Sundance Mountain Resort offers film festival refuge
The Sundance Mountain Resort Screening Room entrance is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019.
A fire burns in the lobby fireplace in the Sundance Mountain Resort Screening Room.
Movie posters hang in the lobby of the Sundance Mountain Resort Screening Room.
Icicles hang from the Sundance Mountain Resort Screening Room building on Tuesday.
A signpost is pictured at the Sundance Mountain Resort.
A path to the theater at the Sundance Mountain Resort.
The Sundance Rehearsal Hall is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, at the Sundance Mountain Resort.
A Sundance Film Festival banner is pictured at the Sundance Mountain Resort on Tuesday.
Skiers ride up the chairlift at the Sundance Mountain Resort on Tuesday.
A skier heads down the slopes at Sundance Mountain Resort.
Sundance Mountain Resort, nestled in the mountains of Provo Canyon, is a popular winter destination.
Food is served at Sundance Mountain Resort.
Sundance Mountain Resort is nestled in the mountains of Provo Canyon.
Thousands flock to Park City each January for the Sundance Film Festival, filling the streets, sidewalks, venues and shuttle buses between them with film lovers and excited chatter.
But about 35 miles south of the hustle and bustle lies another festival location tucked away peacefully in the mountains of Provo Canyon.
Sundance Mountain Resort provides a more intimate setting for festivalgoers who don’t want to fight the crowds, according to Abigail Brock, the resort’s marketing and public relations manager.
“The resort itself is a lot less crowded than other locations because we only have one screening room,” Brock said.
Cynthia Burge of Draper, who has been attending the festival for about 20 years and saw a film screening at the resort Sunday, said Sundance Mountain Resort feels peaceful, tranquil and connected to nature.
“It’s unique because it’s a small venue and it’s hidden, and the drive up to the mountain resort is stunning,” Burge said. “There’s a little drive up the canyon, but it’s worth it because it’s so beautiful.”
There isn’t much noise, the air quality is “incredible” with all the trees and it’s easy to get around on foot at the resort, according to Burge.
“You feel like you’re in the woods, like you’re in a cabin, like you’re submerged in nature,” Burge said. “It’s really well-preserved and respected.”
Sundance Mountain Resort also gives Utah County residents an opportunity to enjoy films at a “world-class resort that is closer to their home,” according to Brock. Burge said residents can buy tickets ahead of the public sale and that the festival locations, including the resort, Park City and Salt Lake City, are pretty close by.
“It’s really accessible to people who don’t normally think that they can actually go,” Burge said. “The local access and involvement I think is really great that they made it that way.”
Brock said the resort, also a popular winter sports destination, offered a film festival lodging package with ski passes, festival credentials, screening tickets and daily breakfast that sold out, “which tells you that we have a lot of festivalgoers here.”
“Our screening room is full of festivalgoers every day beginning at noon until about 11 o’clock at night,” Brock said.
However, the ski mountain is still open for those who want to visit the resort, according to Brock. The resort also will host two “Best of Fest” screenings Monday at 6 and 9 p.m. that are free to Utah residents, Brock said, but they must sign up through the online waitlist or film festival app. The screenings will feature the films that are considered the best from this year’s festival, with the film titles to be posted Sunday on the Sundance Institute website.
Brock said the resort allows festivalgoers to grab a good meal before or after screenings as well, with various dining options including Tree Room, Foundry Grill, Owl Bar, Sundance Deli, Bearclaw Cabin and Creekside Cafe.
“Our restaurants are unlike anything you’ll find in other cities,” Brock said.
Burge remembers enjoying dinner and Sunday brunch at Sundance Mountain Resort in past years.
“The food is also, what they try to do is locally sourced and natural as possible, and then of course the flavors are beautiful,” Burge said.
The Sundance Film Festival “really unifies people,” Burge said, and she likes the opportunity to ask filmmakers questions about their work there.
“It brings people together from all around the world who appreciate film and storytelling, and you see movies that you wouldn’t see in the mainstream, and it really is unique perspective and unique storytelling, unique filmmaking,” Burge said. “It’s art and it’s people at their most beautiful, in a way.”
Burge said she really respects founder Robert Redford’s vision for Sundance and the film festival and how he has stayed true to respecting others and the planet.
“I just have so much respect for him and what he’s done for this section, but also his contribution has allowed for a big impact in the world, and I can’t say how much I appreciate and honor that,” Burge said.