From historic landmarks to newly upgraded theaters, here’s where Sundance audiences will watch films, hear from filmmakers and experience the festival across Boulder.
When Sundance Film Festival arrives in Boulder in January 2027, it won't be taking over one theater or one neighborhood. Instead, the festival will spread across a collection of familiar Boulder spaces, from the University of Colorado campus and downtown to Chautauqua and the Dairy Arts Center.
That means Sundance will look a little different here than it did in Park City. Rather than one concentrated festival district, audiences will move between theaters, auditoriums, historic buildings and arts venues throughout the city.
The good news? Sundance says the festival footprint is relatively compact, with venues located within about a two mile radius. The organization is also working with local venues on upgrades designed to create a high quality filmgoing experience.
Here is a look at where the festival will take place and what is changing before the first screenings begin.
A Festival Spread Across Boulder
The official 2027 Sundance venues include:
CU Boulder
• Macky Auditorium Concert Hall
• Muenzinger Auditorium
• Roe Green Theatre
• Old Main for talks and festival programming
Downtown and Central Boulder
• Boulder Theater
• eTown Hall
• Canyon Theater at Boulder Public Library
• Boulder High School Auditorium
Other Boulder locations
• Chautauqua Auditorium
• Dairy Arts Center, including Boedecker Theater and Gordon Gamm Theater
• Casey Middle School Auditorium
• Cinemark Century Boulder
Some venues will host films, while others will be used for talks, festival programming or press and industry screenings. Sundance says more films and events in its expanded 2027 program are one reason the festival is using more venues in Boulder.
Explore the official Sundance Festival Footprint Map
CU Boulder Gets a Major Sundance Makeover
Four festival locations are clustered on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, making it one of the most concentrated parts of the festival footprint.
Macky Auditorium, Muenzinger Auditorium and Roe Green Theatre will host festival screenings, while Old Main will be used for conversations and other programming. Sundance says the four locations are all within about a 10 minute walk of one another.
Macky Auditorium
Macky Auditorium is one of CU Boulder's best known landmarks. The historic building has hosted generations of speakers and performers, and in 2027 it will add Sundance premieres to that history.
The auditorium has never previously served as a Sundance screening venue, making the festival's arrival a new chapter for one of Boulder's most recognizable spaces.
Muenzinger Auditorium
Muenzinger is no stranger to film. The auditorium has hosted CU Boulder's International Film Series since 1941, giving it a long history as a destination for independent and international cinema.
For Sundance, however, the space is getting significant upgrades. CU Boulder says improvements include acoustic work and an improved screen, while the festival experience will include a Dolby Atmos system.
Roe Green Theatre
Roe Green Theatre is another relatively new addition to the festival landscape. The theater was renovated in 2023 and already features upgraded acoustics, seating and theater systems.
For Sundance, it will become a film venue for the first time.
Old Main
Not every Sundance experience will involve sitting in a theater.
Old Main, CU Boulder's oldest building, will host festival conversations and programming. Completed in 1876, the building was originally home to the entire university and is now one of Colorado's historic landmarks.
Boulder High and Casey Middle School Join the Festival
Two Boulder Valley School District schools will also become Sundance venues.
Boulder High School, located between downtown and CU Boulder, is the oldest established high school in Colorado. Its auditorium will host festival screenings.
Casey Middle School will also welcome festivalgoers for screenings. The school underwent a major redesign in the early 2010s, retaining portions of its original 1924 building while creating a modern facility.
Both locations are receiving facility improvements ahead of the festival. According to Boulder Valley School District, the work includes mechanical and electrical updates, accessibility improvements, seating replacements, window renovations and plumbing updates.
At Boulder High, the upgrades are part of a larger effort to modernize the historic building while preserving its character.
The Boulder Theater Gets Ready for Its Next Act
The Boulder Theater may already be one of the most recognizable names on the Sundance venue list.
The downtown landmark opened in 1936 and has spent decades hosting concerts and other events. But before it became one of Boulder's best known music venues, it was a movie house.
Now it is preparing to return to that role.
The Boulder Theater is undergoing changes designed to enhance the filmgoing experience ahead of Sundance. The venue's location just off the Pearl Street Mall also puts festivalgoers within easy walking distance of restaurants, shops and other downtown activities.
For longtime Boulder residents, there is something particularly fitting about seeing a historic movie theater become part of the city's first Sundance Film Festival.
Chautauqua Gets a Major Upgrade
Few Sundance venues will offer a setting quite like Chautauqua Auditorium.
The historic auditorium sits at the base of the Flatirons and dates back to 1898. It also has a connection to Boulder's film history: the auditorium hosted the city's first motion picture screening more than a century ago.
Now it is preparing for another significant moment in that history.
Chautauqua is undergoing a major revitalization project ahead of the 2027 festival. Improvements include expanded restrooms, enhanced concessions, new event spaces, accessibility upgrades, a new fire suppression system, structural improvements and a geothermal heating and cooling system.
Technology and life safety systems are also being upgraded, while the project is designed to preserve the character of the historic National Historic Landmark.
For festivalgoers, Chautauqua may be one of the most distinctive places to catch a film, with the auditorium and historic grounds set against the Flatirons.
The Dairy Arts Center Has a Natural Sundance Connection
The Dairy Arts Center already has a strong connection to independent film, making its inclusion in the festival particularly fitting.
Its Boedecker Theater regularly screens independent films and documentaries, and the center has featured work from filmmakers connected to Sundance. For the 2027 festival, the Dairy will serve as a screening venue and the primary home for the return of New Frontier, Sundance's program exploring the intersection of film, art and emerging technology.
The building itself has an unusual history. Before becoming a multidisciplinary arts center, it was a dairy processing facility. Today, as many as 150 organizations use spaces there each year for film, theater, dance, music and visual art.
And Then There Is Cinemark
Cinemark Century Boulder will have a different role from many of the festival's other venues.
Sundance has designated the theater as its press and industry screening venue. Press and industry screenings are scheduled from January 21 through January 29, with additional repeat screenings later in the festival.
The theater is located within an open air shopping center with restaurants, shopping, entertainment and other amenities, giving festival professionals another part of Boulder to experience while attending the event.
Why the Venues Matter
The venues aren't just places to watch movies. They are a big part of what will make the Boulder version of Sundance different.
A screening at Macky Auditorium will feel different from one at the Boulder Theater. Chautauqua offers a historic setting beneath the Flatirons, while the Dairy Arts Center brings a long standing connection to independent film and experimental art.
And because the venues are spread throughout Boulder, attending Sundance could mean spending time in several different parts of the city during a single day.
Sundance says its venues are all within about a two mile radius, and Boulder is planning transportation options to help festivalgoers move around the city. Walking, biking, scooters and local bus service will all be part of the transportation picture.
That could make the venue map an important planning tool once the 2027 film lineup and screening schedule are released in December.
A New Chapter for Familiar Places
One of the more interesting parts of Sundance coming to Boulder may be seeing familiar places take on completely new roles.
A university auditorium becomes a premiere venue. A historic movie house returns to film. A school auditorium welcomes international filmmakers. A century old Chautauqua building prepares for a new generation of moviegoers.
The festival is bringing international attention to Boulder, but it is also giving some of the city's longtime cultural spaces a chance to become part of something entirely new.
The first Sundance screenings in Boulder are still months away, and we won't know exactly which films will play at which venues until the lineup and schedule are announced. But the spaces themselves are already getting ready.
And when the lights go down in January, Boulder won't just be hosting Sundance.
Boulder will be part of the festival.
Explore the official Sundance 2027 venue map
Learn more about the 2027 Sundance Film Festival