Three of the 15 cities accepted to submit proposals to become the future host city of the Sundance Film Festival are from Georgia: Athens, Atlanta and Savannah.
The news was confirmed Wednesday by longtime media executive Pat Mitchell at a luncheon held by the Entertainment Tourism Alliance of Georgia and Georgia Entertainment. Mitchell is a long-serving board member of the Sundance Institute, the nonprofit arm of the festival.
Mitchell also said Wednesday that another three cities are from North Carolina, though she did not specify which ones. That would put nearly half of the potential new host cities in the South. But late Thursday, Mitchell’s team informed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the information she shared about North Carolina at the lectern was not accurate. A spokesperson for the Sundance Institute did not respond to a request for comment about how many cities, if any, from North Carolina are on the list.
Bids by Atlanta and Savannah for the film festival were already publicly known, but Athens’ inclusion in the list had not been previously disclosed.
Georgia is one of the top film and television production hubs in the U.S. behind Los Angeles and New York. Most of the Georgia production is centered in metro Atlanta, though Athens and Savannah have each played host to numerous film and television projects.
About 90 cities put in bids to host Sundance, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the United States. It has been held in Park City, Utah, since its inception in 1981, but festival management has decided to consider alternative locations when its contract ends in 2026.
The core group was whittled down to 15 cities earlier this month, all of which must now organize host committees. Atlanta has not finalized its committee. Christopher Escobar, the executive director of The Atlanta Film Society and owner of the city’s Plaza and Tara cinemas, chaired the request for information (RFI) process. He did not respond to a request for comment.
The three Georgia contenders have yet to make a public announcement about their selections. City of Atlanta spokesman Michael Smith did not respond to a request for comment.
The deadline for the 15 cities to submit a formal proposal is June 21. A host city will be named in late 2024 or early 2025, according to the institute.
Held annually in January, the Sundance festival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Park City each year. This year’s festival featured 91 films and 60-plus shorts. More than 100,000 people attended the event, with 40% coming from out of state.
-Staff writer Rodney Ho contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since publication to correct initial comments made by a Sundance Institute official about potential candidate cities in North Carolina.
