The Sundance Film Festival is moving to Colorado following Utah’s Pride flag ban

After 40 years in Utah, the Sundance Film Festival is moving to a brand-new state.

In choosing their new home, the festival – which emphasises inclusivity – made “ethos and equity values” one of its criteria, prompting speculation that the move may have been related to local politics.

Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced on Thursday (27 March) that he would allow a first-in-the-nation policy banning certain flag displays, including LGBTQ+ Pride flags, at schools and government buildings to become law without his signature, AP reports.

On the same day, Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the US, announced it would be moving to Boulder, Colorado, a move that takes it away from the Utah ski town of Park City. 

The Republican sponsor of the bill banning Pride flags, state Sen. Trevor Lee, said in response to news about the Sundance Film Festival’s relocation that it “promoted filth” and “would not be missed.”

‘Welcoming environment’

Sundance organisers said the festival had outgrown Park City, adding that Boulder’s small-town charm and close proximity to nature offered an ideal setting for its future.  

Organisers added that Boulder’s “welcoming environment aligns with the ethos” of Sundance.

Acting chief executive of the Sundance Institute, Amanda Kelso, said: “Boulder is a tech town, it’s a college town, it’s an arts town, and it’s a mountain town. At 100,000 people, a larger town than Park City, it gives us the space to expand.”

‘I believe it’s a mistake’

Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox said in a statement: “As I’ve said from the beginning, we wanted Sundance to stay. We made that clear to their leadership and put together a highly competitive package. Ultimately, this decision is theirs to make, but I believe it’s a mistake and that, one day, they’ll realize they left behind not just a place, but their heritage.”

Robert Redford, who founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, said of the move: “Words cannot express the sincere gratitude I have for Park City, the state of Utah, and all those in the Utah community that have helped to build the organization. 

“What we’ve created is remarkably special and defining. As change is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival.”

Before its move Sundance will have one last edition in Park City in January 2026. 

In a statement, Sundance Institute board chair Ebs Burnough played down speculation that politics had influenced the move. “This process started 18 months ago and we’ve been in Utah for 40 years. So politics really didn’t guide the process,” Burnough explained. “It was really and truly about evolution. That’s where it landed. We didn’t constantly spend time examining what bill was going forward or may or may not be signed.”

In 2018, Chloë Grace Moretz’s film, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, was awarded the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

The film follows Moretz’s character, who gets caught having sex with the school prom queen and is sent away to a gay conversion therapy camp by her conservative aunt and uncle.

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