'Portal for so many stories': Sundance Institute reflects on Park City as final film festival begins

PARK CITY — Park City will always hold a special place in Amy Redford's heart as it's the place her father's dream and vision came true.

"These mountains have a funny way of adding perspective. Utah is the bedrock that allowed us to build. ... Park City is the portal for so many stories to be set free to the world," Redford, a member of the Sundance Institute board of trustees, said during a press event Wednesday.

Redford's father, Robert Redford, was the Oscar-winning director who founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 to support up-and-coming films and producers through labs, workshops and mentorship programs. Robert Redford's goal for the festival was to find and support independent storytellers, and the institute aims to continue that legacy of discovery after his death in September.

"This is a story of beginnings and endings. ... This year's theme is 'Everyone has a story,' which were words directly out of my dad's mouth on more than one occasion. He's not the only one that said it, but he is one of the few that did something about it," she said.

Restaurants and bars were hopping on Wednesday night as people slowly flooded the town that has been home to the Sundance Film Festival for more than four decades. Film buffs who have seen hundreds of movies at Sundance Film Festival — or those who have always wanted to attend but haven't yet — have just one last chance to attend the festival before it leaves Utah forever.

This year's star-studded list of directors and actors is sure to impress any movie fanatic. Well-known industry names such as Peter Dinklage, Chris Pine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emma Thompson, and up-and-coming artists who have gained fame and recognition in recent years — Lola Tung, Mason Thames and Noah Centineo, for example — will soon be gracing the streets of Utah.

And among the major crowds will be dozens of filmmakers and producers just waiting for their big moment.

"The storytellers, the filmmakers, the artists, who come here at great sacrifice ... (they) might just be the next one to change the world," Amy Redford said. "It's a shot of hope to seek out the unknowns and find out who they are. It was really my dad's favorite part."

The Sundance Film Festival opens Thursday and will go until Feb. 1. With screenings in both Park City and Salt Lake City and a wide range of cinematic offerings, there are plenty of opportunities for film lovers to see the world premieres of potentially award-winning films.

"Those stories will bring us together and connect us. They will move us, we will laugh, we will cry — that's what this festival is all about ... that's what Mr. Redford's legacy is all about," said festival director Eugene Hernandez.

A tribute to the founder

The 2026 festival overall will be filled with tributes to founder Robert Redford. This year's annual fundraiser, titled "Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford," will be on Friday, Jan. 23. Held at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, the event will honor Redford's "legacy, vision and enduring mission to support independent storytellers," the Sundance Institute said in a statement.

Out of thousands of submissions from 164 countries, the 90 films that made the lineup in 2026 represent almost 30 countries and territories — honoring Redford's emphasis of looking for a variety of perspectives from all over the world.

This year, 40% of the films feature first-time filmmakers. Fourteen of this year's feature films started as projects supported by the Sundance Institute through grants or residency labs, and four of the feature films come from directors who started in the short film category at Sundance.

"What makes (Sundance) remarkable is knowing what the world sees over these 11 days is only a part of the Sundance Institute's year-round work to discover, to nurture and to invest in independent artists and their stories," said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute board chair.

John Nein, Sundance senior programmer, first came to Sundance in the mid '90s, and it "very dramatically changed the course of my life." To attend the festival, he shared an apartment with seven people and watched 23 films in five days. He was hooked and has been attending and later working for Sundance ever since.

"The most remarkable thing about what (Robert Redford) built is it was given to us, and it's for us to take forward," Nein said.

'Transformative vision'

Nein helped curate the Park City Legacy Program, hosted during the second week of the festival, where archival screenings will show some of the most iconic and revolutionary films that have graced Sundance, including a commemorative screening of Redford's "Downhill Racer," his first independent film that became the catalyst for founding the Sundance Institute.

"Something that would be a fitting tribute to our history, to the founding vision of Robert Redford and to a festival that really became synonymous with more than four decades of independent film," Nein said.

The program includes artist talks with Sundance alumni and a free public "culmination event" on Jan. 30 that will celebrate the 43-year history of the festival. The event aims to honors Redford's "transformative vision" that "everyone has a story," according to the Sundance Institute.

The most important part of the legacy program "is something we couldn't have programmed," Nein said. It's the community that will be gathering for the next two weeks.

"They have been coming for 40 years. They've literally shaped this festival and this movement, and they're going to celebrate the legacy, tell their stories and share their memories," he said. "It's about honoring the vision and a community and a spirit that is still dragging this work forward."

Amy Redford agreed, saying what she will miss most about Park City is the people who embraced the festival and helped it grow.

In 2027, the film festival will be moving to Boulder, Colorado. The Sundance Institute, however, will still be headquartered in Utah, offering year-round programs, labs, intensives, grants, fellowships and public programming to cultivate and uplift producers and filmmakers.

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