Will the Legislature’s proposed ban on pride flags be the reason Sundance Film Festival leaves Utah?
That possibility was floated after a virtual meeting Tuesday between Utah leaders and the committee deciding on Sundance’s relocation, the Hollywood trade publication Deadline reported Wednesday.
“What were they thinking?” an unnamed person identified by Deadline as a “Sundance insider” said after Tuesday’s meeting. The insider, Deadline said, added that “it is a terrible law, a terrible look for the state.”
A spokesperson for Sundance Institute declined to comment Wednesday on the Deadline report.
The bill, HB77, would prohibit any nonsanctioned flag in public schools and government buildings across Utah. Approved flags include the U.S. and the Utah flag, flags of Native American tribes, Olympic flags, military flags, flags of other countries and flags of colleges and universities and those approved for a schools curriculum. It passed the Senate on a 21-8 vote and the House 49-20.
Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who proposed a similar bill last year and shepherded HB77 through the Senate, slammed Sundance in a post late Wednesday on the social media platform X.
“Bye Felicia,” McCay wrote, linking to the Deadline article. “Sundance promotes porn. Sundance promotes alternative lifestyles. Sundance promotes anti-LDS themes,” he continued, referring to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Sundance does not fit in Utah anymore,” the post concluded.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, has said on social media that his goal was specifically to ban pride flags. Lee did not respond to a request for comment on the Deadline report.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, during the 2025 legislative session, Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
Gov. Spencer Cox, who has until March 27 to decide whether to sign or veto the flag ban, has publicly supported Utah’s Sundance bid. He said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune last week that he wishes HB77 had not been expanded to include government buildings.
“I wish we would have kept it at schools and let adults make those decisions,” he said. “That would be really cool if I could just strike out half a bill and keep the other half of a bill, but I don’t get to do that.” If signed, the new law will go into effect May 7. The proposed flag ban passed the Legislature one year after lawmakers approved, and Cox signed, a law that bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity in government buildings.
In a statement Wednesday, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, one of the leaders involved in Utah’s bid to keep Sundance, voiced her support of Utah’s LGBTQ community.
“There is not a state in this nation where inclusivity, diversity and empathy aren’t under attack, and everyone has a role in standing up for those values,” Mendenhall said. “Salt Lake City will never stop supporting our neighbors, including the LGBTQIA community, and Sundance is an incredible partner in that support. The power of amplifying voices and creating change through art is needed now more than ever in this ongoing work.”
Chad Call, executive director of the Utah Pride Center, said Sundance “has played a pivotal role in elevating LGBTQIA+ voices and ensuring our stories are heard, understood and valued.”
Both the Pride Center and LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Utah say Cox should veto the ban.
A long history, and a bidding war
Where Sundance will move in 2027 was a hot conversation topic among locals and visitors at this year’s festival. Attendees have complained that Park City has grown inaccessible, particularly to independent filmmakers who can’t afford the ski town’s expensive lodging.
The festival, known globally as a showcase for American independent movies, has called Utah home since 1978.
The first iteration, then called the Utah/US Film Festival, took place in September 1978 at Trolley Corners in Salt Lake City. The festival moved to Park City in January 1981, a few months before actor-filmmaker Robert Redford started the Sundance Institute.
Sundance took over the festival in 1985, and renamed it Sundance in 1991.
The Sundance Institute announced in April 2024 that it was launching a bidding process to seek a new home for the Sundance Film Festival once its current contract with Park City expires after the 2026 event. After receiving interest from several cities, the institute’s selection committee narrowed the choice down to three finalists: Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio; and a combined bid from Salt Lake City and Park City.
Institute officials have stayed quiet about the bidding process, except to say a decision is expected to be announced in late March or early April.
The governor greeted Sundance’s relocation committee during a tour of Utah facilities in August, saying that Sundance is one of the “four” things “people know about Utah,” along with the Utah Jazz, skiing and national parks. In early February, Cox was one of more than 90 Utah leaders who signed an open letter, in an ad published in the Los Angeles Times, urging “the Sundance community” to stay.
(Utah Film Commission) A sign, noting the link between Salt Lake City and Park City, guides a delegation from Sundance Institute visiting Salt Lake City on Aug. 27, 2024.
In a budget proposal he released before this year’s legislative session, Cox proposed spending $3 million to keep Sundance in Utah. Ultimately, lawmakers allocated $3.5 million — making Utah’s effort competitive with a tax incentive proposed in the Colorado Legislature.
The state appropriation reportedly would be augmented by an unspecified amount of funding pledged from Utah public and private sources.
Mendenhall showed her opposition to the bill last Friday, by having a pride flag flown at City Hall during the final minutes of the legislative session. City Hall was also lit up in rainbow colors.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) People display a large pride flag during a demonstration organized by the Utah Pride Center at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Friday, March 7, 2025.
Losing Sundance would cost Utah millions
In Ohio, one of the other states seeking Sundance’s favor, a transgender restroom ban similar to Utah’s became law in February. Ohio lawmakers also passed a bill barring gender-affirming care to minors, and one that requires educators to out a student’s sexuality to their parents.
In Colorado, the third finalist for Sundance’s relocation, LGBTQ protections are comparatively robust. For example, the Colorado Legislature in 2023 passed a law requiring new government buildings to include a non-gendered bathroom. A Colorado law banning conversion therapy is facing a challenge that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Utah stands to lose a strong economic driver if Sundance leaves the state. According to an economic impact study the Sundance Institute commissioned last year, the 2024 festival added $132 million to the state’s gross domestic product, and some $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue.
Nearly 73,000 people attended the 2024 festival, the study said, with about a third coming from outside Utah.
