Athens joins 15 others cities in seeking to host Sundance Film Festival

Athens-Clarke County is one of 15 communities across the United States with a shot at hosting the iconic Sundance Film Festival beginning in 2027. Two other Georgia cities, Atlanta and Savannah, also reportedly have been asked to submit proposals for becoming potential hosts of the event.

Created in 1984 by actor Robert Redford, the independent film festival has been held in Park City, Utah, since its inception. But in April of this year, with the current contract with Park City set to expire in 2026, the nonprofit Sundance Institute reached out with a request for information (RFI) from cities interested in hosting the event.

That process ended on May 1, and the Sundance Institute subsequently issued requests for proposals (RFP) to 15 of the responding cities, including Athens-Clarke County. The RFPs seek information on how each of the 15 communities would approach hosting the festival.

RFPs are due back to the Sundance Institute by June 21, with a final decision on a new location set for the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year.

Athens-Clarke County put itself in the mix for hosting the Sundance Film Festival after the county government’s Film Office spotted the RFI and assembled a response, according to Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz.

“The same qualities that make Athens a great city for a music festival like AthFest make us ideal for Sundance,” Girtz said Thursday, as news of the Sundance Institute’s choices for potential host cities were being widely reported.

“We have a walkable downtown with multiple venues in close proximity, and an arts environment that punches way above our weight,” Girtz added. “We are also accustomed to hosting tens of thousands of visitors for events, obviously including UGA football games.”

With regard to the community’s next steps in assembling a proposal for the Sundance Institute’s review, Girtz said the Film Office “will be assembling a committee” for that process.

Athens Movie Making: A major motion picture will be shooting at Athena Studios in Athens. Here's what we know.

In its news release, the Sundance Institute indicated only that the RFP process will be an exercise in which “specific details will be assessed.”

“We look forward to reviewing each proposal and working together with all of our potential collaborators to determine how we can collectively meet the needs of the independent film ecosystem and broader creative community,” Ebs Burnough, chairman of the board of the Sundance Institute, said in the release.

Park City remains in the mix as a potential continuing host for the Sundance Film Festival. Also on the list of potential host sites for the festival, in addition to Athens-Clarke County and the two other Georgia cities, are San Francisco; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and yet-unnamed locales in North Carolina and upstate New York, according to various media reports.

According to the Sundance Institute, the search for a new location for the noted film festival “is aimed at selecting a location that will preserve and grow an artist-centered, audience-engaging, inclusive Festival.”

At least publicly at this point, the Sundance Institute is being vague in terms of what will be expected from a host community.

By participating in the RFI and RFP processes, according to the Sundance Institute press release, responding communities “are entering into an understanding that outlines the cooperative spirit and responsibilities expected from potential host cities. This includes an acknowledgment that, if selected, the host city’s obligations would extend from 2027 into the future, subject to negotiations and mutual agreements forged with Sundance Institute.”

With regard to the process, according to the institute, the organization “is making sure that inclusivity and sustainability are always at the forefront of the festival experience, while preserving the Festival’s key mission and responsibility: discovering and supporting independent storytellers and introducing their work to new audiences.”

Whether or not it will have any bearing on a final decision by the Sundance Institute on a new location for the Sundance Film Festival, Athens-Clarke County is no stranger to the movie industry.

Just last year, Athena Studios, a massive production facility located on 45 acres along Athena Drive, opened for business. The first production to use the facility, a movie titled “The Woman in the Yard,” which is centered on a grieving widow confronted by a menacing stranger, began using the facility earlier this year.

Athens Movies: Seen all the movies made in Athens? Here's a list of 10, and where to watch them

Athens-Clarke County has also been featured in a number of feature films, including the 1975 cult classic “Poor Pretty Eddie,” 1994’s “Cobb” on baseball player Ty Cobb, and the 2000 comedy “Road Trip.”

More recently, the community has hosted a couple of high-profile films. The 2012 release “Trouble with the Curve” starred Clint Eastwood, John Goodman and Amy

Adams, and the 2013 release “The Spectacular Now” featured Brie Larson, Bob Odenkirk, Kyle Chandler and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

The multiple-day Sundance Film Festival is a public program run by the Sundance Institute, with the goal of shining a light on the independent film industry by bringing filmmakers together with audiences interested in finding new film voices and perspectives. This year’s festival comprised screenings of more than 90 feature-length films and more than 60 short films.

The Sundance Film Festival routinely attracts a large number of celebrities, and has been responsible for boosting the careers of a number of now-famed film directors, including Quentin Tarantino (“Reservoir Dogs”), Steven Soderbergh (“Ocean’s Eleven”) and Richard Linklater (“Dazed and Confused”).

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens joins other suitors for the annual Sundance Film Festival