Atlanta Submits Proposal To Become New Host Of The Sundance Film Festival

Atlanta is bidding to become the new home of the Sundance Film Festival.

Atlanta is among the cities bidding to become the next official host of the coveted Sundance Film Festival.

The burgeoning “Hollywood of the South” has submitted a proposal to possibly house the nation’s largest annual film festival, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. Others that expressed interest include San Francisco, upstate New York, and Savannah, Georgia.

With its evolving infrastructure and entertainment scene, Atlanta could be the perfect location once Sundance leaves Park City, Utah, in 2027.

“Atlanta has become a major part of the Hollywood story economically and culturally and also, it’s clear, this is one of the cultural epicenters of the United States of America,” Deadline Executive Editor Dominic Patten said.

“Atlanta, unlike a lot of the other cities that might think they can get Sundance, has the infrastructure, has the theaters, has the screens, has the hotel rooms, has the airport.”

The Sundance Film Festival has grown in prominence and recognition since its inception in 1985. Always held in Park City, Utah, the festival boosts the local economy, generating $118 million in revenue. Last year’s festival sold nearly 140,000 tickets and saw over 20,000 attendees worldwide.

The annual festival is an essential event for independent and aspiring filmmakers. Many films are premiered at the festival ahead of box office openings later in the year.

Submissions for potential new Sundance host locations closes on June 21. Whichever city is selected will benefit from all the profit and status the festival brings.

“You’re looking at the restaurants, you’re looking at the hotel occupancy, you’re looking at the prestige that comes as well,” Patten said.

While Sundance leaving Park City is a possibility, some remain skeptical that the city will let the big event leave without trying to renew its contract.

“It’s hard to imagine this amounting to much more than a tactic to negotiate a better deal with Park City when it comes time to renew their contract in 2026,” Director Raymond Wood, whose film Faceless After Dark just played at the Atlanta Film Festival, told GBP News.

“Unlike other world-renowned institutions such as the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the World Cup, the Sundance Film Festival is historically and culturally linked with a particular city, and that experience in that location has become a cornerstone of the festival’s legacy.”