TheSundance Film Festival is an annualfilm festival organized by theSundance Institute.[2] It is the largestindependent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.[3]
The festival has acted as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres.[4]
The festival was established inSalt Lake City, Utah, in 1978 as theUtah/US Film Festival. The festival moved to nearbyPark City, Utah, in 1981 and was renamed theUS Film and Video Festival. It was renamed the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.
From its inception, and through 2026,[5] the festival has taken place every January in Utah. In March 2025, it was announced that the festival will be moving toBoulder, Colorado, for the 2027 festival and beyond.
The goal of the festival was to showcase American-made films, highlight the potential of independent film, and increase visibility for filmmaking in Utah. The main focus of the event was to conduct a competition for independent American films, present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions, and celebrate theFrank Capra Award. The festival also highlighted the work of regional filmmakers who worked outside theHollywood system.[citation needed]
In 1979, Sterling Van Wagenen left to head up the first-year pilot program of what became theSundance Institute, and James W. Ure took over briefly as executive director, followed by Cirina Hampton Catania, who was asked by Governor Matheson to help bring the festival into profitability as the governing board was preparing to disband it due to debts incurred in 1978. Catania generated sponsorships, in-kind contributions, and advertising revenue, and the festival continued.[11] More than 60 films were screened at the festival that year, and panels featured many well-known Hollywood filmmakers. Also that year, the first Frank Capra Award went toJimmy Stewart. The festival also made a profit for the first time.
In 1981, the festival moved to Park City, Utah, and changed the dates from September to January. The move from late summer to midwinter was done by the executive director Susan Barrell with the cooperation of Hollywood directorSydney Pollack, who suggested that running a film festival in a ski resort during winter would draw more attention from Hollywood. It was named the US Film and Video Festival.[citation needed]
In 1984, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival. Gary Beer and Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural US Film Festival presented by Sundance Institute (1985), which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. The branding and marketing transition from the US Film Festival to the Sundance Film Festival was managed under the direction of Colleen Allen, Allen Advertising Inc., by appointment of Robert Redford. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's UtahSundance home,[1] which had been named for his characterthe Sundance Kid from the filmButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.[12][1]
The Sundance Film Festival experienced its extraordinary growth in the 1990s, under the leadership of Geoffrey Gilmore and John Cooper, who transformed the venue into the premier festival in the United States, on par with Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto International Film Festival (also known as The Big Five). That crucial era is documented in Professor Emanuel Levy's book,Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Cinema (NYU Press, 1999, 2001, 2011).
The festival has continued to evolve over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies not affiliated with Sundance. Festival organizers have tried curbing these activities in recent years, beginning in 2007 with their ongoing Focus On Film campaign.
The 2009 filmOfficial Rejection documented the experience of small filmmakers trying to get into various festivals in the late 2000s, including Sundance. The film contained several arguments that Sundance had become dominated by large studios and sponsoring corporations. A contrast was made between the 1990s, in which non-famous filmmakers with tiny budget films could get distribution deals from studios likeMiramax Films orNew Line Cinema, (likeKevin Smith'sClerks), and the 2000s, when major stars with multimillion-dollar films (likeThe Butterfly Effect withAshton Kutcher) dominated the festival. Kevin Smith doubted thatClerks, if made in the late 2000s, would be accepted to Sundance.[13]
Numerous small festivals sprung up around Sundance in the Park City area, includingSlamdance, Nodance,Slumdance, It-dance, X-Dance, Lapdance,Tromadance, The Park City Film Music Festival, etc., though all except[citation needed] Slamdance are no longer held.[14]
Included in the Sundance changes made in 2010, a new programming category titled "NEXT" (often denoted simply by the characters "<=>", which mean "less is more") was introduced to showcase innovative films that are able to transcend the confines of an independent budget. Another recent addition was the Sundance Film Festival USA program, in which eight of the festival's films are shown in eight different theaters around the United States.[15] The total economic benefits Sundance brought to Utah were estimated to be $167 million in 2020.[16]
The festival went virtual in 2021 and 2022 because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, cancelling on-site activities. During this period Sundance programmed and hosted the world premiere of the documentary filmJihad Rehab directed byMeg Smaker. Soon after its premiere, the film would be embroiled in controversy as one of the film's executive producers,Abigail Disney described the film as "freaking brilliant" in an email to the director before disavowing the film later on.[17][18] Despite receiving rave reviews from Sundance audiences and critics, the film was unpopular among the Muslim-American and Middle Eastern indie film community.[19][17] Then-festival director Tabitha Jackson took the unusual step of apologizing for the film's inclusion in the festival.[20][21] As a result, the film was virtually blacklisted.[22]
The festival returned for in-person showings in 2023.
In 2023, it became known that the Sundance Institute had been considering moving the festival to another city;[23] according toDeadline, possibly already when programming director Tabitha Jackson left in June 2022.[24] According to director Hernandez, the festival had been in a "period of evolution for 5 years," when the pandemic "uprooted" audience behavior.[25] Its contract to host the festival in Park City will expire following the 2026 festival. Also, the festival is considered to have outgrown the small resort town of Park City.[26] Locals consider the festival bringing in too much traffic, plus the institute's decision to cancel the 2022 festival due to Covid concerns was viewed negatively.[24] Initially, the aim was to announce a winning bid by the 2025 festival, but this was later pushed a month, to the end of April 2025.[27]
During early talks,Bentonville, Arkansas was mentioned.[23] In July 2024 it was announced the process had selected six contenders for host city starting in 2027:Atlanta, Georgia;Boulder, Colorado;Cincinnati, Ohio;Louisville, Kentucky;Santa Fe, New Mexico; and current host city Park City in a united bid with Salt Lake City.[28] Out of these, three finalists were selected in September: Park City/Salt Lake City, Boulder, and Cincinnati,[29] whichDeadline characterized as "a bit of the old, a bit of the new, and a bit ofWTF."[30]
The decision to remove cars from Main Street in January 2025 was popular with festival-goers, though whether this would be enough for Park City to retain the festival was unclear. At the time,Deadline considered the bid from Boulder to be the strongest contender.[31] In March 2025, HB77, a proposal to ban the use of thePride flag in state government buildings,[32] reached Utah governorSpencer Cox, decreasing the chances of retaining the festival in Utah since it went against Sundance's expressed values of a "vibrant, inviting and inclusive festival."[27]
On March 27, 2025, it was announced that a ten-year deal had been reached for the festival to be held inBoulder, Colorado, beginning with the 2027 edition.[33][34][35]
Robert Redford &Michelle Satter at Sundance's first June Filmmakers Lab 1981
UK-based publisher C21 Media first revealed in October 2010 that Robert Redford was planning to bring the Sundance Film Festival to London,[42] and in March the following year, Redford officially announced that Sundance London would be held atThe O2, in London from April 26 to 29, 2012; the first time it has traveled outside theUS.[43]
In a press statement, Redford said, "We are excited to partner withAEG Europe to bring a particular slice of American culture to life in the inspired setting of The O2, and in this city of such rich cultural history. [...] It is our mutual goal to bring to the UK, the very best in current American independent cinema, to introduce the artists responsible for it, and in essence, help build a picture of our country that is broadly reflective of the diversity of voices not always seen in our cultural exports."[43]
The majority of the film screenings, including the festival's premieres, would be held within theCineworld cinema atThe O2 entertainment district.[44] The 2013 Sundance London Festival was held April 25–28, 2013.[45]
Sundance London 2014 took place on April 25–27, 2014, atThe O2 Arena;[46] however the 2015 Festival was cancelled in an announcement on January 16, 2015.[47]
Sundance London returned to London from June 2–5, 2016,[48] and again June 1–4, 2017, both at Picturehouse Central in London's West End. The 2018 and 2019 events continued at the same venue.[49]
Inaugurated in 2014, Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong has taken place in 2016, 2017, 2018 and from September 19 to October 1, 2019. It is held at The Metroplex in Kowloon Bay each year.[54]
The 2020 events in London and Hong Kong were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and as of late 2021 has not been rescheduled.[52]
From 2006 through 2008, Sundance Institute collaborated with theBrooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on a special series of film screenings, performances, panel discussions, and special events bringing the institute's activities and the festival's programming to New York City.[55]
^Peden, Lauren David (December 2005)."Sundance Subdued". Freedom Orange County Information (coastmagazine.com). Archived fromthe original on September 27, 2007. RetrievedNovember 11, 2007.
^Kevin Smith, interviewed inOfficial Rejection, documentary film, 2009, directed by Paul Osborne
^Official Rejection, documentary film, 2009, directed by Paul Osborne
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