When the Boulder International Film Festival debuted in 2005 with 35 films and a little more than 4,000 guests, the city of Boulder was plenty big enough to host it. The challenge wasn’t the space so much as whether BIFF would last long enough to become a tradition. It did, and for its 21st year, the festival expects to welcome 25,000 film enthusiasts, media, industry members and movie stars (Shirley MacLaine, Alec Baldwin, and James Franco are just a few of the actors who have attended in the past) during its March 13-15, 2025, run. But the city — a college town and bedroom community of 100,000 year-round residents — hasn’t really kept pace when it comes to venues, said Kathy Beeck, who co-founded the fest with sister Robin Beeck. “Venues have always been challenging for us, (whether) it’s having up-to-date technology or converting a high school or church into a movie theater.” Boulder International Film Festival co-founders Kathy Beeck, left, and Robin Beeck, are pictured in BIFF’s office on Pearl Street on Feb. 21, 2023. (Cliff Grassmick/Daily Camera) Park City, Utah, on the other hand, a ski town of just 8,250 people, is designed to host enormous influxes of tourists for both the resort (the largest in the U.S., with more than 300 trails and 41 lifts, according to Ski Magazine) and for the Sundance Film Festival, one of the movie industry’s annual, and most famous, galas. Founded in 1978 by Robert Redford, Sundance has called Park City home since 1981, and the city has adapted, “which has allowed them to keep going there,” Beeck said. But that could change. In April, with its contract in Park City expiring, Sundance announced that it would consider other cities to host the fest in 2027 and thereafter. Many municipalities applied, and Sundance narrowed the bids to 15 cities in May, including Cincinnati, San Francisco, Atlanta, Louisville, Ken., Santa Fe, a joint bid from Park City and Salt Lake City, and Boulder. In September, Boulder was named one of three finalists, along with Cincinnati and Salt Lake/Park City. “January is a traditionally slow time for tourism in Denver and Boulder, and (Boulder) has the capacity to serve the people that would participate,” Gov. Jared Polis said then, touting the mountain backdrop, hotel capacity and Denver International Airport — not to mention Redford’s ties to the University of Colorado. But is Boulder glitzy enough for the silver screen? And if so, does it have the amenities, venue space and the tourism infrastructure to handle 86,000 attendees, including hundreds of Hollywood elite in limousines, dozens of red carpets and worldwide media attention? Maybe, and maybe not. Festival director Eugene Hernandez didn’t respond to requests for an interview with The Denver Post as he prepares for the 2025 iteration of Sundance, Jan. 23-Feb. 2. He’s said in the past that a decision on where to go will come in the late winter or early spring 2025. But John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, which represents about 1,300 businesses, is confident that the city is ready for its shot at stardom. “No disrespect to Cincinnati, but Boulder is accessible by an international airport,” he said. “We have incredibly convenient transportation, and all the amenities and theaters and services that you need are within walking distance of each other.” “A tremendous honor” Landing Sundance would be a full-circle moment for the city, said Mark Heinritz, co-owner of Boulder’s oldest restaurant, The Sink. Not only is it already a hotbed of Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers, but Redford himself worked at The Sink while attending CU in the 1950s. The Sink and its neighbors in The University Hill district would also get a lift from the potential blast of spending. “We’re often rubbing our nickels together at that time of year to get through,” he said. “We get some four- or five-day periods that are really busy, like homecoming and (football games) and move-in week. As far as 10 straight days (of Sundance)? I don’t know.” Heinritz said he foresees complaints about traffic and other congestion, but that the festival would be nothing but good for independent businesses. Jocelyn Sarnow, director of events and marketing for the restaurants Corrida, Belotta and Michelin Guide-recommended OAK at Fourteenth — all of which have the quality of reputation, food and service to attract high-profile guests, agrees. “During high-traffic events … OAK is typically fully booked with reservations from the moment we open our doors at 5 p.m. until our last seating at 9 p.m.,” she wrote in an email. Events like CU’s graduation, the Bolder Boulder run, and games at the 50,183-capacity Folsom Field also “attract visitors from near and far, making Boulder a hub for celebration and culture, and we align our staffing and preparation to meet the demand,” she added. Daredevil Dan Edwards, of Longmont, performs for a crowd on the Pearl Street Mall on July 22, 2017. (Photo by Cliff Grassmick/Daily Camera) The four-block-long Pearl Street Mall hosts more than 200 businesses alone, and there are 123 restaurants in downtown Boulder, with hundreds more in surrounding areas. Nine of those, like OAK, have been recognized by Michelin — including a coveted Michelin star for Frasca Food & Wine. Others, such as Flagstaff House, have a cachet that extends beyond Colorado. Park City on the other hand has around 70 retail stores and 50 restaurants in its historic shopping district, according to Visit Park City. And since Michelin doesn’t review restaurants in Utah, it doesn’t have any listed in the guide. As for hotels, the trendy Moxy chain recently opened in Boulder, adding nearly 200 rooms, to a stable of about 4,300 hotel rooms spread across 50 hotels in Boulder and Longmont, according to a 2023 hospitality report from Matthews Real Estate Investment. Park City offers about 4,000 hotel rooms, said venue-sourcing company C Event Supplier Network, but many more “beds” if you count house rentals and ski resorts.   From left, Rick Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Paula DuPré Pesmen and Fisher Stevens pose backstage with the Oscar for best documentary feature for “The Cove” at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7, 2010, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles) “I was seeing houses for rent — for one week — in Park City for anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000. Houses where people wouldn’t even have their own bedrooms,” said Colorado producer and filmmaker Paula DuPré Pesmen. She’s had a trio of high-profile films premiere at Sundance, and this summer was invited to speak with Sundance officials about potentially moving the festival to Boulder. “But even with parking and transportation problems, it’s ultimately worth being (in Park City), because it’s an amazing festival and a tremendous honor,” she said. “Colorado and Boulder are an enormous cost advantage over Park City, where often you can’t find hotel rooms around festival time,” Polis told The Denver Post. “We’ve worked with all hotels in the metro area to keep prices consistent mid-January, in the $150 to $200 range, and they were excited to do it. … Another major asset is our fan base. We have 3.5 million people within 100 miles of Boulder, and they’re ready to embrace this.” A strong film culture But is Hollywood ready to embrace Colorado? The state already has a strong film culture, with the celebrity-studded Telluride Film Festival, the citywide Denver Film Festival, and dozens of smaller ones. But Sundance would be another level of publicity and branding, especially for Boulder. There is some worry that recent Front Range movie-theater closures, including art houses that have hosted the Denver Film Festival in the past, will make the metro area less attractive when Sundance needs extra venues. Denver is down two legendary theaters as of summer 2024 — The Esquire and Chez Artiste — while Regal Continental multiplex and Meadows Stadium 12 in Littleton both erased nearly two dozen screens when they shuttered in 2023. But others say that shouldn’t be a concern. The University of Colorado’s historic, 2,036-seat Macky Auditorium has already been identified as a primary venue for Sundance, as well as other spots on campus. “We and Sundance both think there’s not only room for both festivals, but for collaboration,” said BIFF’s Robin Beeck, who along with Kathy met with Sundance officials over the summer. “We have host venues here that are up to date, like Cinemark on the Pearl Street Mall, but Macky would benefit from a technology upgrade, and Sundance could make that happen,” she said. As for other amenities, Park City may have an advantage. DIA is 50 miles from Boulder while Park City is only 35 miles from Salt Lake City International Airport. Then there’s the skiing, a big draw for movie-industry folks in the winter. Some of Park City’s Ski Resorts are within walking distance of its main drag, and a chairlift ferries people from downtown to the massive Park City Ski Resort. But in Boulder, the closest ski area is Eldora, at 21 miles away, and it is the opposite of glitzy, offering 10 lifts and family-friendly skiing. Most of Colorado’s biggest and best-known slopes, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Crested Butte, are at least two hours away (in good traffic) from Boulder,, and Aspen if closer to three hours or more. Connecting with audiences Another area where Boulder’s bid lags is funding. The University of Colorado has promised a “big commitment” to supporting the festival’s logistics and housing issues, said Eve Lieberman, executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. That’s why her office felt comfortable providing a one-time, $1.5 million incentive through its strategic fund. The state’s film office, Creative Industries and tourism offices are combining for another $325,000. There’s also an unspecified tax credit in the governor’s budget, but it’s contingent on bringing the festival here. The total incentive could rise to $3 million if you count City of Boulder contributions and in-kind services. Visit Boulder and other organizations also supported the bid. Still, Colorado’s public bid looks paltry next to Cincinnati, which is dangling $5 million (including in-kind services), and Utah, with a combined $6 million (including corporate money and donors). The Egyptian Theatre is seen during the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) And there’s plenty on the line: Sundance would have a projected $100 million-plus economic impact on the Front Range if it came here, according to Polis. Despite the problems, though, Sundance may have other reasons why it might be looking to move or expand, said Andrew Rodgers, a producer and the former CEO of Denver Film, which puts on the Denver Film Festival. Related Articles Entertainment | Three Michelin-recommended restaurants open new locations in Vail, Aspen Entertainment | Denver New Year’s Eve: Parties, concerts and fireworks to ring in 2025 Entertainment | Things to do in Denver: Christmas lights, rare beers and an Eagles tribute band Entertainment | Yule log for the holidays Entertainment | Keystone is getting a game-changing revamp. Here are the details. “Film festivals across the board have suffered since the pandemic and their models are really struggling,” he explained. “So festivals have to evolve and figure out new ways of connecting with audiences. “What Sundance is facing right now is a future in which, if they do nothing, they could be radically different than they are now,” Rodgers said. “Its mix of venues is evolving, and in a small town like Park City, there’s just not much diversity. I think there’s a decent chance they’ll stay, but either way, if they move, it’s a fundamental change to the character of the event. “Boulder has a deep artistic spirit, and moving there would generate a lot of new excitement for the festival,” he added. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.