For more than 45 years, the Sundance Film Festival has called Park City home.

Founded by Robert Redford in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival, it has served as a vibrant platform for independent filmmaking and introducing unique voices.

In 2027, the Sundance Institute‘s contract to host the festival in town goes up for renewal, so the nonprofit is announcing a formal Request for Information to explore possible viable locations in Utah and the United States that may host the 10-day event beginning that year.

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Any location interested in hosting future Sundance Film Festivals can submit RFIs from today through May 1, and Eugene Hernandez, festival director and director of public programming, said this process is to make sure Sundance has covered all of its options to secure the festival’s future.

“Our aim is to continue to do the work that the festival has been doing for the last 40-plus years, and this process we’re embarking on is just a part of that work,” he said. “We have an obligation and responsibility, and thinking about that responsibility, this feels like the right thing to do.”

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“We appreciate our partnership with Sundance, and we want the festival to remain here for another 40 years,” Park City Mayor Nann Worel said as part of a longer statement. “We will not be alone in the effort to ensure that Utah remains host to diverse new voices from around the globe. With gratitude to the thousands of volunteers, our dedicated workforce, our residents, and the passion of our visitor and resident film lovers — we will work collaboratively with all our state and local partners on next steps.”

Interested parties can submit RFIs to proposal@sundance.org.

The RFI is the first step in a comprehensive selection process that will help Sundance collect logistical information from these locations before it makes any kind of decision regarding a future home, and issuing a Request for Information does not mean Sundance will immediately uproot and move within the next few months, Hernandez said.

“This is about 2027 and beyond,” he said. “It’s about the long term viability and sustainability of the festival and support of the artists, which we have done more than four decades.”

As the contract stands, the next two Sundance Film Festivals will still be held in Park City, with the 2025 event running from Jan. 23-Feb. 2, Hernandez said.

“Nothing will change for the next couple of years, because this is about 2027 and beyond,” he said. “We’re already planning and are fully engaged in the work of the 2025 festival. And the minute the 2025 festival ends, we’ll start planning the 2026 festival.”

“When the Sundance Film Festival first came to Park City in 1985, it was buoyed by a tightknit and passionate group of individuals who worked together to provide a voice for independent storytellers that became impactful beyond anyone’s imagination,” Worel said. “The same could be said about Park City. Forty years ago, we were just starting to realize what this place could become. As Sundance grew, so did we — into a world-class mountain town that welcomes the world year-round.”

Park City officials said they would have nothing more to say outside the statement for the meantime. 

Hernandez, who became the Sundance Film Festival’s fourth director in 2022, first attended the Sundance Film Festival in 1993 as a festival goer, and he feels an acute responsibility to maintain its mission of creating a platform for independent artists to showcase their work.

“To continue to create a space for discovery is something I take very  personally and very seriously, because the Sundance Film Festival means so much to me, and it has shaped me to who I am personally and professionally,” he said.

Hernandez also holds a special place in his heart for Park City, because of its connection to the festival.

“Seeing the mountains and the snow really grounds you, because you know you’re in one of the most beautiful places in the country,” he said. “I also know the legacy is important, and I hope Utah will join us on this journey as we evaluate the future of this festival.”

Once Sundance reviews the RFIs, the cities and towns who have met a list of criteria will be invited to participate in a Request for Proposal process that will run from May 7 to June 21, which will give Sundance the opportunity to review, evaluate and consider the best options that can build on the festival’s legacy of serving the global independent community and its audiences, according to Hernandez.

“This is a natural part of our work, so it’s important to really be mindful of the obligation we have to the festival and the work of the festival,” he said. “And when I think about audiences, I have always felt the audiences that show up each year are always, without question, so open and so warm to the notion of discovery. Whether it’s a screening at nine in the morning at Prospector Theatre or a prime-time screening at the Eccles Theatre or a midnight screening at the Egyptian Theatre, Park City has great audiences who show up open, curious and excited to welcome filmmakers, who are many times walking on stage for the very first time.”