Cincinnati could be the new home for the Sundance Film Festival, and organizers of existing festivals love the idea. The Sundance Institute announced Thursday there were three cities still in the running: Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah, Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati.
The founder of a local festival is all for it. Allyson West of the Cindependent Film Festival says having Sundance here would help her event and others.
“We’re all looking at each other going, ‘How can we work together to present the best package for this application that would make Cincinnati a draw?’ ” she says. “We want these voices, we want these stories to be featured, and we will get closer to having that happen if we’re able to present that partnership to the Sundance committee.”
West was on a panel that met with the Sundance selection committee in July.
She points out there have been other film festivals co-existing with Sundance in Park City for years and says there's room for all.
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“Bringing a new film festival to Cincinnati that is established and kind of lauded, I think, would maybe provide actually more foundational support for the work that we do in the community,” she says. “I think that the representation is broader. I think that the attention is undeniably going to lead to new opportunities and new ways to stabilize the work that we do.”
Cincinnati should know by February if the Sundance Institute wants to move its headquarters and film festival from its longtime home of Park City, Utah, when the contract expires. The festival will still be there through 2026.
West says the possibility of hosting Sundance has already created more interest in her event.
“We do expect a bigger audience this year, for anyone who is interested and intrigued by film festivals,” West says. “Our numbers are already tracking higher than they were last year, at the end of the festival.”
The Cindependent Film Festival started in 2017. This year's festival is Sept. 19-21 at Memorial Hall.
