Sundance Boulder 2027 expands competitions and upgrades theaters
Sundance’s first Boulder festival will add films, upgrade key venues and bring FIPRESCI awards into the January event.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
The Sundance Boulder 2027 edition is getting a bigger movie lineup and a serious theater glow-up as the festival prepares to open in its new Colorado home in January.
Festival director Eugene Hernandez told Deadline that the move from Utah will make Sundance more compact. In Park City, screenings were spread across Park City, Kimball Junction and Salt Lake City over roughly a 40-mile radius, he said. In Boulder, Hernandez said, the festival will sit inside a little more than two square miles of central activity.
The shift comes as Sundance works with city and local officials to prepare for an event that Deadline reported typically draws more than 85,000 attendees.
What is changing for Sundance in Boulder?
The biggest venue change is Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, which will become the festival’s new premiere site. Deadline reported that the historic hall has been fitted with 240 Dolby speakers and will feature the largest movie screen Sundance has ever used.
Other Boulder venues are also being upgraded. Deadline identified the Roe Green Theatre at the University of Colorado Boulder, the downtown Boulder Theater, the Canyon Theater, Chautauqua Auditorium and Cinemark Century as part of the festival’s local cinema setup.
Chautauqua Auditorium is being winterized, while Cinemark Century will be used for press and industry screenings, according to Deadline. Some improvements are being paid for by Sundance, while other costs are being shared. Macky Auditorium is owned by the University of Colorado Boulder.
Asked whether the work would be done by January, Hernandez told Deadline the festival would be ready, saying the upgrades had been scheduled for more than a year and a half.
More films are being added to the competitions
Sundance is also expanding its program. Deadline reported that the four main competition sections, U.S. Dramatic, World Cinema Dramatic, U.S. Documentary and World Cinema Documentary, will each grow to 12 films.
Other sections, including Premieres, NEXT, Midnight and Family Matinee, are also set to expand. Offscreen, the festival programming area previously known as Beyond Film, will add to its talks and events, including Cinema Café, The Big Conversation and Power of Story.
Hernandez told Deadline that the extra seats and theaters give the festival room to broaden the schedule.
New Frontier is also coming back in a revised form. Deadline reported that the section will return in 2027 as New Frontier FLUX, with work focused on the intersection of technology, creative practice and independent film in what the festival calls a biodigital world.
FIPRESCI joins the awards lineup
The International Federation of Film Critics, known as FIPRESCI, will be part of Sundance’s awards program in Boulder. According to Deadline, the group will create its own jury and present prizes for Best Debut Narrative in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and Best Debut Documentary in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.
The FIPRESCI awards will be handed out during Sundance’s awards ceremony. Deadline noted that the critics’ organization has long had a presence at Cannes.
Sundance is also adding an Oscars pathway for international films. Deadline reported that World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winners will automatically qualify for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category, a move similar to rules tied to TIFF and Cannes.
How is Boulder handling travel and lodging?
Hernandez told Deadline that Sundance heard concerns about flights and lodging and has responded. Boulder has created a home-rental program for the festival, with a festival license required for residents who want to rent out homes under the city’s more restrictive short-term rental rules.
The festival said the change has brought thousands of rentals onto the market, according to Deadline.
Hernandez also pointed to Denver International Airport as part of the access plan, telling Deadline there will be more than 30 direct international routes to Denver in January, including service from London, Mexico City, Tokyo and Toronto.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.