H.C.R. 12
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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor recognizes the 30th
11 anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 . recognizes the 30th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival and the impact the
15 festival has on Utah's economy.
16 Special Clauses:
17 None
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19 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
20 WHEREAS, Sundance Film Festival, formerly known as the United States Film and
21 Video Festival, began in 1985;
22 WHEREAS, in that first year, the Sundance Film Festival utilized two theaters and
23 screened 86 films with a staff of 13;
24 WHEREAS, in 2014, the Sundance Film Festival utilized nine theaters and screened
25 186 films with a staff of 232;
26 WHEREAS, the Sundance Film Festival is the state's largest annual international event,
27 bolstering tourism and attracting worldwide media attention;
28 WHEREAS, the Sundance Film Festival has debuted numerous Academy Award
29 winning films, including Beasts of the Southern Wild, Hoop Dreams, The Usual Suspects,
30 Whale Rider, and An Inconvenient Truth;
31 WHEREAS, during the past five years, the Sundance Film Festival has attracted more
32 than 219,987 attendees;
33 WHEREAS, at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, over 15,000 Utahns participated in
34 free community programs;
35 WHEREAS, more than 5,000 students from northern Utah participated in the High
36 School Screening Program;
37 WHEREAS, 2,000 students participated in the Filmmakers in the Classroom event;
38 WHEREAS, 250 college and university students attended a free screening;
39 WHEREAS, 5,000 Utahns attended the Best of Fest screenings in Salt Lake City, Park
40 City, and Ogden and at the Sundance Resort;
41 WHEREAS, 1,300 residents attended Community Screenings in Utah, Salt Lake, and
42 Summit counties, and 570 community outreach tickets were given to local nonprofit
43 organizations;
44 WHEREAS, 1,850 volunteers, 970 of whom were local Utahns, helped to make the
45 festival a success;
46 WHEREAS, few festivals are tied to a city or a state as closely as the Sundance Film
47 Festival is associated with Park City and Utah, or provide the same visibility that the two-week
48 Sundance Film Festival provides Utah;
49 WHEREAS, according to the Sundance Institute, over the last five years, the Sundance
50 Film Festival has generated more than $375.6 million in economic activity to Utah and in
51 excess of $500 million in the last decade;
52 WHEREAS, the economic impact of the Sundance Film Festival over the past five
53 years is estimated to include $21.9 million in tax revenue;
54 WHEREAS, the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research
55 (BEBR) at the David Eccles School of Business found that the 2013 Sundance Film Festival
56 generated nearly $70 million in overall economic impact for the state of Utah, supported more
57 than 1,407 jobs, generated more than $56.8 million in international media exposure, provided
58 nearly $5.8 million in tax revenue, and was attended by nearly 46,000 people;
59 WHEREAS, the Sundance Film Festival annually generates more than $50 million in
60 media value for the state of Utah;
61 WHEREAS, according to the Sundance Institute, between the announcement of the
62 festival's film program in late November 2012 through wrap-up articles in February 2013, the
63 Sundance Institute and the 2013 Sundance Film Festival generated more than 31,100 print and
64 online articles;
65 WHEREAS, from January 15 to February 15, 2013, the festival generated 11,900
66 television pieces;
67 WHEREAS, the publicity value from the festival totaled more than $56.8 million with
68 more than 900 individuals from 16 countries registered as members of the press in attendance;
69 WHEREAS, more than 65% of the 2013 festival attendees reside outside of Utah;
70 WHEREAS, for more than seven years, the Economic Development Corporation of
71 Utah has been leveraging the festival to introduce site selectors to Utah;
72 WHEREAS, as a direct result of these efforts, site selectors have brought a number of
73 projects to the state because they know that Utah can compete on projects of all sizes and
74 scope;
75 WHEREAS, like many festival attendees, many of the site selectors have never
76 previously visited Utah;
77 WHEREAS, according to BEBR, of the estimated 30,065 nonresident festival attendees
78 in 2013, approximately 36% responded that it was their first visit to Utah, 83% responded that
79 they traveled to Utah specifically to attend the festival, and 40% responded that they would
80 visit Utah again during the next year;
81 WHEREAS, nearly 40% of nonresident attendees, about 12,000 people, responded that
82 they intended to ski or snowboard in Utah during their stay;
83 WHEREAS, in addition to its cultural value and economic impact, the Sundance Film
84 Festival has become a powerful business recruitment tool for the Governor's Office of
85 Economic Development and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, which focus on
86 chief executive officers and other top-level executives in fields such as technology, finance,
87 and sports, who visit Utah specifically to attend the festival; and
88 WHEREAS, the Sundance Film Festival demonstrates how the arts can support the
89 local economy, help grow local businesses, and highlight Utah as a great place for other
90 businesses to locate:
91 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
92 Governor concurring therein, recognizes the 30th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival
93 and the impact the festival has on Utah's economy.
94 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Sundance
95 Film Festival, the Sundance Institute, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the
96 Governor's Office of Economic Development, the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic
97 and Business Research, and the members of Utah's congressional delegation.
Legislative Review Note
as of 2-10-14 2:56 PM