Reaction to the Sundance Film Festival's announcement it's leaving Park City, Utah
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027, after spending 40 years in Park City, Utah.
The decision ends a yearlong process in which numerous U.S. cities vied to host the prominent independent film festival, which has been a launching pad for numerous directors, actors and Oscar contenders. The finalist cities ended up being Boulder, Cincinnati, Ohio, and a combined Salt Lake City and Park City bid.
Sundance's new home of Boulder even has a connection to its founder, Robert Redford, who attended the university there in the 1950s.
Here are some of the reactions to Sundance's upcoming move:
'Here in our state we celebrate the arts and film industry as a key economic driver, job creator, and important contributor to our thriving culture. Now, with the addition of the iconic Sundance Film Festival, we can expect even more jobs, a huge benefit for our small businesses including stores and restaurants.' — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, in a statement.
"As I've said from the beginning, we wanted Sundance to stay. We made that clear to their leadership and put together a highly competitive package. Ultimately, this decision is theirs to make, but I believe it's a mistake and that, one day, they'll realize they left behind not just a place, but their heritage.' — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, in a statement.
'The Sundance Film Festival is a catalyst for innovation, creative expression, and the discovery of groundbreaking independent films that inspire and shape the future of storytelling. This process provided the opportunity to imagine how we design the Festival while staying true to our programming and mission.' Acting Sundance CEO Amanda Kelso, in a statement.
"This move will ensure that the Festival continues its work of risk taking, supporting innovative storytellers, fostering independence, and entertaining and enlightening audiences. I am grateful to the Boulder community for its support, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Festival there.' — Redford, in a statement.
'While we are naturally disappointed by the decision, the State of Utah, Park City and Salt Lake City have long been proud partners of the Festival, and we are grateful for the lasting impact it has had on our communities. We remain committed to fostering the arts right here in Utah, where the spirit of storytelling will always thrive.' — a joint statement from the mayors of Park City, Salt Lake City and Utah Film Commission.
'While Cincinnati was not selected to host the Sundance Film Festival, we are proud of how our city demonstrated its dynamic role within the film industry,' Film Cincinnati President Kristen Schlotman said in a statement.
___
Associated Press Writers Hannah Schoenbaum and John Seewer contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
My 7-year-old interviewed the author of his favorite book. He asked big and small questions with more confidence than I have.
When author and illustrator Peter Brown set out to write "The Wild Robot," he didn't head to a studio or café — he went to the Catskills, Maine, and the Pacific Northwest to find inspiration. When I had the chance to connect with Brown, I knew I had to turn to an expert who truly appreciated the book: my 7-year-old son. "I tried to spend as much time in kind of a wilderness area as I could to feed my imagination, give me little ideas, remind myself of the kind of sounds that you hear when you're out in the woods," Brown told me and my son over a video interview. That juxtaposition — the mechanical and the natural — sits at the heart of "The Wild Robot," Brown's beloved middle-grade novel and now an Oscar-nominated major motion picture from DreamWorks. "The last place you'd expect to find a robot is out in the wilderness," Brown explained. "And so I thought, well, that's kind of interesting." My three children agree. They are such fans of the movie that we ended up not only buying it, but also getting the book to read the original story, which we've already enjoyed multiple times. My son had lots of questions to ask Brown, from whether he liked robots to whether there would be more movies starring his favorite robot, Roz. He wanted readers to care about the robot To prepare for the interview, my son and I talked about our favorite parts of the movie and the book. I asked him what he wanted to ask Brown, and he surprised me with how much he wanted to know, including why the robot doesn't have a mouth but can still talk, and more profound questions that, as a parent, moved me. For those who aren't hardcore fans like we are, "The Wild Robot" follows Rozzum Unit 7134 (a.k.a Roz), a machine that washes ashore on a remote island and must learn to survive — and eventually, thrive — among wildlife. "This is a very extreme fish out of water story," Brown said. "You take that advanced technological character and you put it in the least technological place you can imagine." The book's premise is simple, but the emotional arc is complex. Brown imagined a robot that becomes more "natural and wild than even a person could." Both my husband and I cried at different scenes of the movie because Roz reminded us of different parenting phases we've been through, helping our kids learn how to walk, or learning ourselves how to let them go and become their own person. "That is kind of the main goal of an author — to make sure your readers care," Brown said. Roz is an optimistic vision of AI At a time when most portrayals of artificial intelligence tend toward the dystopian, Brown aimed for something different. "We are very familiar with stories about robots, kind of like a robot uprising," he said. "I thought it was more interesting to show a more optimistic vision of what the future could look like." He backs that vision with research, not just imagination. Brown visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and spoke with scientists designing robots to explore other planets. "They're already using robots to communicate with animals," he told my son, who listened with both his eyes and mouth wide open in surprise. Roz, Brown believes, could someday exist. There might be a movie sequel Brown has long loved animation, and the adaptation of the first book from his three-book series into a movie has been a surreal experience. "Before I started writing children's books, I actually worked in animation," he said. So when DreamWorks reached out, saying they wanted to adapt the book into a movie, he was very excited. He hopes for a sequel, which was one of the more important questions my son had because he wants more of Roz. "I'm pretty confident there will be at least one more movie," he said. My son shared with Brown how his twin sisters, who are two years younger than him, often get distracted when my husband reads the original book because it doesn't have illustrations on every page. Brown's latest project, " The Wild Robot on the Island," is a picture book adaptation of the original novel, aimed at an audience like my daughters. He wants readers to learn something from Roz Throughout the interview, Brown answered my son's big questions and little questions with the same enthusiasm and attention to detail. They talked about whether Brown had a Roomba (he doesn't) and whether he had adopted anything like Roz did in the story (he did adopt his dog Pam). My son surprised me by asking one of the more profound questions of the interview — what we, as readers, could learn from Roz. Brown hopes it's empathy and interdependence. "Roz learns that she needs help. She can't do it all by herself," he said. "We all need each other; we should just be good to each other because we're going to need each other at some point or another." It's a message that Brown feels is often forgotten. But through the eyes of a robot (or in my case, during this interview, a 7-year-old) trying to understand the world, it becomes fresh again.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
South Korean LGBTQ community holds annual festival in central Seoul
Thousands marched through central Seoul on Saturday as they took part in an annual LGBTQ festival in the South Korean capital. (AP video shot by Yong-ho Kim)
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Princess Kate stuns in sky blue as she appears at Trooping the Colour with William, Charles and kids
It was a royal affair for King Charles' birthday. The royal family celebrated the monarch's birthday with the annual Trooping the Colour in London on Saturday. Kate Middleton, Prince William and their three kids, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, arrived to honor King Charles, 76, for the third year in a row. 13 Catherine, Princess of Wales during Trooping The Colour 2025 on June 14, 2025 in London, England. Getty Images 13 Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince George and Kate, the Princess of Wales, walk during the king's annual birthday parade. AP The Princess of Wales, 43, donned a sky blue coat 'Bria' dress by Catherine Walker. Per the website, the garment is 'A deep aquamarine wool coatdress with ivory contrast lapels and cuffs. Also seen here in guards red and black.' Kate kept her hair pulled back into an elegant side bun beneath a flowered hat, as Princess Charlotte, who was also in blue, kept her hair in a half-up, half-down braid. Princess Charlotte also wore a meaningful gift: a diamond horseshoe brooch gifted to her by the late Queen Elizabeth. Charlotte previously sported the accessory at the late monarch's funeral in September 2022. 13 Princess Kate and her kids arrive by carriage. REUTERS 13 Prince Louis and Prince George. REUTERS 13 Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Prince Louis, Prince William, Prince George, Kate Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. AP The mother-daughter duo entered the parade in a carriage alongside George and Louis, while Prince William, 42, rode in on horseback. King Charles and Queen Camilla also rode in together in a horse-drawn carriage. Trooping the Colour is held every June to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign. The event considered one of the royal family's most high-profile celebrations. 13 Prince William, Prince of Wales rides Darby during Trooping The Colour 2025 on June 14, 2025 in London, England. Getty Images 13 Trooping The Colour 2025. Getty Images More than 1,400 soldiers, horses, and musicians gather on Horse Guards Parade in London to celebrate their leader. The parade travels from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade. Then, following tradition, Charles, Queen Camilla, 77, and other work members of the royal family stoof on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a flypast. As the family headed back inside Buckingham Palace, Prince Louis turned and gave the crowd one final wave. 13 Prince Louis of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales wave from the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Getty Images 13 Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Camilla on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Getty Images Missing from this year's festivities were Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their kids Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4. They were not invited to Trooping the Colour for the third year in a row, People reported, as their feud with the royal family continues. The Duke, 40, and Duchess of Sussex, 43, last attended the military parade in 2022 for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. Two years prior, they had stepped away from their royal duties and relocated to Montecito, California. Therefore, the couple had to watch the ceremony from a separate balcony alongside other non-working royals. 13 Trooping the Colour parade to honour Britain's King Charles on his official birthday in London. REUTERS 13 The royal family. Getty Images Then, following the Queen's death, Harry and Markle stopped being invited to Trooping the Colour. 'This is the first year of his life that Harry hasn't been invited at all,' palace insider Richard Eden said in 2023. 'With Harry and Meghan, we've always had a sort of 'will they, won't they' before every big royal occasion.' 'Well, it seems like the palace has tackled this this time by just not inviting them at all,' he added. 'So, you know, it's significant.' Despite moving across the pond, some officials thought Prince Harry and the actress would still be invited to events such as Trooping the Colour. 13 Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Prince Louis of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent wave from the balcony. Getty Images 13 Prince Louis gets in one more wave. REUTERS The pair, who tied the knot in May 2018, participated in the event a month after their nuptials and were back again for the 2019 celebration. 'When Harry and Meghan quit royal duties, I think officials were very keen to stress that they would still be invited to occasions such as Trooping the Colour,' Eden expressed. 'So the fact they haven't been invited is very significant.'
