Voices: Sundance offers Utah a breath of countercultural fresh air we desperately need

For the past 40 years, Utah has played a significant role in the independent film industry by hosting one of the most important, world-renowned film festivals. The festival has helped launch the careers of some of the most influential filmmakers of our time, including Chloé Zhao, Ryan Coogler, Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan. The list goes on.

Now this iconic film festival, born and raised here, is leaving, and I’m not sure Utahns are grasping just how devastating that really is.

Sundance officials claim that the decision to leave Utah was not politically motivated. Whether that is entirely true is unclear. What seems more likely is that politics did not initiate the effort to leave the state, but may have motivated the final push.

As a film lover, I hope the festival thrives in Boulder and continues its legacy. As a Utah resident, I’m still holding out hope that the festival will, one day, find its way back.

Since 2018, I have attended the festival every year, with 2021 and 2022 held virtually due to the pandemic. It’s how I celebrate my Feb. 1 birthday. It has been one of my favorite times of the year. I am surrounded by like-minded people who love movies and celebrate the medium. I have seen incredible films that made me laugh, cry and have sent chills down my spine.

I realize that attending the festival in Boulder will still be possible. It could be worse. It is only an eight-hour drive. But when the festival was here, it was guaranteed that I would go. Now, it is not.

The festival’s economic benefits to the state are undeniable. However, I believe its cultural contributions are just as important. The festival, its attendees and its films offered a breath of countercultural fresh air that Utah desperately needs. It offered a much-needed outside perspective and exposure to alternative and progressive viewpoints, something this deeply red state often lacks.

Last year, State Sen. Daniel McCay, who proposed HB77, wrote on X: “Sundance promotes porn. Sundance promotes alternative lifestyles. Sundance promotes anti-LDS themes. Sundance does not fit in Utah anymore.”

I find it appalling how out-of-touch some of our lawmakers are with the needs and wants of the state of Utah and its citizens. The state lost tens of millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of guaranteed jobs each year simply because you did not like what the festival represented.

Without the annual presence of the festival each year, I see Utah to be a less welcoming place for artists and filmmakers. Even though it was the decision of the Sundance Institute to leave, it does raise important questions about whether the state could have done more to demonstrate its commitment to keep the festival here.

We lose something valuable when we don’t make room for the arts — particularly art that challenges our way of life. Which is exactly what the festival did. It stood for inclusion, progressive thinking and looking at life’s challenges through an artistic lens. Although the arts are still available to us, it’s different when we are no longer the ones curating the experience.

Filmmaking is one of Utah’s core cultural and economic draws. It seems like many of our lawmakers don’t understand or even care about it. Large-scale productions come from all over the world to shoot in Utah. Our diverse geological landscape offers vast options to shoot in. The Utah Film Commission offers unusually generous tax incentives and rebates for shooting in our state and hiring local talent and crew. Utah is a film state. Lawmakers should do all they can to keep it that way.

Whether it is braving a Park City winter, waking up at 5 a.m. to secure a good place in line, or refreshing your phone at just the right moment to join the waitlist for a sold-out screening, Sundance is defined by shared rituals as much as films.

Then there are the moments in between: stopping by Squatters after a screening at the Rose Wagner Theater, or spotting an A-list celebrity casually strolling down Park City Main Street.

The experiences and atmosphere surrounding the Sundance Film Festival cannot be replicated anywhere else.

If anyone from Sundance is reading, I’d ask that you please consider keeping a piece of the festival in its birthplace. Host special screenings and events at Sundance Resort or in Park City.

Now is the last time to experience the festival in Utah. If you haven’t experienced it already, go! It’s not too late. There are single film tickets available on festival.sundance.org. There are screenings happening every day through Feb. 1.

There are also many ways to celebrate and support the film industry in Utah, even after the departure of the Sundance Film Festival. Utah is still home to many exciting festivals: The Utah International Film Festival, FilmQuest, Zions Indie Film Fest and many more. The Salt Lake Film Society is also consistently hosting excellent events at its theater in Salt Lake City.

Although the festival’s departure from the state is devastating, we’re better served appreciating what Sundance gave us rather than mourning what is now gone.

If you love film, help keep it alive. Share it. Support it.

Ian Scott is a Utah-based writer and film fan who has attended the Sundance Film Festival regularly since 2018.

The Salt Lake Tribune is committed to creating a space where Utahns can share ideas, perspectives and solutions that move our state forward. We rely on your insight to do this. Find out how to share your opinion here, and email us at voices@sltrib.com.