Colorado film chief is out despite upcoming Sundance Film Fest

Donald Zuckerman, one of the primary architects of the drive to bring the Sundance Film Festival to Boulder starting in 2027, is no longer the film commissioner of Colorado, according to the state.

Zuckerman’s Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media will now be led by Arielle Brachfeld, the former deputy film commissioner, who will work as interim commissioner and director of the office. The film office falls under the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), which is run by executive director Eve Lieberman, an appointee of Gov. Jared Polis.

An OEDIT spokesperson declined to say why Zuckerman had left, or who was part of the decision, citing its policy of not commenting on personnel matters. Zuckerman declined to comment Monday morning.

Zuckerman’s departure comes at a sensitive time for Colorado’s film industry and culture, with the lucrative and attention-getting Sundance — one of the world’s top independent film festivals — on the horizon for 2027, as well as a Thursday groundbreaking for the long-in-the-works horror film museum and event center at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. That event, supported by Gov. Jared Polis, will also bring project partner and horror producer Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions (“Insidious,” “Paranormal Activity”) to Colorado on Thursday.

Zuckerman started the entire Sundance-luring process about two years ago, having reached out to old friend and former producer Gigi Pritzker, who’s now vice chair of the Sundance board, Pritzker told The Denver Post in March.

Gov. Polis’s office, OEDIT deputy director Jeff Kraft, and Visit Boulder CEO Charlene Hoffman also played major roles in luring the festival away from its longtime home of Park City, Utah.

Zuckerman, a producer with 23 films to his credit, began his Colorado tenure in 2011 just as the Colorado film office was getting off the ground. He was there for several major productions, shooting part or all of their movies in Colorado, ranging from Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” in 2014 to the big-budget thriller “Elevation,” which was released earlier this year after being filmed mostly in Boulder and Golden. It featured Anthony Mackie (the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s current Captain America) as the star.

The Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media develops and supports in-state projects as well as reviewing and approving film incentives for local and out-of-state productions, such as rebates on local spending and crew hires. It has generated $370 million in economic impact to 55 counties in Colorado and created over 6,500 cast and crew positions since its inception, according to its website.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.