Cinephiles scoff at Utah leaders' plans to replace Sundance with a new film festival
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A sign at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: David Becker/Getty Images
Some movie lovers are cracking wise at Utah leaders' efforts to replace the illustrious Sundance Film Festival now that it's leaving the state.
The big picture: Festival organizers said last week that they're leaving Park City for Boulder, Colorado's infrastructure and cost advantages.
Yes, but: The announcement came on the heels of a debate over whether Sundance clashed with Utah's conservative politics and culture.
Driving the news: Shortly after Sundance's decision, Gov. Spencer Cox said state leaders "have already begun meeting with partners, stakeholders, and creative voices to create a new festival — one that honors our legacy."
- Ryan Smith, who owns the Jazz and Utah Hockey Club — and whose downtown sports district is getting up to $900 million in public funds, dwarfing the $3.5 million lawmakers offered to Sundance — jumped in to promise support for "a fresh new experience starting from scratch."
- Silicon Slopes, the nonprofit that promotes Utah's tech industry, offered its help, too.
Reality check: After four decades, Sundance is widely considered the most prestigious film festival in the country and among the world's "Big Five" cinema events.
The other side: "Fine, Utah will just make its own internationally famous independent film festival," chortled entertainment site the A.V. Club. "Finally, Utah indie film can flourish without Sundance's massive prestige and fame and popularity and money overshadowing it."
- "Sundance was Sundance. You don't replace that with soulless corporate/government sanitized hogwash," state Sen. Nate Blouin (D-Salt Lake City) posted on X.
Context: After reports that festival organizers objected to Utah's new ban on pride flags in public buildings, some conservatives urged Sundance to leave.
- State Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton) said Sundance films promote "porn," "alternative lifestyles" and "anti-LDS themes."
Between the lines: Festival organizers said they evaluated each prospective city's "ethos and equity values" and praised Boulder's "welcoming environment."
- They noted that they wanted "a community rooted in independent thought, artistic exploration, and social impact."
What they're saying: Sundance fans in Utah and beyond took to social media to envision a film festival that wouldn't invite ire from the right.
- "Prepare yourself for blockbuster breakouts like: 'Hold the Fluoride,' 'MLMs are God's Miracle,' 'Tops in Natural Beauty and Plastic Surgery,' 'We Take Pride in Being Anti-Pride Flag,' [and] 'Still Trying to Convert Park City,'" one wrote on Instagram's Threads.
- "Can't wait for something that's inevitably marketed as a "Sundance alternative" and it's chock full of Tim Allen and Jim Caviezel right wing fairytales," another predicted on X.
- "What is it going to show? Angel Studios films and Hallmark movies?" another asked on Facebook. Angel Studios is a Provo film production company that emerged from VidAngel, an entertainment-censoring service that was discontinued after multiple Hollywood studios sued, alleging copyright violations.
The intrigue: Angel Studios co-founder Jordan Harmon has offered to help Smith with a new festival.