Hollywood hasn’t begun packing for the fall festivals in Vencie, Telluride and Toronto, but the Sundance Film Festival has dropped in with a reminder that January is around the corner.
On Wednesday, leadership at Sundance sent out a mid-year update on the fest’s seismic move from Park City, Utah to the Colorado mountain town of Boulder, setting the stage for state-of-the-art movie theaters, expanded competition slots and a much larger swath of ground to cover for industry types and filmmakers.
“In the new footprint, our venues are all within about a 2-mile radius,” wrote festival director and head of public programming Eugene Hernandez in a missive, pointing to key venues that will house the festival’s trove of indie films.
That includes the University of Colorado Boulder’s Macky Auditorium, the Chautauqua Auditorium, Boulder Theater and the honest-to-God multiplex Cinemark Century (any Sundance veteran will be confounded by watching screenings in an actual modern movie theater, not a makeshift public building or school auditorium).
To call the location change an adjustment might be an understatement. To combat the shock, Sundance has been hosting “industry orientations,” as one source put it, for major stakeholders on the ground. Agents, artists, PR teams and more have been shuttling to Boulder to get the lay of the land. They’re also getting more opportunities for Sundance glory.
Hernandez announced that four central competition categories — U.S. Dramatic, World Cinema Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, and World Cinema Documentary — will grow to 12 films from 10. Other sections, including Premieres, NEXT, Midnight, Family Matinee, and more, will also expand.
Read expanded points from Sundance’s mid-year update:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.