Boulder is one step away from becoming the new home for the internationally recognized Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Institute, the nonprofit responsible for running the annual independent film event, announced Thursday that Boulder has made the list of top three finalists to potentially host the festival beginning in 2027.

Colorado officials including Gov. Jared Polis placed a bid for Boulder to host Sundance in June as event organizers put out a request for host cities as they consider leaving the festival’s 40-year home in Park City, Utah.

The festival may still stay in Utah as a joint bid with Park City and Salt Lake City is one of the three finalists. Cincinnati, Ohio, is the third finalist. Writers from both The Hollywood Reporter and Vulture Magazine have speculated that Boulder is the No. 1 candidate.

The other finalists announced in July — Atlanta, Louisville, Kentucky, and Santa Fe, N.M. — didn’t make the cut.

The Sundance Institute said their three finalists had the best infrastructure, capabilities and equity values to host the festival.

“Each has shown us the blend of exciting possibilities, values, and logistics needed to produce a vibrant, inviting and inclusive Festival,” Eugene Hernandez, festival director and head of public programming, said in a news release. “We’re excited for a future Sundance that can discover, support and inspire artists and audiences for the next 40 years.”

Polis said in a statement that Boulder is the “next natural home” for the Sundance Film Festival.

“Here in Colorado, we cherish our creative communities, the jobs they create, and the economic contributions they make to our entire state, and the Sundance Film Festival would perfectly complement the work and creative activity already happening here in Colorado,” Polis said.

Boulder would keep the festival in the Mountain West region, state officials have pitched.

The city also has a remote connection to Sundance Festival founder Robert Redford, who went to the University of Colorado Boulder for one year and worked at The Sink as a janitor, according the the university. His children also attended CU.

Nearby in Estes Park, the Stanley Hotel temporarily hosted the Sundance Institute’s 2024 Directors Lab for budding filmmakers as the Sundance Resort Utah was under construction. That program will return to Colorado next year as well.

State officials have called this a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for Colorado to become the festival’s new home.

Sundance generated more than $118 million for Utah and created more than 1,600 jobs in 2023, according to an economic impact report from Y2 Analytics. It also has ties to the winter sports industry, as 23% of festival visitors said they intended to ski or snowboard during the festival, the report found.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved a $1.5 million incentive in June to attract the festival, more than the $1.3 million Utah gave to the festival in 2023.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is also contributing $325,000 and the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media is contributing $250,000 over five years. The Colorado Tourism Office is contributing $50,000 and the Colorado Creative Industries $25,000.

The Sundance Institute is expected to announce the host city after the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in winter or early spring.

The Robert Redford-founded festival has been a launching pad for many top filmmakers over the years, from Quentin Tarantino to Ryan Coogler. It’s also premiered many 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.”

What’s next to win? 

When asked about how Colorado plans to lure the festival away from its current home, Polis told The Denver Gazette he believes Boulder would help Sundance grow.

“As the festival achieves new heights, they want a partner that’s able to not only keep up with it, but really help be a part of taking Sundance to the next level,” Polis said in an interview.

The governor and state leaders met with Sundance organizers as they toured each finalist city over the summer before narrowing their choice to three.

Officials said they showed the organizers Denver International Airport, CU Boulder’s campus and Macky Auditorium Concert Hall, and the hotel capacity across the Denver metro region and had several prominent Colorado filmmakers join their meetings to help make the case for Boulder.

Polis said Boulder would benefit from the festival as it’s usually hosted in late January, a slower period in the city, which could stimulate the region’s ski resorts and hotels.

“Colorado doesn’t necessarily need or want more visitors during Christmas week or during different times of year where it’s already very crowded,” Polis said. “But we absolutely all benefit from the increased visitation and investment during the weeks proposed for the festival.”

It’s hard to know exactly what the organizers are looking for in a host, said Eve Lieberman, Colorado’s executive director at the Office of Economic Development and International Trade. But she added they seemed interested in Boulder’s proximity to Denver International Airport and the many flight connections it offers, as well as CU Boulder’s infrastructure and its students

Now the state is focusing on having the best bid, Polis said.

“We are working on making sure that Colorado’s incentive package is competitive and really a part of helping to seal the deal,” the governor said. “The benefits are far beyond for businesses and for Colorado consumers who might enjoy the festival.”

Colorado leaders may consider enhancing its incentives now that it made the final stage of selection, Lieberman said. But also, they believe Boulder’s assets speak for themselves.

The city is bringing diverse venues, a vibrant creative community, the iconic Flatirons mountains and many willing partnerships to the table, Lieberman said.

“Those are probably our primary attributes that we’re leaning forward with,” she said.

The Denver Gazette sought reaction to today’s news from Kevin Smith, CEO of Denver Film, who was traveling and unavailable. For five decades, Denver Film has presented the Denver Film Festival, which is now a staple on the late-fall Denver metro cultural calendar. In his place, Denver Film spokesman Marty Schechter said: “Like everyone else, we’ll wait and watch the next phase of this process unfold.”

Two keen observers of the process have been sisters Kathy and Robin Beeck, who co-founded the Boulder International Film Festival 20 years ago and in early March drew 20,000 film enthusiasts to Boulder and Longmont to see nearly 80 films.

“It would be a huge boon for the city of Boulder, and it would be a huge boon for our economy,” Kathy Beeck told The Denver Gazette last month. “And while we certainly haven’t talked to anybody at Sundance about this, we feel like we have laid the groundwork for a festival like Sundance to come to Boulder.”

Senior Arts Journalist John Moore and wire services contributed to this report.