DENVER — The Sundance Institute is greeting summer with a documentary about late Boulder poet Andrea Gibson, cult-hit “Napoleon Dynamite,” indie dramedy “Little Miss Sunshine,” and more screenings in advance of its festival debut in Boulder in January 2027.

The parent organization of the Sundance Film Festival this week shared details about the titles appearing at Film on the Rocks, Boulder Creek Fest and other major events as part of its co-sponsorship with various local programmers.

The movies offer “early opportunities for Colorado audiences to connect with (Sundance’s) legacy of independent storytelling through film, music, and poetry,” Sundance officials said.

“When we decided to move the festival to Colorado we also made the decision to host all of our pre-festival events in partnership with local organizations,” said Eugene Hernandez, festival director and head of public programming at Sundance, in a Thursday email to The Denver Post. “Because we felt like it was not only the right way to show up in partnership and in collaboration with the Colorado community but also it would be an opportunity to get to know the community better, get to know the arts organizations who we met during the search process.”

Sundance officials have spent many days in Colorado over the last couple of years as they scoped out Boulder for the fest’s new home. Hernandez said these summer co-presentations are a natural extension of that research and exploration, and that events will arrive monthly until the festival debuts in January.

“We will continue to create opportunities to engage local audiences in Boulder and throughout Colorado, whether it’s a screening or a talk or a workshop or an opportunity to get to know the audience better,” Hernandez said. “So we’re looking for the right opportunities. It could be a screening, it could be something else.”

Hernandez has been coming to Colorado since his first screening at Telluride Film Festival (“Brokeback Mountain,” which he watched twice in one weekend) and counts SeriesFest and the Denver Film Festival among his favorite events.

He was gratified to be welcomed to Colorado by other festival organizers, he said, including Boulder International Film Festival founders Kathy and Robin Beeck.

“There is already a well-cultivated arts scene here so to be invited in with such warmth, and to contribute to the creative alchemy here — it is really exciting for us,” he said. “We want audiences in Boulder, Denver and across Colorado to join us in person in January and each month as we countdown to the festival.”

Summer screenings for the Sundance co-presentations include “Andrea Gibson: Love Letter from the Afterlife,” a 20th anniversary celebration of “Little Miss Sunshine” in partnership with Denver Film’s Film on the Rocks, “Napoleon Dynamite” at the Boulder Creek Festival, “The Best Summer” at Outside Days, and “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” in collaboration with Biennial of the Americas, MATTER and MCA Denver, according to the festival’s new agency of record for Colorado, Bloomerang PR. The agency was launched in January by PR and film-fest veteran Jenny Bloom.

The Sundance Film Festival is the independent movie world’s most important event in the U.S. It’s moving to Boulder from Park City, Utah, after a 42-year run there and is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in tax revenue to town during an otherwise quiet season, state economic development officials have said.

Details for each screening are below.

Boulder Creek Festival: “Napoleon Dynamite”

Screening of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival alumni feature

Saturday, May 23

The Green in Boulder

Film start: 7 p.m.

“BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions”

Screening of the 2025 SFF alumni feature

In partnership with Biennial of the Americas, MATTER and MCA Denver

Friday, May 29

Holiday Theater in Denver

Social: 5:30 p.m. | Film start: 7 p.m.

Outside Days: “The Best Summer”

Screening of 2026 SFF alumni feature

Sunday, May 31

Auraria Campus King Center in Denver

Film Start: 2 p.m.

Sundance Film Festival Presents: “Andrea Gibson: Love Letter from the Afterlife”

Featuring the Colorado Symphony, Megan Falley, and special guests Sara Bareilles and Chris Pureka

In association with AEG

Sunday, July 5

Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison

Doors: 6:30 p.m. | Event start: 7:30 p.m.

Film on the Rocks: “Little Miss Sunshine”

Screening of 2006 SFF alumni feature

In partnership with Denver Film

Monday, July 13

Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison

Doors: 6:30 p.m. | Preshow: 7 p.m. | Film: 8:30 p.m.

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For the 2026 schedule of Sundance Film Festival lead-up events, ticketing, and to sign up for the official Colorado email list for updates visit festival.sundance.org/coloradoevents.

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