Sundance’s Road to Boulder: The Pre-Festival Colorado Screenings Held in 2026
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Before its January 2027 debut, Sundance spent summer 2026 hosting community screenings and events across Colorado, from Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre to a Boulder Creek Festival showing. These were partnerships with Denver Film, AEG, and other local organizations, built around Sundance alumni films rather than new premieres. None of this is a preview of the festival program itself, but it’s useful context for understanding how Sundance has been building local ties ahead of the move.
Last verified: August 27, 2026
What’s confirmed
| Event | When and where |
|---|---|
| Boulder Creek Festival screening of “Napoleon Dynamite” (2004 Sundance premiere) | Late May 2026, Boulder |
| BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, with Biennial of the Americas, MATTER, and MCA Denver | May 29, 2026, Holiday Theater, Denver |
| Outside Days: The Best Summer | May 31, 2026, Auraria Campus King Center, Denver |
| Andrea Gibson: Love Letter from the Afterlife, with the Colorado Symphony, Sara Bareilles, and Chris Pureka | July 5, 2026, Red Rocks Amphitheatre |
| Film on the Rocks screening of “Little Miss Sunshine” | July 13, 2026, Red Rocks Amphitheatre |
All of these screenings featured Sundance Film Festival alumni titles rather than festival premieres, and ran through partnerships involving Denver Film and AEG. The reporting we reviewed did not include attendance figures for any of the events.
Why it matters if you’re planning for 2027
It doesn’t change any logistics for your trip, but it’s a sign that Sundance has been treating the Colorado move as a longer relationship with the region, not a one-time relocation. For the broader story of how and why Sundance ended up in Boulder, see our why Sundance moved to Boulder page. For the university side of that same relationship-building, see our post on CU Boulder’s new Film Festival Cultures class.
What we’re watching
We’ll update this post if Sundance announces additional Colorado community events before January 2027, or if attendance or impact figures for these summer events are published.