The Sundance Film Festival is rapidly progressing with its relocation to Boulder, Colorado, nine months before its inaugural event there, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paula Dupré Pesmen, an Oscar-nominated producer, now serves as managing director of festival and institute operations, the highest-ranking official based in the city. The organizers aim to attract two-thirds of attendees from within Colorado, mirroring past participation rates from Utah.
Paula Dupré Pesmen, an Oscar-nominated producer with a three-decade history in Boulder, now holds the highest local operational role for the Sundance Film Festival. Her appointment as managing director of festival and institute operations underscores a significant commitment to local leadership in the new host city, The Hollywood Reporter learned. Pesmen previously assisted Boulder in crafting its bid to host the festival, then joined the organization to manage the relocation process directly.
Here is the number that matters: 10 Sundance employees currently work from Colorado, with six of them situated in the Boulder area. Jeff Levine, the festival’s head of audience development and experience, recently moved his family to Boulder to spearhead outreach efforts across the state. The festival plans to draw approximately two-thirds of its audience from Colorado residents, a proportion consistent with attendance figures from its 45-year tenure in Park City, Utah.
Dana Bacardi, who has resided in Boulder for years and previously collaborated with Pesmen at the nonprofit There With Care, now serves as the festival’s associate director of individual giving. Her mandate includes securing $10 million in funding. This capital will primarily support the modernization of festival venues and necessary equipment upgrades.
Organizers expect to recruit additional local staff and a substantial volunteer force in the coming months, integrating the festival deeper into the community fabric. In late March, Sundance representatives hosted a crucial gathering in Boulder. Approximately 75 publicists, sales representatives, and distributors, all essential for managing festival logistics for their respective companies, attended.
This group included key figures such as festival director Eugene Hernandez and senior programmer Kim Yutani, among others, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Their visit provided an early look at the operational landscape. Colorado Governor Jared Polis met with the out-of-town guests during their visit.
The delegation toured 13 selected screening venues by foot and bus, gaining a tangible understanding of the festival’s new footprint. These venues span the University of Colorado Boulder campus and the downtown Pearl Street Mall area. Macky Auditorium Concert Hall, capable of seating over 2,000 people, stands as a prominent university location, complemented by the smaller Muenzinger Auditorium and Roe Green Theatre.
Downtown venues include the 90-year-old Boulder Theater, currently undergoing modernization, and the 125-year-old Chautauqua Auditorium, which requires winterization for the January festival. eTown Hall will also host screenings. Press and industry professionals will utilize the Cinemark Century Boulder for their dedicated screenings. Talks and other programming will take place at the Canyon Theater, Dairy Arts Center, Old Main, and eTown Hall, diversifying the festival’s intellectual offerings.
Attendees of the March visit offered mixed reactions regarding the new setup. One studio publicist described the theaters as “gorgeous” and expressed comfort with showing films there, particularly at Macky Auditorium, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. However, several industry professionals voiced apprehension regarding the availability, quality, and cost of local accommodation.
One participant stated, “We are capital-S stressed about that,” recalling that securing suitable housing in Park City had become a “nightmare” in recent years. Sundance aims to alleviate these lodging concerns in Boulder through strategic partnerships with local establishments. The festival plans to offer rooms at negotiated preferred rates to eligible community members within a limited booking window.
The festival’s lodging portal is scheduled to open in waves, starting April 21, for regular attendees and press. This portal will feature downtown luxury options like the St Julien Hotel & Spa, offering 201 rooms, and the historic 117-year-old Hotel Boulderado with its 160 rooms. On the University of Colorado Boulder campus, newer options include the Moxy Boulder, a Marriott property with 189 rooms, and the Limelight Boulder, providing 252 rooms, both opened within the last three years.
Starting in May, the portal will also list short-term rentals of Boulder homes and apartments. This became possible after the Boulder City Council approved specific “festival lodging” ordinances, a crucial regulatory step. Some festival-goers, especially those who require luxury accommodations or must make last-minute travel arrangements, may opt to stay in Denver.
The capital city is a 45-minute drive from Boulder and offers numerous hotels, including high-end establishments like a Ritz-Carlton and a Four Seasons. This alternative provides flexibility for attendees, though it adds a commute. Beyond catering to out-of-town visitors, Sundance is actively cultivating local engagement.
The festival has reached out to University of Colorado Boulder students, offering discounted admission to screenings. Year-round Boulder residents are also a focus. Last summer, the festival hosted two community events to introduce itself.
In July, a free event titled “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Sundance Film Festival” featured a discussion moderated by Eugene Hernandez with filmmakers Sean Wang and Pete Nicks, whose careers began at Sundance. In August, Hernandez and Kim Yutani, another senior programmer, responded to questions from local journalist Lisa Kennedy, further deepening community ties. The festival has also forged partnerships with organizations across Boulder and the wider state to host film screenings.
Last September, it collaborated with the Boulder International Film Festival, a local event that recently celebrated its 22nd edition with record attendance, to screen “Come See Me in the Good Light,” a documentary about Colorado’s former poet laureate. This week, it co-hosted a screening of Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters” at the Denver Film Festival, a film that recently premiered at SXSW. Eugene Hernandez described the local response as “truly astonishing and super exciting,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He noted the “hospitality, ingenuity and enthusiasm” in both Boulder and Colorado. “Spending more and more time building in Boulder, with monthly events counting down the days, we’re seeing our festival come to life in its new home,” Hernandez said. He emphasized that having Paula Pesmen, who knows and lives in the community, is “paving the path to our festival’s growth in Colorado.” Strip away the noise and the story is simpler than it looks: a major cultural institution is transplanting itself, requiring both logistical precision and community buy-in. Why It Matters: The Sundance Film Festival's move to Boulder represents more than just a change of address.
It signifies a strategic shift for one of the independent film world’s most influential platforms, potentially reshaping its audience demographics and economic impact. For Boulder, it promises a significant injection of cultural prestige and tourism revenue, but also introduces logistical challenges, particularly concerning accommodation. For filmmakers, the new location could foster fresh connections with a different regional audience and donor base.
The transition tests the festival’s adaptability and its ability to replicate its unique atmosphere in a new environment, with implications for how major cultural events consider their physical footprints and community relationships in the future. Key Takeaways: - Sundance is nine months from its first Boulder festival, having secured 13 screening venues. - Organizers face lodging challenges but are implementing a preferred-rate portal and short-term rental options. - Extensive community engagement efforts are underway, including partnerships with local film festivals and student discounts. Looking ahead, the lodging portal’s phased opening, beginning April 21, will be a critical benchmark for the festival’s operational readiness.
Industry observers will watch closely for the volume and quality of available rooms, particularly as short-term home rentals become available in May following city council approval. The festival’s ability to meet its $10 million fundraising target and successfully integrate local volunteers will also signal its long-term viability in Colorado. Further community events and the finalization of discounted student admissions will indicate how deeply the festival embeds itself in its new home.
The market is telling you something. Listen. These next few months will reveal how effectively Sundance can translate enthusiasm into concrete logistical success.
Key Takeaways
— - Sundance is nine months from its first Boulder festival, having secured 13 screening venues.
— - Paula Dupré Pesmen, a local Oscar-nominated producer, now leads Boulder operations for the festival.
— - Organizers face lodging challenges but are implementing a preferred-rate portal and short-term rental options.
— - Extensive community engagement efforts are underway, including partnerships with local film festivals and student discounts.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter