Neural Newscast

[00:00] Frederick Moore: From Neural Newscast, I'm Frederick Moore.
[00:04] Hannah Whitmore: And I'm Hannah Whitmore.
[00:06] Frederick Moore: Today, Sundance opens in Park City for the final time before relocating to Boulder next year.
[00:15] Frederick Moore: It is a move that closes a chapter in independent film.
[00:21] Hannah Whitmore: The shift comes down to a pretty simple reality.
[00:25] Hannah Whitmore: The festival has outgrown a small ski town.
[00:29] Hannah Whitmore: Even getting to screenings can start to feel like a sprint.
[00:33] Frederick Moore: Park City is part of the Sundance story, but it has also become the bottleneck.
[00:40] Frederick Moore: Organizers say Boulder offers more room to operate and fewer constraints.
[00:47] Hannah Whitmore: Next year, that larger footprint could reshape who shows up and how the festival runs.
[00:55] Hannah Whitmore: More venues can mean more screenings.
[00:58] Hannah Whitmore: It can also mean higher costs for local businesses and for visitors.
[01:04] Frederick Moore: This year carries extra weight, too.
[01:08] Frederick Moore: It is the first Sundance since Robert Redford died.
[01:12] Frederick Moore: The festival is planning tributes and events that trace his role in building a launchpad
[01:18] Frederick Moore: for new filmmakers.
[01:20] Hannah Whitmore: Those tributes include a gala and a new award in Redford's name.
[01:26] Hannah Whitmore: The lineup also looks back with a screening of Downhill Racer and reunions for past festival favorites.
[01:34] Frederick Moore: Turning to the industry pressures hovering over the festival, artificial intelligence is a central conversation in Park City.
[01:44] Frederick Moore: Two AI-focused documentaries are on the slate.
[01:48] Frederick Moore: Tech executives are also meeting with filmmakers.
[01:53] Hannah Whitmore: And for working crews, that question is not abstract.
[01:57] Hannah Whitmore: People want to know which tools can speed up production.
[02:01] Hannah Whitmore: They want to know which ones replace jobs.
[02:05] Hannah Whitmore: And they want to know who keeps control of the final creative choices.
[02:11] Frederick Moore: Sundance also shows how the business of movies keep shifting.
[02:16] Frederick Moore: The festival is still a marketplace for discovery.
[02:20] Frederick Moore: Big names arrive alongside first-time directors and documentary subjects who have never been on a stage like that before.
[02:29] Hannah Whitmore: Documentaries still anchor that identity too, from cultural figures to athletes and activists.
[02:37] Hannah Whitmore: Even as the industry consolidates, Sundance keeps trying to plant a flag for independence.
[02:45] Frederick Moore: I'm Frederick Moore.
[02:46] Hannah Whitmore: And I'm Hannah Whitmore.
[02:49] Hannah Whitmore: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
[02:53] Hannah Whitmore: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.