COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Filmmakers and producers across the Pikes Peak region say they’re excited after Thursday’s announcement the Sundance Film Festival will relocate to Boulder in 2027.
The [announcement](https://www.kktv.com/2025/03/27/sundance-film-festival-will-move-colorado-2027/) means one of the world’s largest and most prestigious film festivals will go on a little less than 100 miles from Colorado Springs.
“It’s like a Super Bowl for filmmakers,” [Kickass Film Festival](https://www.kickassfilmfest.com/) co-founder David Chavez said. “It’s been a heavy lift, but it’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad that we’ve finally got it.”
Local filmmakers said the change represents a massive opportunity for Southern Colorado.
“One, you’re going to bring all these different filmmakers out here,” Chavez said. “Two, the people who actually try to get into Sundance, you can go network there, you can meet people who are coming from LA, New York, Georgia.”
“Getting a film into Sundance almost guarantees you some level of communication for distribution deals as some of the largest film deals in Hollywood in the independent world happen at Sundance,” filmmaker and director Evan Alderson said.
Both state leaders and lawmakers have touted the economic benefits the festival will bring the state. According to a release from Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the festival generated the following benefits for Utah in 2024:
* $132 million in gross domestic product
* 1,730 jobs paying $69.7 million in wages
* 24,000 out-of-state visitors who spent an average of $735 each day
Alderson said he believes Colorado Springs will be able to cash in on the influx of visitors that flock to the festival each year.
“All of the communities here will see a huge move of people coming here to see those films, and then finding things to do here on the weekend, and in the time when they’re not in screenings,” he said. “Colorado Springs has a lot of attraction, just as a beautiful place to be and exist, so I think there will definitely be a drive up in tourism in general.”
Alderson said tourism isn’t the only benefit Sundance could bring Southern Colorado.
“There will also be a lot of eyes on different parts of Colorado from independent filmmakers who are exploring the state while they’re here and looking it as a potential place to shoot future films,” he said. “Given all the great locations that we have in Colorado Springs, it kind of starts to put us on a map that we weren’t on before.”
_Copyright 2025 KKTV. All rights reserved._