Sundance’s Future In Utah Looks Bleak As Park City Mayor Laments Anti-LGBTQ+ Flag Bill

With just two days to go until Utah’s governor either signs or vetos a controversial bill that would ban the Pride Flag from government buildings in the state, the chances of Sundance staying in the Beehive State aren’t looking good.

At least according to Park City‘s Mayor.

“Deputy City Manager Sarah Pearce and I have worked closely for a year now, one year now, with Jennifer Wesselhoff at the Park City Chamber, the mayors and staff of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, state elected officials and other stakeholders to reimagine a Sundance Film Festival in Utah that combines the magic of Park City with the affordability of the Salt Lake area,” Nann Worel said late Tuesday in her annual state of the Park City speech. Along with Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Film Commissioner Virginia Pearce and the other officials Worel mentioned, the Park City leader has been a big advocate for the multi-million dollar United Utah effort that would see the state capitol become Sundance’s hub and Park City become the satellite screening venue in 2027.

But larger political winds may have blown that plan away.

“Unfortunately, a recent bill passed by the Utah legislature and comments made by some legislature have not been helpful in our bid to keep the festival here,” the retiring resort town mayor told local luminaries this evening of the bill designed to ban LGBTQ+ flags and banners on public buildings and schools.

Worel’s remarks come as a final decision on Sundance’s future expected very soon, according to what  festival director Eugene Hernandez told Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. on February 22.

After a year of bids, competition and reimagining of a post-Park City Sundance, Utah’s desire to keep the Robert Redford founded fest is up against a very strong and $34 million tax incentive juiced bid from Boulder CO and a resilient effort from Cincinnati, OH. Gov. Cox and the Utah legislature have put over $3.5 million in state funds directly on the table at the last minute to keep the big bucks gross domestic product, tax revenue and employment generating Sundance in the state. Yet, as first Deadline reported on March 12 and apparently has intensified since, the battle to keep Sundance that may already be lost in part because of the anti-Pride flag bill, several sources say.

With undeniable pessimism in her voice, Mayor Worel added Tuesday: “Regardless of the festival’s trajectory, I am proud of Park City’s efforts, and we will continue to support the arts and explore new opportunities. Change is inevitable with the festival, but if the Sundance Institute chooses to leave our state, we will not only survive, we will thrive.”

Trajectory or not, the tender to keep Sundance local once its current contract expires after the 2026 festival faces serious headwinds from the passage earlier this month in the Republican dominated state chambers of House Bill 77, or the Flag Display Amendments. Headwinds so strong that they have likely irrevocably tipped the fine balance that progressive Sundance and primarily Red State Utah have been able to maintain the past 40 years, I’m told.

Even with very vocal opposition to the Rep. Trevor Lee and Sen. Daniel McCay sponsored HB77 from SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall, direct pleas from her and others in the state to the Sundance leadership to remember the history the Robert Redford founded fest and Utah have received a skeptical reaction. The bill is “a slap in the face,” according to a well-positioned source, to the festival’s proclaimed values of being “vibrant, inviting and inclusive.”

However, as much as Gov. Cox says he values Sundance, the 2024 re-elected politician also has a hard deadline of March 27 to either sign the anti-Pride flag bill into law or veto it. If Cox signs it, which smart money says he will, the measure will go into effect in early May. Starting months before the last Park City centric Sundance next year, there will be $500 fine daily for every Pride flag flying from state funded buildings.

Objections to the bill from the ACLU and Equality Utah have also seen longtime anti-Pride flag promoters Rep. Lee and Sen. McCay (who recently said Sundance makes “porn” and “does not fit in Utah anymore” while reposting a Deadline story) make their POV very clear online.