Sundance Institute officials appeared at the Marsac Building on Thursday for a talk with Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council.
The meeting, though, was most notable for a topic that went unmentioned.
There is often a briefing involving Park City leaders and Sundance in the months after the January festival and as organizers are readying the plans for the event the next year. The meeting on Thursday, however, was also held as Sundance is continuing to consider whether the festival will relocate to another community starting with the 2027 edition.
Neither Sundance nor the Park City officials on Thursday broached the ongoing selection process of a host city. It is a high-stakes time for both sides. Sundance wants to ensure its decision about a host city fits best for the future of the festival, while Park City is attempting to keep Sundance — the most lucrative event on the community’s calendar — in its longtime location.
The Utah Sundance Film Festival Host Committee in May indicated it had advanced to a next step in the selection process. Little is known about the details of the proposal and whether it seeks to keep the logistics of Sundance largely as they have been or whether there is the possibility of a recasting of the event. The list of other communities that advanced to a next step is not known, but there has been interest expressed publicly from places across the U.S.
Important sectors of the Park City economy normally post strong numbers during Sundance. The festival is usually busy for the lodging, restaurant and transportation industries as large crowds of film-industry figures and film lovers arrive in Park City.
The elected officials on Thursday provided limited comments about the festival held in January or other Sundance-related topics. City Councilor Jeremy Rubell spoke of Sundance being part of the Park City community while Bill Ciraco, another member of the City Council, talked about the strength of the Sundance brand. City Councilor Ed Parigian suggested Park City may have been too quiet during this year’s Sundance.
The Sundance officials on Thursday also provided a preview of an annual report that tracks the economic impact of the festival. The full report is expected to be released later in the year. Sundance said this year’s festival generated $132 million in economic impact, an increase of 11.6% from 2023.
The full report usually includes numerous data points illustrating the economics of Sundance and highlighting the demographics of the festival attendees.
Sundance, the top marketplace of independent films in the U.S. and one of the elite festivals on the international circuit, is continuing a comeback from the pandemic-forced cancellations of two consecutive in-person festivals, in 2021 and 2022. The event was moved online in both of the years.
Sundance officials often return to City Hall later in a year for more talks as they finalize the logistical details of the festival that will be held in the following January.