Colorado lawmakers want to sweeten the pot in the campaign to land the Sundance Film Festival.
“Our sights are set on raising the curtain for Colorado as the new home of the world-famous Sundance Film Festival,” Gov. Jared Polis said in his State of the State address Thursday.
Legislation introduced this week — House Bill 1005 — would offer $34 million in tax incentives to a film festival that sells more than 100,000 tickets and lures more than 10,000 out-of-state visitors. While the film festival incentive legislation does not specifically name the Sundance Film Festival, there are few film gatherings that would qualify.
And only one major film festival is considering Colorado. The Utah-based Sundance Institute in September named Boulder as one of three finalists to host the vaunted Sundance Film Festival from 2027 through 2036. Cincinnati and the festival’s 39-year host Park City — partnered with Salt Lake City down the road — are also vying to host the world’s second-largest film festival.
The legislation offered this week by Reps. Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, and Sens. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park, creates tax incentives for organizers of a “global film festival entity,” based on festival expenditures and annual visitor counts.
The legislation allocates $4 million and $5 million a year in incentives through 2030 and then $3 million a year through 2036, with a maximum of $34 million. Smaller film festivals that relocate to Colorado can get up to $5 million through 2036.
In June the Colorado Economic Development Commission awarded a coalition of Boulder economic development champions a $1.5 million grant to help land the Sundance Film Festival.
Last year the 11-day Sundance Film Festival sold 141,212 tickets to 639 screenings. Another 220,000 people watched 405 online movie screenings. The festival drew 72,840 in-person visitors, with about a third of those coming from out-of-state. Those nonresident visitors spent an average of $4,411 each, totaling $106.4 million in spending during the festival, feeding a total economic impact of $132 million for the state. The festival generated 1,730 jobs for Utah residents who earned $69.7 million. The festival generated $13.8 million in state and local taxes, according to the Sundance Institute’s economic assessment of the 2024 festival.
Colorado House Speaker McCluskie has a daughter who earned a master’s degree in film and she said having a filmmaker in her family is a constant reminder of “the power of film in our communities and in our broader society in helping to tell stories and build understanding.”
McCluskie estimates the festival could bring in $3.65 million to $6.65 million in state tax revenue a year, with a total tax harvest of $54.9 million. After incentives have been paid she estimates the state could net $15.9 million in state tax revenue through 2036.
“This is a short-term investment that will have powerful long-term benefits,” she said.
Colorado is not alone in stirring up financial enticements for Sundance.
The state of Utah delivers $1.8 million a year to the Sundance Institute to support the annual festival.
In November, Cincinnati lawmakers offered $2.5 million to help lure the Sundance Film Festival to Ohio and another $2.5 million if the festival relocates to Cincinnati.
The governor of Ohio in July announced he was awarding $36.7 million in state tax credits to 17 media productions in the state as part of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit program that has awarded up to $50 million a year to productions since 2009.
Colorado’s film incentive program is one of the least robust in the country. Polis in June signed legislation that expands the state’s support for film, television and commercial productions in the state with $5 million a year in tax refundable tax credits.
“I don’t think there’s any better way to help promote Colorado’s vibe with filmmakers than having them here for festivals,” McCluskie said.
The growing Sundance Film Festival is considering a move from its longtime home in Park City after grumbling from local businesses in the ski town about festival crowds squeezing out skiers. And festivalgoers have groused about the cost of attending a festival in a ski town at the height of ski season.
Last year the Sundance Institute hosted roughly 120 participants at its Directors Lab at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, which has joined the Boulder coalition to lure the festival.