The Sundance Film Festival will make its Colorado debut in Boulder in January, putting one of the world’s most influential independent film events about an hour’s drive from Estes Park.
The festival will run Jan. 21-31, 2027, at theaters and arts venues across Boulder. Online screenings will be available throughout the United States and its territories from Jan. 28-31.
For Estes Valley residents, the move means Sundance can be experienced as a day trip rather than a vacation to Utah, but attending can cost anywhere from $15 to $7,500 for the festival’s top pass.
All announced in-person screenings and programs will take place in Boulder. Estes residents planning to attend will need to drive, arrange other transportation, or stay overnight in or near Boulder.
Winter weather can complicate travel between Estes Park and Boulder, so residents attending screenings should allow additional time and check road conditions before leaving. Sundance and Boulder have not announced a direct transit connection between the two communities, but Visit Estes Park’s Film Festival and Large Event Task Force are working on plans for shuttle service during the festival.
How much will tickets cost?
The least expensive standard option is a $37 single-film ticket. Enrolled students of any age and people ages 18 to 25 may purchase an Ignite single-film ticket for $15.
A Sundance Film Festival account is required to purchase a ticket, and all ticket sales are done online through the Sundance Film Festival website.
Single-film tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Jan. 8. Donors will have access Jan. 6, followed by Sundance Institute members Jan. 7.
People who want to see several films may buy 10-ticket packages:
- A standard ticket package costs $925 and allows buyers to select screenings before individual tickets go on sale.
- A new Encore Ticket Package costs $675 and covers repeat screenings but not a film’s first screening.
- A new Matinee Ticket Package costs $350 and covers screenings beginning before 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, through Friday, Jan. 29.
- A discounted Ignite Ticket Package will be available to people ages 18 to 25.
Prices include fees, according to the festival’s ticket information.
At the upper end, passes offer unlimited screenings and priority admission. The Full Festival Express Pass costs $7,500, the First Half Express Pass costs $6,100, and the Second Half Express Pass costs $4,500.
Passes and ticket packages go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Oct. 15. Sundance donors receive access beginning Oct. 5, and members receive presale access Oct. 13. People must become members by Oct. 1 to qualify for the member presale.
The festival will announce its film lineup in December. Package holders will select their films before the Jan. 8 single-ticket sale, giving them a better opportunity to secure seats for high-demand premieres.
Ticket costs do not include travel, parking, meals, or lodging.
What will festivalgoers find in Boulder?
The festival’s 11 announced theaters are spread across a footprint of about 2 miles, according to Sundance’s guide to the 2027 festival.
Screenings will take place at:
- Boedecker Theater and Gordon Gamm Theater at the Dairy Arts Center
- Boulder High School Auditorium
- Boulder Theater
- Casey Middle School Auditorium
- Chautauqua Auditorium
- Cinemark Century Boulder
- eTown Hall
- Macky Auditorium Concert Hall at the University of Colorado Boulder
- Muenzinger Auditorium at CU Boulder
- Roe Green Theatre at CU Boulder
Talks, panel discussions, podcasts, and other programming will take place at the Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Theater, the Dairy Arts Center, eTown Hall, and CU Boulder’s Old Main. The Hotel Boulderado will serve as festival headquarters.
World premieres will be concentrated during the festival’s first six days, from Jan. 21-26. Additional screenings will continue through Jan. 31.
Sundance plans to expand its program after the move. Its four primary competition categories — U.S. Dramatic, World Cinema Dramatic, U.S. Documentary and World Cinema Documentary — will each include 12 films. The festival will also feature premieres, midnight films, family matinees, short films, episodic projects, and filmmaker conversations.
The 2027 lineup will mark the return of New Frontier, Sundance’s program combining film, art, and emerging technology.
Boulder is encouraging visitors to move among venues on foot or use public transportation. The city says its police, fire, and emergency management agencies are working with the University of Colorado Boulder Police Department, Colorado State Patrol, and other agencies on security and transportation planning.
Parking and festival transportation details are still being developed.
Watching from Estes Park
Residents who do not want to travel to Boulder can participate online during the festival’s final four days.
Online screenings will run Jan. 28-31 and will include films in Sundance’s five competition sections, including its NEXT category. Filmmakers in some other sections may also choose to make their work available online.
Streaming will be limited to viewers physically located in the United States and U.S. territories. Sundance prohibits the use of virtual private networks and proxy servers to bypass geographic restrictions.
The festival has not yet released complete online ticket prices or the final list of films available for streaming.
Volunteers could attend films at no charge
Estes Valley residents also may apply to volunteer. Sundance offers full-festival, half-festival, flexible and student volunteer positions. The most flexible option requires four shifts or 24 hours of work, whichever comes first. Student volunteers must complete three shifts or 18 hours.
Volunteer benefits include opportunities to earn free screening tickets, access to volunteer events, meal vouchers and festival gear. Applications are open, and Sundance encourages people to apply early because placements may close in December.
Details are available on the Sundance volunteer website.
Economic impact to state and Front Range region
Colorado and Boulder-area organizations committed substantial public and institutional support to bring Sundance to the state.
A coalition that includes the City of Boulder, Visit Boulder, the Boulder Chamber and the University of Colorado Boulder offered approximately $34 million in incentives over the festival’s 10-year agreement. Colorado separately authorized as much as $34 million in refundable state tax credits.
The combined package has been described as nearly $70 million, but that amount represents potential assistance over a decade, not the cost of the 2027 festival alone. It also does not represent a direct expenditure by the Town of Estes Park or Larimer County.
Supporters expect Sundance to generate visitor spending at hotels, restaurants, stores, and other businesses across the region looking for lodging or a mountain excursion.
Sundance selected Boulder as its new home after more than 40 years in Park City, Utah. The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the move in March 2025 after considering proposals from Boulder, Cincinnati, and a joint Park City-Salt Lake City bid.
Over the past two summers, the Sundance Institute Signature Directors Lab has taken place in Estes Park at The Stanley Hotel. The lab is slated to move back in 2027 to the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah.