Atlanta planning bid to host Sundance Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival producer says
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First/AP) - Atlanta officials are planning to make a bid for the city to host the Sundance Film Festival, a producer of the Atlanta Film Festival said Sunday.
Chris Escobar, the executive director of the Atlanta Film Society, which oversees the Atlanta Film Festival, confirmed to Atlanta News First that the city plans on bidding to become the new home for the prestigious Utah-based independent film festival starting in 2027.
Atlanta News First has reached out to city officials for comment.
On Wednesday, April 17, the Sundance Institute said it had started to explore the possibility of other U.S. locations hosting the festival starting in 2027.
The 2025 and 2026 festivals will still take place in Park City and Salt Lake City. But with the current contract up for renewal in 2027, the institute is taking steps to look at all options through a request for information and request for proposal process. The final selection, which could still be Park City, is expected to be announced by early 2025.
“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 Eugene Hernandez, the festival’s director.
Hernandez said they want to “ensure that the Festival continues to thrive culturally, operationally, and financially as it has for four decades.”
Park City has been home to the Robert Redford-founded festival for 40 years. The festival and its sponsors take over many venues in the small city every January to transform it into a film festival hub with theaters in places like the library and a recreation center. Store fronts along the city’s charming Main Street become exclusive lounges for actors and filmmakers, and restaurants host cast parties after global film premieres.
Sundance has also been a launching pad for many top filmmakers over the years and has hosted premieres for eventual Oscar nominees and winners, including “CODA,” their first best picture winner, and the past three documentary winners “20 Days in Mariupol,“ ”Navalny” and “Summer of Soul.” The Utah festival received a record number of submissions last year.
The festival has long sparred with local ski resorts — Park City’s other major money maker — as more than 86,000 festivalgoers fill the hotels and leave the slopes virtually empty for two weeks during peak ski season.
The festival has made concessions over the years, such as moving more screenings to neighboring Salt Lake City and shifting its dates slightly so ski areas could cash in on a holiday weekend. But, like the resorts, it cannot afford to miss the early weeks of winter. Sundance has positioned itself as the first major film festival of each calendar year, meaning it’s the first stop for many of the best new projects from around the globe.
Redford, who stepped back from the Sundance spotlight years ago, expressed concern in 2016 that the festival as it existed might have outgrown Park City and was thinking about ways to evolve. He and his daughter, Amy Redford, who is on the board, have been involved in the process announced April 17.
Last month, the Institute’s CEO Joana Vicente stepped down after two and a half years in the position. Amanda Kelso, a member of the board, was appointed acting CEO, but no permanent replacement has been announced.
The Atlanta Film Festival is being held now through Sunday, May 5.
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
