The Slamdance Film Festival is leaving Park City in favor of Los Angeles.
The festival announced the decision on Tuesday, with plans in motion to relocate to its new home in West Hollywood in time for the next year’s festival taking place from February 20-26, 2025. Slamdance has been held in Park City, Utah since it started in 1995.
Slamdance Leaves Park City for Los Angeles
The move comes as the Sundance Film Festival, which takes place at about the same time as Slamdance every year in Park City, is also considering a move away from the snow-dusted ski town.
On April 17, the Sundance Institute announced it was looking at other host cities for a potential move as early as 2027. Sundance started in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1978 and has been taking place in Park City since 1981, except for a few pandemic years when it was virtual. But the festival’s contract with the city is expiring in 2027, hence the potential — yet still undecided — relocation.
Now, it seems that Slamdance is leading the exodus. Next year’s festival will be held in West Hollywood at venues including the Landmark Theatres and the DGA Theater Complex, with more locations still to be announced.
The festival’s goal is to keep passes affordable, starting at $50, and with some programming made free to the public.
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“Slamdance is coming to Los Angeles! Building upon our success in Utah, we will grow the festival with greater accessibility in Los Angeles and continue our work in launching new films, new careers, and new ideas in filmmaking”, said Slamdance president and founder Peter Baxter.
“With new and existing collaborators, our mission is to increase the global value of independent film and digital media and serve the Los Angeles arts community.”
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass added: “We are thrilled to announce that the Slamdance Film Festival is moving to Los Angeles and will host its first event here beginning in February 2025. To know the history and landscape of independent storytelling is to know that Los Angeles has always been a home and a source of inspiration for artists, as the creative capital of the world. As we welcome filmmakers, artists, and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, the Slamdance Film Festival will serve as a dynamic hub for creativity, connection, and job opportunities for Angelenos.”
New programs will be featured at the 2025 festival, including Polytechnic, Slamdance’s free education endeavor; ’6ixty’, a series of one-minute short films made on any format; Next Wave LA, a program of new media work made by LA-based artists, and the experiential and cutting-edge DIG (Digital, Interactive, Gaming) program.
Submissions for the Slamdance 2025 Film Festival will open on May 8, 2024.
As for Sundance’s plans, Eugene Hernandez, the director of Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming, said in April: “We are in a unique moment for our Festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to responsibly consider how we best continue sustainably serving our community while maintaining the essence of the Festival experience.”
He added: “We are looking forward to conversations that center supporting artists and serving audiences as part of our mission and work at Sundance Institute, and are motivated by our commitment to ensure that the Festival continues to thrive culturally, operationally, and financially as it has for four decades.”
It remains to be seen if and where Sundance will relocate.
Main Image: Slamdance 2024. Photo by Lauren Desberg. Courtesy of Slamdance.
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