Sundance CEO Talks Possible Film Festival Move – The Hollywood Reporter
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente speaks on stage at the Sundance Scoop press conference
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What is the Sundance Film Festival outside of Park City?
Joana Vicente, CEO of the Sundance Institute, addressed the possibility of moving the Sundance Film Festival outside of Park City, where it has been held since the early 1980s.
Vicente was the surprise guest at the live recording of demon Co-Founder Matt Bellone ringer Podcast City. During the wide-ranging conversation that touched on everything from Netflix’s acquisition of… fair play Regarding the festival’s five-year plan, Belloni asked Vicente about the status of negotiations on staying in Park City.
“Park City is part of Sundance,” Vicente replied. “It’s a beautiful location. It’s kind of remote. We got immersed in the festival.” At that point, Belloni chimed in to say, “I feel like I’m coming,” adding that in his conversations with Uber drivers, restaurant employees and ski industry insiders, “they don’t like Sundance.”
“No,” Vicente replied. “We love it.”
There have long been rumblings about Sundance Fest moving from Park City. Locals have long complained of the stress this causes to the small town, with a large influx of people crushing local businesses and public transport in the city every January. Over the past several years, Sundance has held more screenings and events outside of Park City in the larger Salt Lake City, where the first editions of the festival were held.
She continued: “There are challenges. I mean, accessibility is a challenge. Cost is a challenge. We’ve been really excited about the programming we’re doing in Salt Lake and really reaching a more diverse and younger audience.
She said that the state of Utah supports the festival, then confirmed that “there are upcoming negotiations.” We also spend time doing a lot of strategic thinking about areas where we can be more relevant. What is the role of the festival? What is the role of the institute? How do we evolve in an ever-changing industry around us? These are all considerations, but we love being here. This is what I would like to say. We want to make this work. “We know there are a lot of challenges.”
Another surprising moment on the podcast came when Belloni asked Vicente about the changing landscape of the film industry, noting how the news broke just minutes before Scott Stuber was set to leave his first film position at Netflix. There were more than a few shocked attendees who looked up with wide eyes. Vicente even said that she had not heard this news yet. However, I heard that Netflix paid $17 million to headline the festival It’s what’s inside.
Notable attendees are included in the podcast recording Superman Directors Ian Bonhot and Peter Ettedje (scoring off the documentary’s well-received success), producer Jason Schumann and a group of powerhouse entertainment lawyers from Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks including Vishal Sharma, Kyle Zimmerman, Samantha Schiff and Ariel Matza. Oh, and of course, the cities “Producer Craig” aka Craig Horlbeck also appeared at the end of the “Call Sheet” segment to discuss box office forecasts. The full episode of City With Vicente Chat launching Wednesday on Spotify.
Vincente, who joined Sundance as CEO from the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021, was speaking to Belloni the day before he met with Sundance regulars, including agents and executives, with Sundance leading a touted “think tank” on the future of the festival. .
