Sundance Film Festival officials are expected to appear at the Marsac Building on Thursday with plans to cover topics like highlights from the event in January and to provide a preview of an upcoming economic report.
But the meeting with Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council is scheduled at a time of high drama as Sundance continues to consider whether it will relocate the festival — the most lucrative event on the Park City calendar — to another community.
Sundance and Park City leaders typically hold a debriefing session like the one scheduled on Thursday, but there’s heightened interest this year from Parkites and businesses.
Sundance on Tuesday did not address the process of selecting a host city for the festival in a prepared statement requested by The Park Record in anticipation of the City Council meeting. The organization has said it does not intend to make additional public statements about the selection process until later.
The Utah Film Commission in May, speaking on behalf of the Utah Sundance Film Festival Host Committee, indicated the effort to continue to stage Sundance had cleared a step in the process.
The discussion between Park City and Sundance on Thursday will occur while Sundance is collecting proposals from communities selected to advance into the current phase. The submission deadline for proposals is June 21. Sundance anticipates announcing their selection of a host in the fourth quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.
Details of the work by City Hall and others involved in the effort to retain Sundance are not known. The municipal government in May turned down a Park Record request under state open-records laws seeking the release of an earlier submittal to Sundance regarding the selection process, citing negotiations protected from public release and Sundance’s insistence on confidentiality with potential host communities. It is believed the various parties involved in the effort are crafting a package of financial and other inducements to present to Sundance.
It is also not known what other communities have advanced to the current stage. Places across the U.S. early on publicly expressed interest in becoming the host of Sundance, but like Park City are not saying much if anything publicly.
Sundance and City Hall have an agreement that covers festivals through 2026, and the 2025 and 2026 editions are planned as normal. Any relocation of the festival would begin with the 2027 event.
The festival is regarded as one of the top marketplaces of independent films on the global circuit and draws an international crowd to Park City. Sundance is typically financially rewarding for the lodging, restaurant and transportation sectors.
The Sundance appearance at the Marsac Building on Thursday is expected to center on the event that held in January. Park City officials and Sundance usually spend a limited amount of time on any one topic at the debriefing, with the possibility of more detailed discussion later. There is the possibility operational issues could be broached, however. The elected officials will accept public input about Sundance on Thursday.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Marsac Building. More information about the meeting is available on the municipal website, www.parkcity.org. The direct link to the meeting materials is: https://parkcity.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/39634/15.