What went into Portland’s rejected bid to host the iconic Sundance Film Festival?

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When the Sundance Institute announced the finalists that could potentially host its iconic film festival, the Rose City wasn’t on the list. But the Portland-based team that spearheaded the multi-week effort to submit the proposal doesn’t see it as a loss — at least not entirely.

In April, the organization known for championing independent filmmaking revealed it would consider new hosts for the Sundance Film Festival. Famous actor and director Robert Redford founded the event more than 40 years ago, and it has primarily been held in Park City, Utah, since then.

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But with Park City’s contract expiring in 2027, the institute announced its desires to “evaluate, consider, and build on its foundation for an accessible Festival serving a growing global independent creative community.”

That’s when local entities like the mayor’s office, Prosper Portland and Oregon Film began the Request for Interest process, which later advanced to the Request for Proposal process.

“It actually was kind of an amazing process, I have to say, because it brought together groups of people that I had not seen come together before,” Oregon Film Executive Director Tim Williams told KOIN 6. “Our core proposal was centered around the Portland Art Museum, P5 and PSU, and the venues and accommodation and infrastructure around those projects — and they were all really up for it.”

He and Prosper Portland Project Manager Elyse Taylor were the driving forces behind the proposal.

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Although the official application could not be revealed due to a non-disclosure agreement, Williams said the Sundance Institute also asked potential hosts to determine factors such as where the festival’s headquarters would be, where VIP attendees would stay and which venues could hold major events.

In addition to the downtown venues that range in size — such as the 40,006-square-foot Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Providence Park Stadium that holds up to 25,000 people — local applicants also boasted Portland’s other highlights.

Williams noted the James Beard Awards the city claimed this year alone, as well as the world’s first women’s sports bar that is found on Northeast Broadway. And for film lovers, the fact that “Good Will Hunting” director Gus Van Sant attended a Portland high school is another important tidbit.

However, the Sundance Institute announced its six finalists last month: Cincinnati, Atlanta, Ga., Boulder, Colo., Louisville, Ky., Santa Fe, N.M. and Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah.

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Although Williams described the feeling of the rejected proposal as a “gut punch,” he and Prosper Portland Director of Economic Development Shea Flaherty Betin agreed that being considered in the first place signifies a rebounding Rose City.

“It shows that people are considering Portland for this kind of thing again, and that some of those reputational damage that we’ve had, I think we’re getting past those now because we have these festivals both thinking about Portland and excited about Portland, whether it’s [Project] Pabst or Rockstar [Energy Open],” Flaherty Betin said.

With no Sundance in sight for Portland, the festival is expected to announce its 2027 host by early next year.

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