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SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

NOWHERE ELSE


When, after 40 years, The Sundance Film Festival felt it had outgrown Park City, UT, it sent out an RFP for a new home. Over the course of several months, they narrowed the field down from about 70 considered destinations to three: Salt Lake City, Cincinnati and Boulder, CO. 

In order to give Boulder, clearly the smallest of the three, its best chance, we needed to get the Sundance board, key decision-makers and our own citizens excited, motivating and involved. Colorado’s bid leadership tapped me to lead the development of a plan to do just that. The challenge? There was no budget. This had to be done pro bono. So I had to get scrappy. But we’re also talking the Sundance Film Festival, so whatever I created had to look, sound and feel pro. That’s when I rolled up my sleeves alongside a couple of local filmmakers, Household Films. I developed the strategy and wrote the script. Household reached out to other Colorado filmmakers to donate footage for editing. The film turned out great, but we need a powerful voiceover to deliver it. So I reached deep into my contacts, crossed my fingers, and sent a tex to none other than Woody Creek, Colorado resident and Sundance Film Festival Best Actor winner, William H Macy. And not only did he say yes, he said he’d do it for free. 

With the help of our film, Boulder prevailed. But as powerful as the film turned out to be, most of the credit goes to the hardworking people at our CVBs, government officials and local business people.

See ya in 2027!