Name recognition and other privileges accompany the sponsorship classification. The Office of Tourism's name will be listed on screen tags before film screenings, on the festival's Web site and in printed materials, such as 50,000 film guides and 9,500 festival catalogues.

The Tourism Office also gets 12 festival credentials, six invitations to opening galas and screenings in Park City and Salt Lake City, six tickets to the awards night ceremony and celebration party and at least 24 festival screening tickets. It also has the right to stage a sanctioned event during the festival, will be included in two e-mails of appreciation sent to everyone on festival e-mail lists and will have a trivia item about Utah's travel and recreational opportunities published daily in the 80,000 circulation Festival Daily Insider.

State tourism officials have been regular supporters of Sundance, mindful of statistics published last summer by the Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research showing that the film festival generates nearly $60 million for the state's economy. In addition, 65 percent of the 48,300 festivalgoers in 2007 said they expected to visit Park City again for activities not affiliated with the film extravaganza.

- Mike Gorrell