Sundance Film Festival Bolsters Boulder Operations, Appoints New Managing Director
The Sundance Film Festival is actively preparing for its inaugural event in Boulder, Colorado, slated for nine months from now. This significant transition, following 45 years in Park City, Utah, sees the festival enhancing its operational team and community engagement in its new home. A pivotal development is the appointment of Paula Dupré Pesmen, an acclaimed producer with a strong connection to Boulder, as the managing director overseeing festival and institute operations, signaling a focused effort on local integration and operational readiness.
Paula Dupré Pesmen, an Oscar-nominated producer known for her work on popular narrative film series such as Home Alone and Harry Potter, as well as documentaries like The Cove, has been instrumental in Boulder's bid to host the Sundance Film Festival. Having resided in Boulder for three decades, Pesmen’s deep community roots and experience, including founding the children's charity There With Care, make her an ideal leader for this transition. Her appointment as the highest-ranking festival official based in Boulder underscores the organization's commitment to a successful relocation and integration.
Currently, ten Sundance employees are based in Colorado, with six operating directly within the Boulder area. Jeff Levine, the festival's head of audience development, has also moved his family to Boulder, aiming to engage broadly with the state's residents to achieve attendance figures comparable to its Utah tenure. Dana Bacardi, who has a history of collaborating with Pesmen at There With Care, now serves as the associate director of individual giving, tasked with securing a substantial $10 million in funding to upgrade festival venues and essential equipment. The festival plans to further expand its local team and volunteer base in the months leading up to the event.
In late March, key representatives from Sundance, including Pesmen, festival director Eugene Hernandez, and various senior programmers and directors, met with approximately 75 publicists, sales representatives, and distributors in Boulder. This gathering aimed to familiarize these stakeholders with the new festival landscape. Attendees were given a comprehensive tour of the 13 selected screening venues, including prominent locations on the University of Colorado Boulder campus like the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall, as well as historic downtown sites such as the Boulder Theater and Chautauqua Auditorium, both undergoing modernization and winterization efforts. Press and industry screenings are designated for the Cinemark Century Boulder, with discussions and additional programming to be held at various cultural centers throughout the city.
While initial feedback on the venues was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing satisfaction with the quality and suitability for film presentations, concerns were raised regarding local accommodation options. Many attendees, accustomed to the housing challenges in Park City, expressed apprehension about the availability, standard, and expense of lodging in Boulder. In response, Sundance is actively collaborating with local businesses to offer preferential rates and has launched a lodging portal, which will be accessible in phases starting April 21st. This portal will feature leading hotels in downtown Boulder, such as the St Julien Hotel & Spa and Hotel Boulderado, and on the CU Boulder campus, including the newer Moxy Boulder and Limelight Boulder. Furthermore, a new city ordinance approved by the Boulder City Council will enable short-term rentals of private homes and apartments through the portal starting in May, offering more diverse lodging solutions. For those seeking luxury or making last-minute plans, Denver, a 45-minute drive away, presents additional high-end hotel options.
Beyond logistics, Sundance is dedicated to cultivating strong local support. The festival hosted two community engagement events last summer to introduce itself to Boulder residents. These included a free public discussion featuring festival filmmakers and programmers, and a Q&A session with local journalists. Furthermore, Sundance has forged partnerships with local film festivals, co-hosting screenings with the Boulder International Film Festival and the Denver Film Festival, showcasing a commitment to integrating within Colorado's vibrant cultural scene. Eugene Hernandez, the festival director, lauded the “astonishing and super exciting” hospitality and enthusiasm from both Boulder and the state of Colorado, emphasizing the critical role of Paula Pesmen and the local team in guiding the festival's growth and ensuring a successful transition to its new Colorado home.
