What might Sundance mean for Boulder's own longtime film festival?

The chances of Boulder becoming the new home of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival keep getting better. One in six, to be precise, after the finalist cities were announced on July 19. And now both The Hollywood Reporter and Vulture Magazine are calling Boulder the No. 1 candidate.

Which is great, but begs the awkward question: What would that mean for the Boulder International Film Festival? It’s one that founding sisters Kathy and Robin Beeck say no one has thought to ask them – until now.

BIFF is a beloved community tradition that wrapped its 20th year in early March, again drawing 20,000 film enthusiasts to Boulder and Longmont to see upward of 80 films.

Sundance draws just about every industry bigshot to Utah at the end of every January to see and sell the hottest film prospects. BIFF, meanwhile, is a home-grown, community-based festival with a particular programming interest in outdoors and adventure films.

Could the two festivals, which cater to very different filmmakers and audiences, happily coexist so close together on the calendar? Could they perhaps even form a partnership?

“It is still early in the process,” Kathy Beeck told the Denver Gazette. “But we've certainly been thinking about it.”

As a Boulderite who puts the best interests of her city and state above all else, Beeck says she would actually be thrilled if Sundance chooses to relocate to Colorado. (Why not? Everyone else has.)

“It would be a huge boon for the city of Boulder, and it would be a huge boon for our economy,” she said. “And while we certainly haven't talked to anybody at Sundance about this, we feel like we have laid the groundwork for a festival like Sundance to come to Boulder.”

For the uninitiated, what is the Boulder International Film Festival? “We look for inspiring and educational and entertaining films that people can really learn from and enjoy here at the festival,” Beeck said. “I think you could probably argue that is true for most festivals. But for us, our programming really is the most important thing.”

BIFF also offers youth programs, senior outreach programs, “call to action” programs and a free music showcase. And it pulls in its fair share of celebrities, including Javier Bardem, Alec Baldwin and Tony Goldwyn over the past two years.

The fest’s recent 20th iteration, Beeck said, was presented as “a thank-you to the community because of their support over the many years that we've been building and growing the festival,” she said.

She’s grateful for the horse race that Sundance has set off, and the subsequent attention it has brought to the film communities in each of the finalist cities, which include Atlanta; Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.; Santa Fe and even Park City. (Yes, in the end, Sundance might not be moving at all.)

“We’re happy that people are recognizing the importance of film festivals,” Beeck said. “We're thrilled that they can see their importance to the community culture both artistically and economically.”

Reasons cited for Boulder’s strong candidacy include everything from similar geography to the fact that Sundance’s relocation task force includes Amy Redford, daughter of Sundance godfather and one-year CU Boulder student Robert Redford. More substantively, Sundance has permanently relocated its annual Directors Lab from Park City to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, thanks in part to financial incentives from Colorado’s state arts office.

In his endorsement of Boulder as the odds-on favorite, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg “notes some potential awkwardness around the preexisting Boulder International Film Festival” and expresses his hope “for some sort of an alliance that would keep all parties happy.”

For their part, Sundance officials have repeatedly indicated that they “would look forward to working with any existing film festivals” in whatever city they ultimately choose.

“We were happy to hear that, obviously,” said Beeck, who is open to just about anything – though she said presenting the two festivals simultaneously – or moving BIFF to later in the year – would be logistically problematic.

“I have to be honest: There is so much going on in this town that you can't just say, ‘Let's move to July,’” she said. It just doesn't work like that.”

While it is too early for Beeck to say anything about what a partnership with Sundance could look like, “I will say that we would be happy to share our expertise and resources with their team and to support them as long as we can ensure that our festival will continue to grow and flourish here,” she said. “I feel like there are ways we can possibly cooperate and coordinate and collaborate with them, and we look forward to finding out what that might be.”

Umbrella film-festival partnerships are not uncommon, as Denver Film has proven with its successful alignments with the Colorado Dragon Boat, Cinema Q and Women + Film festivals all proliferating at various times of the year under the Denver Film banner.

“We just really hope, if they do choose Boulder, that there might be a situation where we work together to make sure both Sundance and the Boulder International Film Festival continue to flourish,” Beeck said. “That would be our primary goal.”

The finalist field is expected to be cut to three on or after Aug. 20, with a final decision by September. The earliest the festival would move is 2027.