Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees of the Sundance Film Festival are making their final push to keep the world-renowned independent film festival in the state as its directors consider uprooting it.

Park City and Salt Lake City are continuing to guard many of the details of the bid to retain the Sundance Film Festival in the state. But the governor of Utah and the leader of the Park City Chamber/Bureau have recently entered the scene with limited information.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox walked the press line for the Sundance Film Festival premiere of “Train Dreams” at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. “It’s going to be an amazing festival, 41 years of Sundance here in Utah,” Cox said. “I think this is going to be the best one ever.”

I’ve always believed festival is the right word to describe the Sundance experience. The cultural boost the festival brings to ski season is a Sundance hallmark, mirroring the artistic sophistication of our community.

Gov. Spencer Cox and other Utah elected officials welcomed the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Saturday night. They attended a screening of “Train Dreams" directed by Clint Bentley.

Governor Spencer Cox Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Beta Technologies and 47G to potentially revolutionize travel in the Beehive State.

On Thursday morning, reporters met with Governor Cox for a monthly press conference with PBS Utah. He discussed a variety of topics

Gov. Spencer Cox delivers his 2025 State of the State address in the House chamber at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

State of the State speech, governor says ‘negativity’ has ‘replaced America’s culture of building.’ So he urged Utah to ‘stay weird’ and build infrastructure, technology and ‘resilient’ people.

We must build,” Governor Spencer Cox declared in his annual State of the State address to the people of Utah, calling for major infrastructure changes.

Bowen Yang, the “Wicked” actor and “Saturday Night Live” comedian, said he's in favor of having the Sundance Film Festival move to Salt Lake City, with some events remaining in Park City, rather than leave Utah entirely.

For Park City’s full-time residents, many of whom have grown up with the Sundance Film Festival, the idea of it leaving seems unimaginable.