2027 Sundance Film Festival

The Festival will ​relocate to Boulder from Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, beginning in 2027.

The 2027 Sundance Film Festival will be held Jan. 21 to 31.

Yes, ̽����Ƶ will be one of the Festival’s hosts and will welcome the community and filmgoers to campus. Campus officials are working closely with Sundance Institute organizers and others to plan and support the transition to Boulder. Sundance’s use of campus facilities will provide opportunities for the community including students, staff and faculty to engage with the festival. The 2027 Sundance Film Festival will use Macky Auditorium, Roe Green Theater, Old Main Chapel and the Muenzinger Auditorium. The campus priority is to continue to ensure the continuity of academic instruction and has worked with the organizers to meet campus requirements.��

To support the transition, a steering committee includes Student Life, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Chancellor, Business, Finance and Infrastructure, Leadership and Programming, Advancement, Strategic Relations and Communications, Outreach and Community Engagement and dean representatives. Steering committee members are working closely with faculty as well as with shared governance and student club leaders.��

To support the Sundance Film Festival and the many opportunities it brings while ensuring continuity of teaching, learning, research and creative work and other aspects of ̽����Ƶ’s mission, an operational group has also been formed. This group includes staff who schedule and maintain spaces on campus for their respective school or college or administrative support unit, as well as representatives from units including the Registrar’s Office, Facilities Management, Parking, Public Safety, Auxiliary Services, Budget and Finance, Academic Resource Management, and more.

Work will begin in May to upgrade three iconic campus venues—Macky Auditorium, Roe Green Theatre and Muenzinger Auditorium—as ̽����Ƶ prepares to host the 2027 Sundance Film Festival.

̽����Ƶ's historic Macky Auditorium is getting a cutting-edge Dolby Live sound system, which can toggle between Dolby Atmos for immersive, large-format cinema sound needed for the Sundance Film Festival and live event sound enhancement for other types of performances. Speakers will be installed throughout the auditorium, including around the ceiling, with great care being taken to blend in with the theater’s historic, Gothic features and architecture. Custom-fabricated acoustic panels will be installed to further improve the quality of sound. These materials are removable. A new screen also will be installed. Additionally, some seats in the front five rows will be removed to make way for a ramp allowing access to the stage and wheelchair-accessible seats will be installed in the front along with companion seating. ADA-accessible seating also will be added to the balcony. Finally, a “hush box,” the term for the modern-day, digital projection booth, will be installed on the Macky balcony.

At the Roe Green Theatre, speakers will be added to the ceiling and Dolby Atmos will be installed. The theatre will also add a ramp for access to the stage, a hush box projection setup and new screen. Additionally, the 1980s seats are being fully replaced with state-of-the-art theater seating complete with drink holders and the theater will get new carpet.��

Muenzinger Auditorium requires the least amount of updating in order to host Sundance Film Festival screenings and will only need to install speaker arrays along the walls and a new screen installed in front of its existing location to make room for new speakers behind the screen to accommodate Dolby Atmos immersive sound. Accessible seating will also be added.

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This page serves as the campus web page for the Sundance Film Festival and will collect information about related events happening on campus. Information about the Festival and other events planned by the Sundance Institute will be available on the Sundance Film Festival website. Access to events can vary and will be indicated in the event details.

Visit�� where more ​information​ will be shared over the coming months. Campus-based opportunities to engage will be shared on this page in spring 2026 and fall 2026, in partnership with Career Services, Service Learning & Impact in Community Engagement (SLICE) and other campus internship and volunteer resource units.

Processes for scheduling Festival-related events and invited speakers will be announced in late spring 2026. Please continue to visit this web page to ensure you have the most up-to-date information.

Courses and academic credentials related to ​the ​Sundance ​Film Festival ​should follow the normal approval process. Talk to your chair/director or dean.

Campus is excited to support participation from a variety of groups during the 2027 Sundance Film Festival while prioritizing continuity of academic instruction and day-to-day campus operations during the festival.��If your unit does not currently rent space to third parties and you are interested in doing so after reading this��,��contact Kim Kruchen (kruchen@colorado.edu). Departmentally controlled classroom space cannot be rented or leased at this time.��

To prevent disruption to the campus academic and research mission,��centrally controlled classrooms will not be leased or rented during the 2027 Sundance Film Festival.��The��Campus Use of University Facilities (CUUF) Policy states the usage priorities, noting that the first priority is for the use of classrooms, laboratories and other facilities for teaching and instructional programs.��

If your unit currently rents space to external groups,��please follow these steps:

1. Review the�� to determine the level of space usage you are interested in providing to an external entity.��
2. If your unit is interested in submitting a space for a “full buyout” or “partial buyout,” as described on the website, you need to work with the Director of Real Estate Services Steven Stasica (steven.stasica@colorado.edu).
3. If your unit is interested in a “light activation,” please submit information to. Once you have submitted the information to the Airtable site, please also email Kim Kruchen (kruchen@colorado.edu) about the space and information you have submitted.��

The Boulder Chamber of Commerce will match entities seeking space with space listed for rental.��If you are matched with someone interested in using your unit’s space,��please follow these steps:

1. Initiate an Event Management Form (EMF).��The EMF must be approved in accordance with the standard campus process before space rental can be finalized.��The��Event and Activities Approval Guidance��outlines the EMF requirements.
2. Adhere closely to the��Campus Use of University Facilities (CUUF) policy and procedures, the�� Alcohol Service on Campus policy, and other applicable university policies and processes. For more information, refer to the Compliance, Ethics and Policy website.

Classes, and other academic activities, must not be displaced from departmentally controlled spaces in order to lease the space for Sundance Film Festival related events. This is to prevent disruption to the campus academic and research mission, and to ensure a positive experience for students, the campus community, and patrons of the 2027 Sundance Film Festival. The��Campus Use of University Facilities (CUUF) Policy provides detailed information regarding the usage priorities, noting that the first priority is for the use of classrooms, laboratories and other facilities for teaching and instructional programs.

��In an effort to efficiently and effectively manage the many groups who are looking for space during the 2027 Sundance Film Festival, the Boulder Chamber has developed this hub to connect organizations seeking space with properties/spaces that are available around the City of Boulder. The Chamber is serving as a support to all of these groups but will not have authority over decisions related to the use of campus space.��

Of course. Please reach out to Buff Info by emailing BuffInfo@colorado.edu or by starting a chat below.