Sundance Film Festival 2026 underway in Utah
PARK CITY, Utah (CBS, KYMA) - The Sundance Film Festival is underway, the first since its founder, Robert Redford, died.
It's also the last time the legendary film festival will take place in Utah as it's moving for the first time in 41 years.
A star-studded finale. This weekend, the Sundance Film Festival said it's goodbye to its longtime host: Park City, Utah.
"It's really emotional to know that we won't come back here like this," said Olivia Wilde, who is promoting "The Invite" at the festival.
After more than 40 years, the festival is heading to Boulder, Colorado.
The Sundance Film Festival was created by Robert Redford in 1985, giving independent filmmakers a stage far from Hollywood's bright lights.
"My dad's legacy was that he created a nest, and not an empire. And that was meant to support and nurture and nourish," said Amy Redford, Robert Redford's daughter.
Over the decades, careers were made, stars discovered and low-budget movies catapulted into the zeitgeist.
From hotels to restaurants, transportation to taxes, the financial benefits of this world-famous film festival have rippled through Utah's economy for decades. Last year alone, Sundance estimates it brought in nearly $2 million. Night and day, the streets packed with over 80,000 people.
"Sundance has been our busiest 10 days for quite a few years," Marco Peretti, who manages the No Name Saloon on Main Street.
But as park city rolls the credits, Boulder is preparing for its debut.
"There's so much logistics behind that to make it possible. So we've got city staff teams out making sure that they know how all this works," said Aaron Brockett, Mayor of Boulder.
This final Utah year also marks the first without Redford, who died last year.
"Yeah, Robert Redford brought this amazing experience of film to our community he really just brought us something different that we hadn't experienced," said Tana Toly, a Park City restaurant owner.
Organizers hope his spirit will follow the festival to the other side of the Rockies.
Sundance Film Festival 2026 kicked off Thursday, January 22, and will go until Monday, February 2.
