Minneapolis will bid to host Sundance Film Festival

Minneapolis is trying to lure the Sundance Film Festival away from its longtime home in Utah.

Organizers of the annual January festival last week announced they were exploring the idea of moving from its longtime home in Park City, Utah, and on Tuesday, Minneapolis City Council members, meeting as a committee, voiced unanimous support for trying to nab it. The council’s approval was needed so the city can sign what amounts to a confidentiality agreement with festival organizers before they can move ahead.

Mayor Jacob Frey supports exploring it. “Sundance and Minneapolis are an obvious and beautiful match,” Frey said in a statement. “We have a world-class arts and entertainment community, and a well-earned reputation for successfully hosting major events.”

The city, in collaboration with Meet Minneapolis and Film North, are planning to respond to the festival’s public request for information from suitors, Andrew Ballard, the city’s events manager, told City Council members Tuesday afternoon.

It’s unclear if the festival will move at all, but the festival’s growth over its 40 years in Park City during the height of the ski season has led to a chorus of complaints from local businesses, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Sundance is undertaking a two-step process, and this is step one: a request for information. Cities need to respond by May 1. It’s unclear how many other locales are trying.

If Sundance wants to take it to the next step, it will ask cities to submit a more detailed request for proposals starting May 7.

According to a statement from the festival:

“With the Festival’s current contract with Park City up for renewal starting in 2027, the RFI/RFP will allow the Institute to evaluate, consider, and build on its foundation for an accessible Festival serving a growing global independent creative community. The Institute is making sure that inclusivity and sustainability are always at the forefront of the festival experience, while preserving the Festival’s key mission and responsibility: discovering and supporting independent storytellers and introducing their work to new audiences.”

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the Sundance Institute has put on the Sundance Film Festival for 40 years to showcase independent films from America and abroad, drawing tens of thousands of film industry insiders.