Park City Film Festival

For forty-two winters, the lights of Main Street burned brightest in January, when Park City became the center of the film world. This October, a new chapter begins, and it starts with the same little auditorium where so many of those stories first flickered to life.

If you have heard that Sundance is leaving Park City, you heard right. But independent film is not leaving with it. This October 23–25, 2026, Park City Film, the local nonprofit that has quietly powered the town’s arthouse cinema scene since 1995, launches the inaugural Park City Film Festival. It is a three-day celebration of new voices, documentary storytelling, and the same Jim Santy Auditorium that hosted Sundance premieres for thirty years. We have been managing vacation rentals here since 1999, and we have housed everyone from first-time filmmakers to studio executives during festival season. Here is everything you need to know about Park City’s newest film festival, plus exactly where to stay.

🎬 Sundance Is Gone. Park City’s Film Legacy Is Not.

Let’s clear up the confusion first, because you are probably here with a question in mind: is this the same as Sundance? The short answer is no, but the connection runs deeper than you might think.

The Sundance Film Festival held its final Park City edition in January 2026, capping off more than four decades in town before relocating permanently to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027. It was a bittersweet farewell for a mountain town that had become synonymous with independent cinema. But Park City’s relationship with film did not start with Sundance, and it is not ending with Sundance either.

Park City Film, the town’s only nonprofit art house cinema, has screened independent films year-round since 1995. Its home base, the Jim Santy Auditorium inside the Park City Library, is the very theater Sundance used as its “Library Theatre” venue for thirty years. Rather than let that legacy fade, Park City Film is stepping into the spotlight with its own festival.

Post-screening filmmaker conversations are a signature part of the Park City Film Festival experience.

🎥 What to Expect at the Inaugural Park City Film Festival

This is a festival built for people who genuinely love film, not just the scene around it. Over three days, expect an intimate, community-driven event rather than a red-carpet spectacle.

Park City Film has not released the full lineup yet. Festival passes, individual tickets, and the complete film and panel schedule go on sale August 17, 2026. We will update this guide the moment details are confirmed, so bookmark this page if you are planning ahead.

📍 Where the Action Happens

Unlike Sundance’s sprawling, decentralized footprint across Main Street, Mountain Village, and Kimball Junction, the Park City Film Festival is refreshingly compact. Screenings take place at the Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Avenue, on the edge of Old Town. Panels and discussions happen a short drive away at District F in Prospector Square. That smaller footprint actually makes lodging decisions easier this year, more on that below.

The Park City Library and Jim Santy Auditorium, home of the new Park City Film Festival.

🏠 Where to Stay for the Park City Film Festival

Here is something the official festival site will not tell you: exactly where to base yourself. Because this year’s festival centers on the Jim Santy Auditorium and District F in Prospector Square, rather than Sundance’s old sprawl across town, your neighborhood choice matters in a new way.

⭐ Mountain Village is a strong pick for festival weekend, offering a quieter home base with easy bus access to both the Jim Santy Auditorium and District F. Traveling with a group for the festival? Our group lodging team can help coordinate multiple units so everyone stays close together.

Prefer to be right on Main Street? You’ll be steps from festival week dining and nightlife, with a short bus ride to screenings. Staying near Prospector Square instead puts you closest to District F’s panel discussions and on the most direct route to the Jim Santy Auditorium.

Prefer to Stay Right on Main Street?

If you would rather be steps from festival week dining and nightlife, a Downtown Main Street rental keeps you close to Old Town’s restaurant row while remaining a short, easy trip to the Jim Santy Auditorium. Bringing a larger group for the weekend? Our group lodging team can help coordinate multiple units.

We have been managing Park City vacation rentals since 1999, long enough to watch this town’s film scene evolve firsthand. That experience means we know how to host industry guests and casual film lovers alike, whether you are here to network or simply catch a few great documentaries.

🌌 Why October Is a Great Time to Visit Park City

A fall film festival is a genuinely different way to experience this mountain town. Late October means the aspens have mostly turned, the summer crowds have thinned, and ski season has not yet arrived, so you get Park City at its quietest and most affordable. Days are crisp, evenings are cool, and restaurant reservations are far easier to snag than during peak season.

Thanks to our Lowest Rate Guarantee, you can plan your festival weekend with confidence, without wondering if you overpaid for lodging. Pair that with our 48-Hour Money-Back Guarantee, and booking early for this brand-new festival is a low-risk way to be among the first to experience it.

🍸 Make It a Full Weekend

With three days of screenings and plenty of time between blocks, build out your weekend with a few local favorites:

• 🍽 Best Main Street Restaurants — For a dinner between film blocks
• ☕ Best Coffee Shops — Fuel up before a full day of screenings
• 🏋 7 Best Hikes in Park City — Catch peak fall color before the sun sets
• 🍸 Park City Nightlife Guide — Keep the conversation going after the credits roll

❓ Park City Film Festival: Frequently Asked Questions