Utah director of ‘A Minecraft Movie’ addresses Sundance’s move 

As “A Minecraft Movie” continues to generate enthusiastic responses in theaters and head toward the $1 billion mark in global sales at the box office, per Variety, director Jared Hess is expressing his gratitude to viewers.

“Minecraft fans — you all have seriously blown us away,“ he wrote in an Instagram post earlier this month. ”Your excitement has made ‘A Minecraft Movie’ such a bonkers experience. Seeing your costumes, songs, and reactions reminded us how incredibly creative and passionate this community is. Honestly, we’re just glad we got to craft something for you.”

The movie is the start of a new chapter for Hess, a Salt Lake City resident and filmmaker who in a recent interview with Deadline expressed interest in tackling a sequel to the blockbuster.

But closer to home, the director is lamenting the end of an earlier chapter of his career as the Sundance Film Festival leaves its Park City, Utah, headquarters and moves to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.

“I’m still licking my wounds,” Hess told the Deseret News. “It’s depressing, it’s so sad. It’s the end of an era.”

‘Minecraft’ director Jared Hess on Sundance leaving Utah

The Sundance Film Festival put the director and his wife, Jerusha Hess, on the map a little over 20 years ago when it took a chance on a Tater Tot-loving teen in Idaho named Napoleon.

“I’d hoped that it could get into some festivals, and it would be a stepping stone to other projects, that maybe at some point I could get an agent, and that would kind of move my career forward,” Hess previously told the Deseret News. “I never, ever in a million years anticipated that it would get into my dream festival in Sundance.”

Hess still remembers the mix of trepidation and excitement he felt during the film’s premiere screening at the festival in January 2004.

Partway through the screening, he knew “Napoleon Dynamite” had landed with its audience when people started cheering for the quirky teen, who had secured a date for the high school dance.

“I’d never been in a screening where people were cheering and clapping for a character,” Hess previously told the Deseret News. “It was just this wash of relief and excitement.”

“Napoleon Dynamite,” with its treasure trove of quotes, became a cultural phenomenon and effectively launched the careers of the Hesses.

“It was a tiny movie we made in our first tiny apartment,” Jerusha Hess recalled at the 20th-anniversary film screening last year, as the Deseret News reported at the time. “We were babies. … I can’t thank Sundance enough, you guys made our career. You’re the reason why we can afford bread today.”

The Hesses returned to Sundance roughly a decade later with the 2015 filmed-in-Utah comedy “Don Verdean.”

Now, even as Jared Hess celebrates the massive success of “A Minecraft Movie” — which has clear “Napoleon Dynamite” vibes — he’s trying to come to terms with the exit of a festival that has meant so much to him throughout his career.

“Just so many amazing memories up there — not just for myself, but every filmmaker that’s ever participated in the film festival — and to have it go, that we couldn’t somehow pull it together to keep the festival here, it’s heartbreaking,” he recently told the Deseret News.

Sundance Film Festival moves to Boulder, Colorado

Hess isn’t alone in his disappointment — a recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that the majority of Utahns (56%) are disappointed the festival is leaving Park City.

The Sundance Institute announced in late March it would be relocating the annual film festival to Boulder — splitting from its host city of more than 40 years.

“Park City is extremely disappointed that they’re going to be leaving Park City and the state of Utah in 2027,” Park City Mayor Nann Worel recently told the Deseret News. “We have treasured our 40-plus year relationship with Sundance.”

In a recent press conference, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sundance’s departure opens the door for a “bigger” festival, the Deseret News reported.

“Utah’s film community and state leaders are coming together to innovate surrounding future opportunities,” Utah Film Commission Director Virginia Pearce shared in a statement with the Deseret News. “This will take time and thoughtful exploration. We are excited about the opportunity to build on the strength of Utah’s film legacy and support our growing industry.”