By Jessica Herndon
Before the lights dim and the first premieres begin, we’re taking you inside the spaces that will shape the Sundance Film Festival experience in Boulder, Colorado. From the historic Boulder Theater to Macky Auditorium and Dairy Arts Center, this series offers a look at the venues where unforgettable Festival moments will unfold.
The Sundance Film Festival’s new Colorado home in the bustling city of Boulder is filled with spaces built for discovery, conversation, and new perspectives. Across the University of Colorado Boulder campus and into the Boulder Valley School District, historic concert halls and campus auditoriums are preparing for an exciting new role. Beginning in 2027, these venues will welcome filmmakers and audiences from around the world, transforming familiar community spaces into places for new cinematic discoveries.
Home to four Festival venues, all of which are within a 10-minute walk — Macky Auditorium, Muenzinger Auditorium, Roe Green Theatre, and Old Main — the CU Boulder campus has long welcomed audiences for performances, lectures, and cultural events. Soon, those same locations will become home to unforgettable Festival screenings and conversations.
The Sundance Film Festival’s footprint also extends into the Boulder Valley School District, where auditoriums at Boulder High School and Casey Middle School will see Festgoers gather while continuing to serve the students, educators, and families who know them best.
University of Colorado Boulder: Where History Meets the Future of Indie Film
For generations, the University of Colorado Boulder has served as a place where creativity flourishes and people gather to soak up new information. That spirit makes the campus a natural home for the Sundance Film Festival.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s Macky Auditorium has been one of CU Boulder’s defining landmarks for more than a century. As one of the university’s cultural gathering places, the hall has hosted everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt and the Dalai Lama to Robin Williams, Conan O’Brien, Jane Goodall, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and Yo-Yo Ma. Beginning in 2027, that legacy will expand to include Sundance Film Festival premieres, adding independent filmmakers to the list of influential voices who have taken its stage.
Just a short walk away, Muenzinger Auditorium already has film woven into its identity. The venue has hosted one of the oldest arthouse and campus film series in the nation, the International Film Series, which has featured local programming since 1941. Now, it’s receiving significant upgrades ahead of the Festival.
As Zack Tupper, University of Colorado Boulder’s assistant vice provost for academic resource management, explains, “Muenzinger has historically been a screening venue, but Macky and Roe Green have never been screening spaces, so we’re creating a Dolby Atmos experience from scratch. The main update for Muenzinger is … partly an acoustic component, but also an improved screen.”
He adds that the Fest coming to campus has the CU Boulder’s Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts “particularly excited about this opportunity.”
The recently renovated Roe Green Theatre will also debut as a Festival venue. Renovated in 2023, the theater features state-of-the-art acoustics, plush seating, and upgraded systems that will create an immersive viewing experience for cinephiles.
Festival conversations will take place in Old Main, the university’s oldest building and one of Colorado’s most significant historic landmarks.
Completed in 1876 — the same year Colorado became a state — Old Main originally housed the entire university. Today, the building continues its long tradition of bringing people together through lectures, performances, and public gatherings, making it a great setting for Fest talks and events that center storytelling, creativity, and culture.
The university’s historic architecture is part of what gives the campus its distinct character. As Tupper explains, “Back in the day, you didn’t hire an architect and a contractor; you hired a builder. And so we hired a builder for this building, which is why we started with this very Gothic look. It matches a lot of the schools you’d see back on the East Coast. That’s what we thought higher education was supposed to look like.”
Boulder Valley School District: Community at the Heart of the Festival
The Sundance Film Festival experience will also extend beyond the CU Boulder campus into two of the city’s long-standing educational institutions.
Situated between the Pearl Street Mall and CU Boulder, Boulder High School is the oldest established high school in Colorado. Today, students from roughly 30 countries attend the diverse school.
At Casey Middle School, find a blend of history with innovation. Following a major redesign in the early 2010s, the campus preserved two exterior walls from its original 1924 building while introducing a modern facility designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification. In January, film lovers will gather in the school’s auditorium for Fest premieres and screenings.
To enhance the audience experience on each campus, Kris Stoppenhagen, executive director of bond planning and construction for Boulder Valley School District, is tackling “bringing modern-day technology with a focus on student learning and training by updating our mechanical and electrical systems throughout the district.”
This means upgrades to facilities to meet the standards set under the Americans with Disabilities Act for improved accessibility, as well as replacing seating, renovating windows, and updating plumbing. Modernizing Boulder High School was particularly noteworthy since “Boulder High is an iconic part of our district, with 150 years of history,” adds Stoppenhagen. “It was especially meaningful to invest in the building while preserving the character that makes it so special.”
Though each venue has its own story — from century-old landmarks and Gothic architecture to thoughtfully renovated school auditoriums — they all share something in common: They’re places built to bring people together. Beginning in 2027, they’ll become the backdrop for premieres, conversations, standing ovations, and discoveries that define the Sundance Film Festival. And for audiences returning to the Festival or experiencing it for the first time, these spaces won’t just be where they’ll watch films. They’ll be where some of their favorite Sundance Film Festival memories are made.
