Sundance kicks off — slowly

PARK CITY — The Sundance Film Festival will be no second Christmas for hotels and retailers this year.

The 2009 film event is already reflecting signs of the slowing national economy, according to the Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. Hotel bookings are down between 8 percent and 15 percent. Vibrance on the streets of Old Town is also more subdued, with fewer guests overall and a surprising lack of star-studded processions.

Usually, the festival raises three to five months worth of revenue for shops and restaurants in the city's historic district, said Park City Chamber of Commerce board member Mike Sweeney. This year, rentals of that space are down 35 percent to 40 percent, he estimated.

The glitzy parties that are booked in those spaces are likely going to be more thrifty as well, Sweeney said.

"I think its going to be very mellow and calm," he said of the overall festival atmosphere.

Bill Malone, president of the Park City Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, agrees. "It's going to be a toned-down version of the same event," he said of this year's festival.

In an average year, the internationally renowned film festival brings about $60 million to Utah, said Emily Laskin, Sundance Institute director of development. Even if 2009 has a smaller impact, the state will still benefit from the festival.

Laskin added that although the festival makes a sincere effort to work with local businesses, it doesn't track their revenue sources.

"Just presenting the festival is such a monumental task that we don't pay attention to the economic vagaries of the local businesses," she said.

A benefit of the economic downturn may be that fewer retailers "ambush" the festival by renting space in its proximity without supporting film, Laskin said.

"If they're not here, that's actually fine with us," she said. "If a lot of the ambushers are not here, I think it will return the focus of the festival attendees to what it should be — films and filmmakers."

Businesses that support the festival's mission have been equally generous this year, compared to years past, Laskin said. Automotive sponsor Volkswagen was replaced by Honda, which provided a fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles for festival use.

Laskin said that no corporate sponsors "pulled out," although some left because their multiyear contracts expired.