An Ode to Sundance 2026: The End of an Era, the Beginning of a Sequel

There are moments in culture when a change feels larger than logistics. Sundance Film Festival leaving Utah after 2026 is one of those moments. Yes, the festival is moving to Colorado. And no, Sundance itself isn’t shutting down. But for those of us who grew up with Sundance woven into the air we breathe every January, this shift feels like the closing of a chapter that shaped not just careers—but identities.

For Mirmont Pictures, Sundance isn’t just a festival we attended. It’s where everything began.

Where It All Started

Long before premieres, investor meetings, or films with laurels, Sohrab Mirmont, founder of Mirmont Pictures, began his career at Sundance Film Festival not as a filmmaker with a badge—but as a working producer in the trenches.

In 2008 and 2009, Sohrab worked as a field producer for Park City Television, covering the energy, chaos, and magic of Sundance from the inside. His role wasn’t about celebrity worship—it was about storytelling. Following filmmakers with projects at the festival, covering red carpets, and producing a series titled A Day in the Life, he documented the human side of independent cinema: the waiting, the hope, the nerves, the exhaustion, and the joy.

"Day in the Life with Kevin Bacon" - Produced, Directed, and Edited by Sohrab Mirmont for Park City Television during the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.

That proximity—to filmmakers chasing dreams in real time—left an indelible mark.

Since 2008, Mirmont Pictures and its team have attended Sundance every single year, never missing one. Sundance became a rhythm. A pilgrimage. A reminder of why we do this.

Growing With the Festival

As Sohrab’s career evolved, Sundance remained a constant companion.

In 2017, he served as First Assistant Director on Snatchers, a bold, genre-bending project that embodied the very spirit Sundance champions—fearless, strange, and unapologetically original. That year wasn’t just another festival appearance; it was proof of growth. Proof that the kid covering filmmakers had become one.

In 2014, Mirmont Pictures experienced something even more profound: a look behind the curtain at the very origins of Sundance itself.

The company was contracted to produce the Utah segment of a documentary on Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat. That assignment brought the team to the iconic Sundance Resort—and into the home of the man who started it all: Robert Redford.

Meeting Redford

Sohrab still remembers the day vividly.

“We were allowed access to his home before he arrived. We got in early to set up cameras and lights, preparing the space for the interview. We had walkie-talkies connected to Redford’s team down the mountain. Then the call came in: ‘Redford is ten minutes out.’My palms got sweaty. I was nervous. I’d worked with big stars before—but Redford was different. In my house growing up, my dad always had one of his movies on. He was an icon.”

Knowing his job was to keep the shoot smooth—including the human moment of meeting a legend—Sohrab prepared a light, joking introduction. Something to break the ice.

Then came the knock.

“I opened the door and there he was. Robert Redford. I shook his hand and said, ‘Hello Mr. Redford, welcome to your own home.’He laughed—a genuine laugh—and said, ‘Thanks for having me.’”

That laugh said everything.

Robert Redford outside his home in Sundance, Utah

It’s easy to imagine that humility, that openness, is exactly why Redford cha

mpioned independent film in the first place. Indie cinema is raw, exposed, and honest. It isn’t protected from awkwardness, risk, or a well-timed joke—even when that joke is aimed at one of cinema’s legends.

Sundance and Utah: A Shared DNA

For fifty years, Sundance has been a lifeline for filmmakers in Utah. It injected a constant drip of film DNA into the state—creatively, culturally, and economically. What began in Park City expanded outward, influencing an entire generation of artists.

Cast and Crew from the film "GreenFlake" shot entirely in Utah.

Utah filmmakers and Utah-made films have gone on to become deeply embedded in film culture. Projects like Napoleon Dynamite, shot in Utah and made by Utah filmmakers, proved that authentic, regional voices could reach the world without losing their soul. Films like Hereditary (shot in Utah), Wind River, Halloween Kills, and countless independent features and shorts have used Utah’s landscapes and talent as a canvas.

On set for Mirmont Pictures. Photography by Sahar Mirmontazeri

More importantly, Utah filmmakers themselves—writers, directors, cinematographers, producers—have become some of the most recognizable and respected in the industry, carrying the Sundance ethos far beyond the Wasatch Front.

Not an Ending—A Sequel

Even though 2026 marks the last year of Sundance Film Festival in Utah, this isn’t an ending.

It’s an extension. A sequel.

Mirmont Pictures during the filming of "Blue Door". Photo by Sahar Mirmontazeri

The past fifty years of Sundance being rooted in Utah created something

permanent—an identity that doesn’t move just because the festival does. The culture is here. The talent is here. The inspiration is here.

For Mirmont Pictures, Sundance will always be home—not because of geography, but because it shaped who we are. It taught us that independent film matters. That stories are worth fighting for. That humility and boldness can coexist.

Sundance may be leaving Utah physically—but it will always live here creatively.

And like any great independent film, what comes next is wide open.