Cincinnati Named as Finalist for Sundance Film Festival

2024 Sundance Film Festival - Cinema Cafe With Carla Gutierrez, Lucy Lawless And Lana Wilson

Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty

The Queen City may have another win under our belt.

The Sundance Institute announced six finalists for the host location of the Sundance Film Festival. The finalists were chosen from an extensive “Request for Proposal” process. Cities include:

Cincinnati, Ohio
Atlanta, Georgia
Boulder, Colorado
Louisville, Kentucky
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah.

The evaluation considered each city’s infrastructure, event capabilities, and alignment with Sundance’s values. Each finalist showed how they would foster the diverse Sundance community and the culture of independent creativity. The selection committee will visit the finalist cities to explore their potential.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval issued a statement in support of the consideration:

“For over a generation, with consistent support from the City of Cincinnati, Film Cincinnati has positioned the Cincinnati region as a go-to community for movies. We know how to nurture creative talent and the skilled workers behind the scenes, and we know how to celebrate them when they are on the big screen. Easily accessible to so much of the U.S. population, the Queen City is also a big league city for broader tourism, handling major events with professionalism and capacity. Both Cincinnati and the Sundance Film Festival are on the precipice for great change and we look forward to partnering and evolving together.”

The Festival will continue in Utah for 2025 and 2026, with the new host location to be announced for 2027 and following years.

What is The Sundance Film Festival?

The Sundance Film Festival, the largest artist program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute, is the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past three decades, including “CODA,” “Get Out,” “Whiplash,” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” The Festival features fiction and nonfiction features, short films, series, and innovative storytelling, along with conversations and events, and continues to support the next generation of storytellers and highlight bold new works of art.