Earlier this week, the Sundance Film Festival announced that it was exploring its options to move to a new locale in 2027, after throwing the revered festival in Park City, Utah for the last 43 of its 46 years. And SF will be throwing its hat in the ring.
“We are in a unique moment for our festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to responsibly consider how we best continue sustainably serving our community while maintaining the essence of the festival experience,” said festival director and head of public programming Eugene Hernandez in a statement.
Hernandez doesn’t spell it out, but it seems that the festival’s relationship with the small ski town of Park City has been strained in recent years, particularly as the festival has grown in size and esteem. As the Chronicle notes, locals there complain about the noise every January from helicopter shuttles as Hollywood’s elite chopper in from Salt Lake City. And, due to space constraints, the festival has in recent years been doing more programming in Salt Lake City itself.
Sundance remains one of the Big Five on the annual film festival circuit, along with the festivals in Toronto, Berlin, Venice, and Cannes.
And, as the Chronicle’s G. Allen Johnson writes, “Sundance belongs in the West.” Territory-wise, it would be stepping on the toes of the Toronto and Tribeca film festivals if it was held in New York. Austin already has South by Southwest. And San Francisco has previously partnered with Sundance, along with the Roxie in the Mission, to host drive-in movies at Fort Mason during the pandemic. (The SF Film Festival, though, might be less than pleased to be overshadowed.)
Manijeh Fata, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission, confirmed to the Chronicle that the city is putting in a bid to the Sundance Film Festival to host it in the coming years. Letters of interest are due May 1, and the proposal process goes from May 7 to June 1.
We know that Minneapolis is also planning to put in a bid (brrr!), and for the rest of the competitors, we’ll have to wait and see.
Photo via Wikimedia
