The Sundance Film Festival will bring an economic boom to Boulder and the surrounding area when it relocates here starting in January of 2027.
Officials in Colorado forecast at least 70,000 annual visitors – including 25,000 from out of state – and Gov. Jared Polis thinks the iconic festival could get even bigger after its move.
“They have the room to grow in the Boulder-Denver market, with the number of hotel rooms we have and the ability in January to serve people,” he said. “They were really hamstrung in Park City – very few hotel rooms, no room for growth [...] One of the reasons they chose us is they'd like to grow even more in this coming decade.”
Polis sat down for an exclusive interview with Denver7 and CPR News for the latest episode of Real Talk, the stations’ joint public affairs show that focuses on the stories and experiences of underserved communities.
- Watch the full segment with Gov. Polis in the video player below:
In our sitdown with the governor, we asked him how the impact of landing a high-profile event like Sundance can extend beyond the host city.
“Many people are also going to extend their stay,” he said of future festivalgoers. “[They’ll] go to the mountains and ski, come to Denver, Colorado Springs, view the cultural attractions that we have. So it's a great way to put Colorado on the map in the artistic community, in the cinematic community, and really promote Colorado above and beyond just the benefits of the festival itself.”
Polis said Sundance has been interested in a “statewide partnership” and referred to it as the “capstone” to the state’s existing festivals, including the grassroots Pueblo Film Festival, the Denver Film Festival, SeriesFest and more.
Eve Lieberman, the Executive Director of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, joined the governor for the appearance on Real Talk.
“There are so many film festivals that we want to elevate and help promote that have year round programming that we're looking forward to helping elevate on the global stage,” she said.
As part of its push to lure the festival from Utah, where it has been held for the last four decades, Colorado lawmakers passed a $34 million tax credit to Sundance and $500,000 annually to support existing or small film festivals across the state through 2037.
- In this episode of Real Talk, we unpack what this historic move means for Colorado's creative economy, local filmmakers, and the broader push for inclusion in the film industry. Watch the full episode in the player below:
Polis told us the people behind Sundance have already begun their outreach to those smaller festivals.
“There's, frankly, a lot of synergies between many of the festivals that already occur across Colorado, many of whom are eligible as well for the tax credit, but all of whom will benefit from cross promotion and really elevating the cinematic arts for consumers in Colorado,” he said, “but also to establish Colorado as a destination for film goers from across the country and across the world.”
