Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
PARK CITY — Organizers for next year's Sundance Film Festival are facing some turbulence after the organization's CEO recently announced her departure, and then a regular festival theater near Park City stopped listing showtimes on its website.
The Sundance Institute, which puts on the film festival in Park City every year, has been working on a new long-term strategic plan for several months now. Last October, CEO Joana Vicente asked Park City Council to extend their March 1 deadline for the renegotiation of their festival contract with the city.
"Our revenue has dropped significantly after the lockdown and we've yet to see a rebound," the CEO said.
In the request for the deadline extension, Vicente also wrote, "At this moment in time, Sundance is in a unique position — one it has not found itself in its history."
When asked if they had a long-term commitment to Park City, Vicente responded, "We're really asking all questions. In terms of when you go into a new strategic plan, you're really charting the future."
Later in the council meeting, she said the festival was "really hoping to continue that strong partnership that we've enjoyed," though the nature of that relationship going forward remains unclear.
"After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to begin a new chapter," Vicente said in a press release dated March 22. She took the job at the Institute near the end of 2021, leaving her role as executive director of the Toronto International Film Festival to help Sundance transition from the all-virtual festivals in 2020 and 2021.
The Institute announced that former Instagram executive Amanda Kelso, who began her career as a production assistant on "Mr.Roger's Neighborhood," would be taking over as acting CEO, with Vicente acting as advisor to the board through June. Kelso has previously held the position of acting CEO, after Keri Putnam stepped down in 2021, with more than 10 years at the Institute.
Sundance board chairman Ebs Burnough called this new transition a "longer and larger commitment."
Kelso, in a separate press release, said she is "eager to begin collaborating with the wider team on developing the next strategic plan for the Institute's continued advancement."
Possible theater closure
The February Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Theatres Corporation, which runs the Redstone 8 Cinemas near Kimball Junction and the Holiday Village 4 Cinemas just north of Park City, may affect the festival's decision to remain in Park City.
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy is known as a "reorganization" bankruptcy, according to the U.S. Courts, during which the business continues to operate and forms a new plan of reorganization with input from its creditors.
The theaters owned by Metropolitan Theaters are the only two commercial movie theaters near Park City and regular screening locations for the Sundance Film Festival.
The 100-year-old company and its subsidiaries "operate a diverse collection of historic properties and state-of-the-art multiplexes among their 16 theaters and 87 screens in California, Colorado and Utah," with 12 full-time and 240 part-time employees, according to court documents. In 2022, the company dropped two poorly performing theatres in Aspen, Colorado, and Hailey, Idaho, when their leases expired, because "operating losses were projected for the foreseeable future," the bankruptcy filing states.
Metropolitan Theatres hoped to negotiate rent with its many landlords and said in court documents that "many of its leases are above-market."
Amid speculation that these theaters could close, Thursday was the last listed showtime for movies at the Holiday Village 4 Cinemas; the Redstone theater and other Metropolitan Theater locations advertise movies and special events into the future.
If it is confirmed that the theater is closed, the lack of that venue will immediately impact planning for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and may call into question the viability of the festival's future in Park City, if another viewing location is not found.
The Arcadia Management Group manages the Holiday Village 4 for a Miami-based property owner and declined to comment on its relationships with tenants.
Metropolitan Theatres and Sundance did not respond to a request for comment.
