On Wednesday, July 29, Sundance Film Festival director (and IndieWire co-founder) Eugene Hernandez revealed a letter detailing the upcoming Boulder edition, January 21-31.
“The letter that we’re releasing is to give people a grounding,” Hernandez told IndieWire over Zoom. “We’re still six months off, but this is where we are, and we have this moment to say things are moving along really well, and we’re excited to start to share a bit of a snapshot of what it looks like and feels like.”
The ethos of the festival has changed from an overpriced ski resort with far-flung venues that are difficult to access in winter weather to a welcoming, friendly festival in a bustling university town, with theaters and housing centrally located within a two-mile radius. “It will likely feel more dynamic in that sense of everything being concentrated,” said Hernandez.
The Colorado government is channeling resources and support: Democratic Governor Jared Polis has been a frequent presence in Boulder, his hometown. “His mom is a documentary filmmaker,” said Hernandez. “His dad’s an artist. He grew up in this community, and the arts and culture means so much to him. He signed the bill supporting all of Colorado’s festivals with this tax incentive bill a couple of years ago.” The Governor has designated members of his team to work closely with Sundance, Visit Boulder, the Boulder City leadership, and the tourism office. Hernandez and his team have also built relationships with the president and chancellor of the University of Colorado, hosting a series of packed screenings for students.
Renovations are underway in multiple theater venues, including the addition of Dolby Sound. “We installed 240 speakers into the Macky Auditorium, which is like Carnegie Hall on the campus of CU Boulder,” said Hernandez. “These are major upgrades: screens, projectors, sound, seats in all of our venues. So that will upgrade the experience for artists and audiences in a way that this festival has never seen.” No more Yarrow, Prospector, Holiday, and Library.
The festival is getting bigger. The U.S. Dramatic, World Cinema Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, and World Cinema Documentary sections will grow to 12 films each. Other sections, including Premieres, NEXT, Midnight, Family Matinee, and more, will also expand. As before, premieres will frontload the festival, with repeat showings to follow, as well as eventual online access for the Competition films. “We’re getting a lot of action on watching and starting to invite films,” said Hernandez.
Some industry folks are already booking hotels and Airbnbs, while some talent may prefer to stay in Denver, only a half-hour drive away, which hosts fancier hotels like the Four Seasons and a massive international airport hub. “People have a lot more optionality in terms of type of housing and also cost,” said Hernandez.
New Frontier is back with a new name, New Frontier FLUX, which champions maverick, independent
storytelling.
The international FIPRESCI critics will attend Sundance for the first time and give out new awards for Best Debut Narrative in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and Best Debut Documentary in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winners automatically qualify for the upcoming Oscars in the International Feature Film Category, such as last year’s winner “Shame and Money.”
Hernandez’s letter is shared in full below.
What to Know About the 2027 Sundance Film Festival: A Letter from Eugene Hernandez
Hello friends!
When I think about the Sundance Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado (January 21–31, 2027), I think about you, our artists, our supporters, industry and audiences, and how excited I am for each of you to discover this beautiful place rooted in community. It’s all happening in less than six months and you’re invited!
Our dreams for the Sundance Film Festival in a new place are rapidly transforming into reality. Yes, a lot is changing, which you can read all about below, but our commitment remains the same as it’s been for more than four decades. We’re upholding the values of our founder, Robert Redford, and building a Festival that will introduce artists and their work to new audiences, uplifting the next wave of independent storytelling, and connecting with our passionate global community and the Coloradans joining us in building our Festival’s new home. We hope you will join us in Colorado in January! Below are details to help you plan your journey to Boulder:
Save the Dates
The 2027 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 21–31, in Boulder, Colorado. World premieres will be held Thursday, January 21, to Tuesday, January 26 — Festivalgoers will be part of the first audiences ever to see brand-new films, episodic projects, and more. Throughout the entire run of the Festival additional showings of the 2027 program will continue until the Festival wraps.
Our annual Festival gala will take place on Friday, January 22. This event raises vital funds to support independent artists through our year-round programs.
For those joining us outside of Colorado, anywhere across the country, we’ll again offer at-home online screenings from Thursday, January 28, to Sunday, January 31, offering films in our five competition sections, including NEXT. Films from other sections in our lineup can also choose to participate in the online Festival program for limited audiences. Press and industry will have online access to the at-home program for the professional community beginning one day earlier on Wednesday, January 27.
New State-of-the-Art Venues
Evolving our Festival in Boulder includes introducing the Sundance Film Festival to an exciting array of theaters that will delight artists and audiences alike.
In the new Festival footprint, our venues are all within about a 2-mile radius. On the University of Colorado Boulder campus, the iconic Macky Auditorium is adjacent to the historic Old Main, across the quad from the Roe Green Theatre and near Muenzinger Auditorium. A short walk from campus is BHS (Boulder High School), and just a few blocks away is the Pearl Street pedestrian mall filled with restaurants and shops.
From the center of Pearl Street, the Hotel Boulderado, our Festival Headquarters, is steps away, and around the corner is the Boulder Theater, near e-Town Hall and the Canyon Theater. Walk a few more blocks north, and find Casey (Casey Middle School). The legendary Chautauqua Auditorium is about a mile away at the base of the Flatiron trails, and there is still more to experience a few minutes away from Pearl Street at Dairy Arts Center and the Cinemark Century (our press and industry screening venue).
With all of this news about our Festival’s reimagining in Boulder and beyond, we know you’re eager to learn about where all of these once-in-a-lifetime moments will take place. More films and events mean more venues!
Press & Industry Screenings
In addition to public screenings, starting Thursday, January 21, through Wednesday, January 27, Cinemark Century will host P&I screenings, with additional repeat P&Is Thursday, January 28, and Friday, January 29. Cinemark Century theaters are located in an open-air mall featuring dining, shopping, entertainment, wellness offerings, and more.
In partnership with the venues, our teams are hard at work to ensure that each screening space will be state-of-the-art, allowing our artists to best present their new works to the world and giving our audiences world-class cinematic experiences. This is so exciting for us because the transformative work being done to prepare our venues for the 2027 Festival is unprecedented. Click here to learn a bit more about each venue and to check out our Festival footprint map.
An Expanded Program
In this moment when artists are seeking more support, we’re thrilled that Boulder allows us to expand our program size and connect even more films with Sundance Film Festival audiences. In 2027, our four central competition categories — U.S. Dramatic, World Cinema Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, and World Cinema Documentary — will grow to 12 films each. Other sections, including Premieres, NEXT, Midnight, Family Matinee, and more, will also expand. This undercurrent of expansion runs throughout the entire Festival. Our Offscreen (formerly known as Beyond Film) programming slate — Cinema Café, The Big Conversation, Power of Story — will be expanding our signature talks and thoughtful events with artists and colleagues to include live podcast recordings and more.
In September, we’ll share more information on Fest passes, ticket packages, and single film tickets so you can decide the best way to experience everything the Festival has to offer. Passes and packages go on sale in October, and single film tickets in early January. Stay tuned for more details on the ticketing products available as well as the 2027 lineup, which will be announced in December. Be sure to create a Festival account and opt in to receive email communications to get the latest updates.
If you want to get early access to Festival passes and packages, become a Sundance Institute Member or donor. Besides sustaining our year-round artist programs and initiatives, supporters get early access to ticket sales, discounts on merchandise (which you can use to pick up some more 2026 gear right now!), and more.
New Frontier FLUX
For the last two years, New Frontier — our dynamic, cutting-edge program at the intersection of art, cinematic storytelling, and emerging technologies — has been on pause to evaluate the rapid changes in our media landscape. Determined to stay with our community as we face the uncertainty of our times, New Frontier will return to the 2027 edition of the Festival as New Frontier FLUX to activate inside the massive fluctuations of our biodigital realities.
Committed to experimentation and interdisciplinary practice, New Frontier FLUX radically pushes at formal cinematic boundaries to champion and cultivate maverick, independent storytelling. As we plant roots in Boulder, a community that holds a deep, long-standing love of experimentation and exploration, we are excited to have found a home for this courageous section of the Festival.
Exciting Additions to Festival Awards
Toward the end of the Festival, we honor the projects and artists that have graced our screens for nine days, celebrating their accomplishments and dedication to creating culture-shifting, unique stories. The 2027 Sundance Film Festival jury and audience awards will be announced on Friday, January 29.
For the first time, we’re thrilled to welcome the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) to the Sundance Film Festival. FIPRESCI will establish their own jury who will select winners for Best Debut Narrative in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and Best Debut Documentary within the World Cinema Documentary Competition. FIPRESCI will present these awards during our awards ceremony. This partnership is a great way to welcome our international community as we kick off our Festival in Boulder.
In addition, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has acknowledged the works of our global filmmakers by making the Sundance Film Festival an Academy Awards–qualifying Festival for World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winners, Documentary and Dramatic. Simply, this means that our World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winners will automatically qualify for the upcoming Oscars in the International Feature Film Category. This change is so exciting for all of us at the Institute as it continues to uphold the mission of supporting and highlighting groundbreaking artists from around the globe.
Speaking of Hard Work
Our Festival has a proud history of working with volunteers throughout our venues and programs, and this year is no different. We will be welcoming over 2,000 volunteers from across the world and around the corner to bring our Festival to life. Volunteer applications will open on our website August 31, 2026, for anyone who may want to get involved!
Boulder Is Full of Options
Naturally, the questions we hear most from our Festival community are about our transportation and lodging. A new location brings new logistics to learn and new neighborhoods to explore. One of our favorite things about Boulder is how easy it is to get around, whether walking, riding a scooter or e-bike, or taking advantage of the city’s robust local transportation system with bus routes that seamlessly reach all our venues. Regional buses from around the area, including Denver and the airport, connect directly into this Boulder system.
Another thing about our new Fest home that I’ve fallen in love with is the sheer convenience for our audiences and artists — from locally owned and award-winning places to eat (over 100 in the heart of Boulder, 400 in the city!), to spots to grab a drink, to shops for last-minute necessities and gifts, there are countless options for how to shape your days in Boulder! Visit Boulder will be providing easily accessible, interactive guides on where to eat by each theater to help attendees make quick decisions between films. From high-quality grab-and-go options to a MICHELIN-star meal, and everything in between, Boulder has it all!
Wondering Where to Stay?
The Lodging section of our How to Fest guide has information on hotels and short-term rentals in and around Boulder and surrounding areas, as well as info on transportation for those who want to experience more of Colorado by staying in Denver or nearby commutable areas. This site will continue to be updated as more inventory is added throughout the year at lodging.sundance.org.
If you are coming from overseas, good news: There are over 30 direct international flight routes to Denver International Airport in January, including flights from London, Mexico City, Tokyo, Toronto, and more.
There is something magical about experiencing stories with people you don’t know. These experiences bring us together, and being a part of this community creates the memories we take home with us. Our whole team is working hand in hand every day to build the new foundation for our Festival with our incredible partners in Boulder. I can’t wait for us all to kick off this next chapter of the Sundance Film Festival together in Boulder, Colorado, in January, because it wouldn’t be the Sundance Film Festival without you.
Eugene