PARK CITY, Utah — For more than four decades, Park City’s marquees have been lit up by the best the Sundance Institute has to offer. But will the bustling mountain town bask in that glow beyond 2026?
“The energy’s something like you don’t experience anywhere else,” said Marshall Moore with Utah Film Studios.
Some of the festival’s history hangs in the halls of Utah Film Studios, which also calls Park City home. The Studio’s VP of Operations, Marshall Moore, says Sundance premieres like Wind River and Hereditary were shot in their vast Kearns Boulevard facility.
“I see a festival that’s synonymous with the state because I don’t know any different,” Moore said.
Moore directed the Utah Film Commission from 2007 to 2014, so he’s also seen how Sundance has evolved.
“In the early days, it was all about hey, nobody’s seen these movies before,” said Moore. “These are very independent movies, come see these movies.”
He’s seen it shift towards casual moviegoers who increasingly come to bump shoulders with celebrities.
“A lot of people will just come to Park City to see who they can see,” Moore said.
The studios have even doubled as a dance floor, hosting invite-only parties during the festival.
“Everyone was having fun, they’re having their phones out, looking for celebrities,” said Moore.
But all the popularity can leave Utahns behind.
“I’ve heard stories repeatedly about how some Utah people have not been able to secure tickets,” Moore said. “I didn’t get to see a single movie this year and I used to go to eight or nine every single festival.”
This year, some national outlets have panned the festival as a dud year and questioned if it’s lost some mojo?
Down on Main Street, some businesses say they’ve noticed a slow decline post-COVID.
“Don’t get me wrong - Sundance is busy,” said a server from Flanagan’s Pub. “It’s booming, but there was more money coming in for the businesses and the restaurants and people like me.”
Moore knows it hasn’t earned everyone’s standing ovations and that changes might need to be made to freshen up the fest.
“There's been traffic issues, there’s been accommodation issues, there’s been issues through the years,” said Moore. “But all that’s been able to be worked through to keep this home.”
He remains hopeful it won’t leave the Beehive State behind come 2027.
“I think it would be devastating if Sundance left,” Moore said. “We would feel it as a community, as a state.”
The locals we spoke with aren’t ready to see the curtains close on one of Utah’s foremost festivals.
“Most of us take pride in the fact that the Sundance Film Festival is here,” Moore said. “For that to go away would take away part of Utah’s identity.”
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall sent us a statement about this year’s festival, calling it a “wonderful celebration of the institute’s year-round work” and a “poignant moment to embrace the film community” in the aftermath of the California wildfires.
She added they’re excited to continue with the work and conversations ahead.
Utah is among three finalists to be a future host site, alongside Boulder, Colorado and Cincinnati, Ohio.
