PARK CITY, Utah — The sprint to the Sundance Film Festival stage along a crowded stretch of Main Street is a rite of passage for many American filmmakers, and it’s one they’ll do for the last time this year.
“I’ve been to Sundance where you’re late to your screening and you literally can’t drive down Main Street, the traffic is so bad,” said Gregg Araki, who is preparing to premiere his 10th film at the festival with the buzzy comedy “I Want Your Sex.”
“So get out of your car and run,” he added.
Traffic in town is a function of how the once-popular independent film event founded by Robert Redford in the 1980s has outgrown the small ski village. This year, Park City is holding its final Sundance — which kicks off Thursday — before the festival moves next year to Boulder, Colorado, a city about 12 times larger.
It’s also the first Sundance since Redford’s death in September at age 89, and organizers have planned a mix of programming that pays homage to him and the history of his festival.
Actor Robert Redford at the 1981 Academy Awards in Los Angeles.AP file“There’s a poignancy to this year because of the change that’s about to happen,” said festival director Eugene Hernandez, speaking as his team of volunteers set up the festival’s many venues, including a converted sporting goods store in Park City that transforms each year into a 500-seat theater. “We knew it would be this high point in Utah, and we wanted to recognize it and celebrate it.”
Sundance was born from Redford’s belief in using his influence to open doors for others, his daughter Amy Redford told NBC’s “TODAY” show. He saw the event, and his nonprofit Sundance Institute, as an opportunity to “change the world,” she said.
Directors like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao all had their early careers boosted by premieres here.
Redford’s impact is also evident in the turnout: last year, more than 85,000 people attended the festival, according to an economic impact commissioned by the Sundance Institute.
This Sundance will host a gala launching an award in Redford’s name; a screening of his first independent film, 1969’s “Downhill Racer”; and reunion events for films from past festivals, such as “Little Miss Sunshine,” “House Party” and “Saw.”
Sundance programmers are also eagerly awaiting their slate, which includes newcomers like singer-songwriter Charli
Olivia Wilde is also on board as director of her new film, “The Invite,” starring Seth Rogen. There will also be films starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård (“Wicker”), Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum (“Josephine”) as well as Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe (“The Weight”).
Sundance has also long been considered a launching pad for documentaries: this year’s festival includes films about notable figures such as Salman Rushdie, Nelson Mandela, Courtney Love, Brittney Griner, Billie Jean King and comedian Maria Bamford.
The festival takes place as the American film industry grapples with major changes, including a battle for the future of Warner Bros. Discovery and the adoption of artificial intelligence.
With two AI documentaries on show, “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” and “Ghost in the Machine,” and with companies like Adobe and Luma AI bringing executives to the festival to court filmmakers around the new technology, AI is likely to be a hot topic of discussion here.
Some longtime festival-goers say Sundance may be the best place to tackle the industry’s challenges.
Ava DuVernay, who won the best director award at Sundance in 2012 for “Middle of Nowhere” and served on the festival’s board of directors for six years, will be in Park City to participate in a conversation with documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple.
“In this time when our industry feels like it’s collapsing in on itself, with corporatization, consolidation, AI, everything that artists fear,” DuVernay said, “there’s an opportunity for Sundance to be the place that plants a flag for independence.”
Rebecca Keegan is the senior Hollywood reporter for NBC News Digital, where she covers the entertainment industry.