First Substitute H.C.R. 12

Representative Jennifer M. Seelig proposes the following substitute bill:


             1     
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE 30TH

             2     
ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

             3     
2014 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: Jennifer M. Seelig

             6     
Senate Sponsor: Stephen H. Urquhart

             7     
             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
             18     
             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, An Inconvenient Truth, and Twenty Feet From Stardom;
             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, including the High School Screening Program, Filmmakers in the
             35      Classroom Program, a free screening for college students, Best of Fest screenings, Community
             36      Screenings, and tickets to residents living in Utah, Salt Lake, Weber, and Summit counties;
             37          WHEREAS, 1,830 volunteers, 970 of whom were local Utahns, helped to make the
             38      festival a success;
             39          WHEREAS, few festivals are tied to a city or a state as closely as the Sundance Film
             40      Festival is associated with Park City and Utah, or provide the same visibility that the two-week
             41      Sundance Film Festival provides Utah;
             42          WHEREAS, according to the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business
             43      Research (BEBR), over the last five years, the Sundance Film Festival has generated more than
             44      $375.6 million in economic activity to Utah and in excess of $500 million in the last decade;
             45          WHEREAS, the economic impact of the Sundance Film Festival over the past five
             46      years is estimated to include $21.9 million in tax revenue;
             47          WHEREAS, BEBR found that the 2013 Sundance Film Festival generated nearly $70
             48      million in overall economic impact for the state of Utah, supported more than 1,407 jobs,
             49      provided nearly $5.8 million in tax revenue, and was attended by nearly 46,000 people;
             50          WHEREAS, according to the Cision Media Monitoring Service (CMMS), between the
             51      announcement of the festival's film program in late November 2012 through wrap-up articles in
             52      February 2013, the Sundance Institute and the 2013 Sundance Film Festival generated more
             53      than 31,100 print and online articles, and that from January 15 to February 15, 2013, the
             54      festival generated 11,900 television pieces;
             55          WHEREAS, CMMS also confirms that the media value for the state of Utah generated
             56      by the festival totaled more than $56.8 million with more than 900 individuals from 16


             57      countries registered as members of the press in attendance;
             58          WHEREAS, more than 65% of the 2013 festival attendees reside outside of Utah;
             59          WHEREAS, for more than seven years, the Economic Development Corporation of
             60      Utah has been leveraging the festival to introduce site selectors to Utah;
             61          WHEREAS, as a direct result of these efforts, site selectors have brought a number of
             62      projects to the state because they know that Utah can compete on projects of all sizes and
             63      scope;
             64          WHEREAS, like many festival attendees, many of the site selectors have never
             65      previously visited Utah;
             66          WHEREAS, according to BEBR, of the estimated 30,065 nonresident festival attendees
             67      in 2013, approximately 36% responded that it was their first visit to Utah, 83% responded that
             68      they traveled to Utah specifically to attend the festival, and 40% responded that they would
             69      visit Utah again during the next year;
             70          WHEREAS, nearly 40% of nonresident attendees, about 12,000 people, responded that
             71      they intended to ski or snowboard in Utah during their stay;
             72          WHEREAS, in addition to its cultural value and economic impact, the Sundance Film
             73      Festival has become a powerful business recruitment tool for the Governor's Office of
             74      Economic Development and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, which focus on
             75      chief executive officers and other top-level executives in fields such as technology, finance,
             76      and sports, who visit Utah specifically to attend the festival; and
             77          WHEREAS, the Sundance Film Festival demonstrates how the arts can support the
             78      local economy, help grow local businesses, and highlight Utah as a great place for other
             79      businesses to locate:
             80          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
             81      Governor concurring therein, recognizes the 30th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival
             82      and the impact the festival has on Utah's economy.
             83          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Sundance
             84      Film Festival, the Sundance Institute, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the
             85      Governor's Office of Economic Development, the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic
             86      and Business Research, Cision Media Monitoring Service, and the members of Utah's
             87      congressional delegation.


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