The countdown to Colorado is heating up.

Sundance's big Boulder debut is now less than six months away, and to mark the moment, Eugene Hernandez, festival director and head of public programming, published a  What to Know About the 2027 Sundance Film Festival  letter today on Sundance Institute's website. It lifts the veil with news on planning, logistics, scheduling and more.

 Yes, a lot is changing,  Hernandez writes before diving into the details for next year's festival, scheduled for Jan. 21-31 (with online screenings set for the public from Jan. 28-31, and a day earlier for industry and press). And he's right, with a new home base comes expected changes to venues and hotels and some unexpected ones with an expansion to the schedule and the resuscitation of the New Frontier program to spotlight tech-forward projects.

The headline in regard to venues, and something that feels like a point of pride for Hernandez and his Sundance team, is that the festival footprint will be contained within a two-mile radius, which creates a walkable, scooter-able or more easily accessible festival compared to the sprawling locations when it was based in Park City, Utah.

 On the University of Colorado Boulder campus, the iconic Macky Auditorium is adjacent to the historic Old Main, across the quad from the Roe Green Theatre and near Muenzinger Auditorium. A short walk from campus is Boulder High School, and just a few blocks away is the Pearl Street pedestrian mall filled with restaurants and shops,  Hernandez writes.  From the center of Pearl Street, the Hotel Boulderado, our festival headquarters, is steps away, and around the corner is the Boulder Theater, near e-Town Hall and the Canyon Theater. Walk a few more blocks north and find Casey [Casey Middle School]. The legendary Chautauqua Auditorium is about a mile away at the base of the Flatiron trails, and there is still more to experience a few minutes away from Pearl Street at Dairy Arts Center and the Cinemark Century [press and industry screening venue]. 

Many of the venues are being updated to accommodate festival screenings, and Hernandez

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