After 40 years in Utah, the Sundance Institute has announced that its 2024 Directors Lab will be hosted at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.

The Directors Lab, with support from Colorado’s state arts office, will give first-time feature directors the opportunity to rehearse, shoot, and edit scenes with actors and crew through a two- to three-week filmmaking immersion experience in the wilds of Colorado.

The one-time move will accommodate construction enhancements to Sundance’s resort property in Utah.

“For more than four decades, Sundance Institute labs have brought together promising new independent storytellers with accomplished artists to develop new work and build a long-lasting, vibrant community,” Sundance said in a statement.

“In identifying a host for our Directors Lab, it was essential to find a space that was surrounded by nature for artists to create, had multiple environments for shooting, and could be an environment where artists could leave behind the distractions of everyday life and immerse themselves in their projects,” said Michelle Satter, founding senior director of artist programs at Sundance Institute.

The Stanley Hotel and Estes Park “will provide inspiring backdrops for this prestigious workshop and showcase the many resources our state offers the film industry, including the unparalleled natural beauty of filming locations,” said Colorado Film Commissioner Donald Zuckerman.

The Directors Lab is a component of Sundance’s year-round Feature Film Program, which includes various labs that have supported many up-and-coming and now arrived filmmakers including Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino.

John Moore is The Denver Gazette’s senior arts journalist. Email him at [email protected].