulder and its partners to develop a strong proposal to host the Sundance Film Festival, it is abundantly clear the city shares this commitment.
From 1999 to 2004, the city of Boulder established agreements with 13 federally recognized American Indian Tribal Nations that recognize tribes and the city have common interests. In recent years, the Boulder City Council voted to adopt the city’s Racial Equity Plan, a detailed road map to advance racial equity in the city.
Visit Boulder also launched a Welcoming and Belonging Citywide Certification Program; the project helps teach diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility best practices among the city’s hospitality workers and local businesses. This dedication to inclusion shows why Boulder would be an exceptional cultural fit for hosting the Sundance Film Festival.
Boulder responded to a Request for Information in May, and the Sundance Institute invited Boulder to respond to a Request for Proposals to research finding a potential new host city for the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027. Boulder is one of six finalists and a decision is expected later this year.
There’s a creative energy at the Sundance Film Festival I know will invigorate the film, television and media projects in our state. I look forward to, hopefully, having the Coloradans who I serve as commissioner get to experience this wonderful celebration of storytelling and feel inspired to tell their own stories in and about our beautiful state. If you share my excitement, let’s show our enthusiasm with #SundanceFilmFestColorado.
Donald Zuckerman, who lives in Denver, has been the Colorado film commissioner since 2011 and has produced 18 feature-length motion pictures, four feature-length documentaries and one documentary series.
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