CU students volunteer to lay out the red carpet in Boulder
The Boulder Theater displays the launch of the Sundance Film Festival. (Melodie Miller)
Brian Marquez spends his days recruiting the volunteers who make the “shows must go on” at the Sundance Film Festival. As a senior manager of talent at the Sundance Institute, Marquez will place more than 2,000 volunteers in theaters, press offices and on production crews this January. For Marquez, volunteers are the festival’s heart and soul.
“Volunteers truly make the Sundance Film Festival happen,” Marquez said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
This year, hundreds of volunteers will be CU Boulder students. When the festival premieres in Boulder, January 21 through 31, students can trade 18 hours of service for free screenings, industry connections, and firsthand experience working with an internationally attended film festival.
Sundance Film Festival Volunteer Catalog 2027. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Festival)
The university worked closely with Sundance to make the volunteering schedule manageable for students. Megan Medina, who directs Service Learning and Impact in Community Engagement at CU Boulder, helped lower the volunteer minimum from 24 hours to 18 so the shifts could fit around classes.
Nathan Paul Jones of Career Services sees the festival as a networking gateway for students. Jones said that Sundance has already begun posting internships on Handshake. The real career benefit is in the time spent working with industry professionals.
Cinema Studies Senior Cadence Tucker recommends volunteering, especially for first- and second-year students.
The Hotel Boulderado outdoor corner bar. (Photo courtesy of Tim Romano|The Boulderado)
The festival footprint is compact. About 150 films will be screened at the 2027 film festival in fifteen theaters in Boulder, all within a two-mile radius of the Sundance hub at the Hotel Boulderado. Governor Jared Polis’s office estimates the festival could bring up to $2 billion to Colorado over the next decade.
