As the Sundance Film Festival prepares for its relocation to Boulder, Colorado, starting with the 2027 edition, the Dairy Arts Center is stepping up as a screening venue and the primary home for the New Frontier program, anchoring independent cinema in a historic community-driven space.
The Bottom Line
- The Venue: The Dairy Arts Center in Boulder will serve as a screening venue and the primary home for New Frontier at the 2027 Sundance Film Festival.
- The History: Once an abandoned milk-processing facility in the 1980s, the building was transformed by local artists into a multidisciplinary hub used by as many as 150 organizations annually.
- The Cultural Impact: The Festival’s arrival is already driving broader public awareness toward the center’s cinema programming, including Boedecker Theater screenings and community Cinema Club discussions.
From Abandoned Dairy to Boulder’s Cultural Grand Central
Months before the Sundance Film Festival officially makes Boulder, Colorado, its home, the DNA of independent discovery is already pulsing through Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center. Before the Festival’s move to Boulder was announced, this multidisciplinary facility was championing independent films and emerging voices. Glance at the weekly calendar at the Boedecker Theater—the center’s intimate cinema space—and you will spot titles with Sundance Film Festival connections like the 2025 NEXT Special Jury Award winner for Ensemble Cast, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), alongside 2026 Fest premiere Leviticus.
Documentaries make up roughly 40% of the Boedecker’s regular programming, and stories from more than 85 countries have appeared on its screen. Melissa Fathman, executive director of the Dairy Arts Center, notes that the overlap with Sundance isn’t exactly a coincidence. “Everyone recognizes Sundance as being about discovery,” Fathman states, pointing to the emerging filmmakers and underrepresented voices that the Dairy has similarly made a priority.
To grasp why the Dairy feels like a natural pairing for New Frontier, you have to look at the building’s structural origins. Before housing dance, theater, and visual art, the facility was literally a dairy. Following its abandonment in the 1980s, a group of local artists—including an experimental filmmaker—imagined a community where artists could live, create, perform, and show their work under one roof. Today, as many as 150 organizations use spaces at the Dairy Arts Center each year, earning it the moniker of “Boulder’s Grand Central Station for the arts.”
Where New Frontier Meets Multidisciplinary Experimentation
Beginning with the 2027 Sundance Film Festival, the connection deepens. The Dairy will serve as a screening venue and the primary home for New Frontier, the Festival program dedicated to artists experimenting at the intersection of film, art, and technology. That pairing makes intuitive sense when you examine how the physical space encourages creative interaction. Artists and audiences cross paths in the lobby, trading notes about what they’ve seen.
Reflecting on Turkish American artist Belgin Yücelen’s showcase, Matter Over Mind: Art, Science, and Materials Reimagined, we see how the Dairy was filled with pieces investigating the ties between artistic expression, scientific inquiry, and physical substances. Encountering that work inspired dancer and choreographer Celia Perarnaud of Oracle Performance Ensemble to create a new dance piece in response. That seamless interplay of concepts aligns closely with New Frontier, where testing boundaries, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and creative synergy are central to the mission.
Having previously worked as an opera singer, Fathman shares that Stephen Sparn—the building’s architect—once mentioned to her that the layout drew inspiration from the graceful lines of a ballerina’s arm. That artistic intentionality carries over into audience engagement initiatives like How to Watch a Movie—an interactive series examining cinematography, editing, acting, and directing—and Cinema Club, launched by development manager Shay Wescott, which invites members to stick around after a monthly screening for a group discussion.
| Programming Metric | Dairy Arts Center Operations | 2027 Sundance Festival Integration |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Organizational Usage | As many as 150 organizations | Screening venue |
| Documentary Programming Share | Roughly 40% of regular programming | |
| Featured Program Hosting | Boedecker Theater | Primary home for New Frontier (Film, Art & Tech) |
Industry Economics and the Post-2027 Exhibition Landscape
By plugging into established facilities like the Dairy, the Boulder Theater, and Macky Auditorium, the Festival is positioning itself within a robust civic infrastructure.
Fathman notes a tangible surge in interest in the center’s cinema programming since news of the Festival’s arrival, raising awareness to a larger community that the multidisciplinary center is here. “We just want to keep growing. We want to ride the wave with you guys and [keep] that momentum and interest going all year round,” she explains.
The Road Ahead for Boulder’s Independent Scene
When the Festival ends, the goal is for audiences to keep coming back to discover another independent film, wander through an exhibition, and build connections.
Ultimately, Fathman hopes the Festival will help “solidify the Dairy as a year-round home for the best of independent cinema.” Drop a note in the comments below: How do you think relocating Sundance to Boulder will shift the cultural gravity of independent film premieres in the years ahead?
