Gov. Polis and state legislators had been working since last year to shore up incentives for the event, gathering $35 million to dangle in front of festival leaders.

Just before noon Thursday, Sundance Institute representatives confirmed what had been whispered about for months: beginning in 2027, the world’s most iconic independent film festival will make its new home in this mountain-framed, art-loving, Patagonia-puff-filled town.

Colorado and Sundance Institute leadership announce Boulder, Colo., as the host city of the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027, at a press conference in front of the Boulder Theater on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The Sundance Film Festival will move to Boulder in 2027, the Sundance Institute announced Thursday.