Coloradans' excitement for Sundance Film Festival leads to sold out community events

Ever since Sundance announced the festival would be coming to Boulder in 2027, excitement has spread through the city. On Wednesday night, hundreds of people came out to a sold-out event at Boulder Theatre to meet the people behind the festival.

Some of those excited fans included local producer and actor Ena O'Rourke, "I jumped up and down for joy. Absolutely, this is a fabulous thing for the City of Boulder."

"I was like, holy cow. You know, this is Sundance," CU Boulder film student Jaden Mosier said.

In their biggest Colorado event yet, Sundance wanted to introduce the people behind the festival to their new neighbors.

The two-hour panel brought conversations ranging from why they chose Boulder to how they narrow down the thousands of film submissions every year. It was moderated by journalist Lisa Kennedy, who spoke with Festival Director Eugene Hernandez and Director of Programming Kim Yutani.

Before leading the festival, Hernandez was a long time Sundance fan himself "We know that to make this festival happen, it will be a partnership," Hernandez said, "It's a really wonderful way to not only introduce ourselves, to listen, also to get to know the community better, and to test drive some venues."

That community includes some very excited CU Boulder students who waited in line in the rain for their shot inside.

"Especially as a film student, it seems like a place of hope and inspiration, especially as an independent filmmaker myself. But I'm just excited, just to kind of have more film shine in the Colorado community," Moser said.

And that excitement is reciprocated by Hernandez.

"We rely on that energy that comes from a youthful audience, whether it's in the audience, in the seats watching a movie, or whether it's being a volunteer at the festival Sundance," Hernandez said.

For those who don't want to wait until 2027, volunteer applications for 2026 in Park City are open now. But for those holding out on a Boulder homecoming, Sundance plans to get locals involved as soon as they can.

"So many different arts are represented here in this community. So we really feel privileged to be invited to be a part of it," Hernandez said.

So far, the community seems open to being included in any way they can, hoping to see a strong partnership.

"This is the way to do it, because we are the nuts and bolts in this community, and we can help them as much as they can help us," O'Rourke said.

Sundance plans to continue having community events, including possible sneak previews through their Boulder premiere in 2027.