On Our Radar: Savannah's bid for Sundance Film Festival falls short. Atlanta moves to next step

Evan Lasseter, Savannah Morning News
·5 min read
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When Savannah’s hallmark running event rolls around later this year, it will be the first race with new management and ownership. Visit Savannah announced this week transfer of ownership for the Enmarket Savannah Bridge Run, and this week’s On Our Radar installment details the race’s new ownership.

Also included this week is another high-profile lawsuit in the Savannah area, where lawyers representing conservative activist Beth Majeroni filed a legal complaint related to her being removed from a Chatham County Board of Elections meeting last summer.

If you have neighborhood updates, organization events or news tips you think could be of service to Savannahians, send them to elasseter@savannahnow.com. Also reach out if there are stories here you would like to know more about. Deadline for the On Our Radar series will be the end of day each Friday.

No Sundance for Savannah

Savannah missed out on a bid to be host of the Sundance Film Festival after it was one of 15 U.S. cities invited to apply to host the festival starting in 2027. The Sundance Film Institute, the nonprofit that runs the festival, launched a Request for Proposal process in May for a new host.

Although Savannah was not selected as a finalist, another Georgia city ― Atlanta ― made the list of six in Sundance’s last round.

“Throughout this process, we engaged in thoughtful, lively, creative, and supportive conversations with Governors, Mayors, arts advocates, film commissioners, and other local leaders from locations across the country. We’ve been buoyed by the tremendous enthusiasm and submissions from cities around the country and deeply appreciate the energy that went into each proposal,” said Eugene Hernandez, festival director and director of public programming, in the press release. “Getting to six finalists was a difficult decision. Each of these cities has a vibrant creative ecosystem, either expanding or established, and has enabled creativity to flourish in their cities through their support of the arts. These cities understand our ethos, are aligned with our key values, and have shown us interesting possibilities for partnership with our Festival — for our artists, audiences, and all who want to be a part of the Sundance Film Festival — and that makes us want to see more.”

The other finalists are Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah (the current host); and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Friday’s announcement comes days after details of Savannah’s application were first reported by local tv station WTOC. Savannah’s application was submitted by the Savannah Economic Development Authority, which is home to the Savannah Film Commission.

SEDA declined to comment on Friday’s announcement. When the application was made public this week, SEDA released the following statement from President and CEO Trip Tollison about the application:

“Savannah is the perfect backdrop to large scale events like the Sundance Film Festival. Not only do we host more than 17 million visitors each year, but the city also comes together to execute two already existing large scale annual events – the Savannah Music Festival and the country’s third largest St. Patrick’s Day parade,” Tollison said in the statement. “Savannah offers a vibrant and supportive community that fosters creativity and innovation, making it the perfect home for Sundance Film Festival in 2027 and beyond. We thank the organization for considering Savannah as their future potential host city.”

Sundance’s RFP asked how many “grand performance halls” with 1,300-seat capacity the site holds. Savannah’s application referenced the Enmarket Arena and Johnny Mercer Theatre. The Mercer Theatre was recently approved for renovation by Savannah City Council and is the very early planning stages for that project.

The Grinch and Max make their way over the Talmadge Bridge on Saturday during the annual enmarket Savannah Bridge Run.
The Grinch and Max make their way over the Talmadge Bridge on Saturday during the annual enmarket Savannah Bridge Run.

Local Fleet Feet organization to lead bridge run, Publix half marathon

Fleet Feet is a running brand with stores around the U.S. offering shoes, apparel and fitness-related programming.

Fleet Feet’s local affiliate, which hosts a run club in Pooler, is now in charge of the Savannah Bridge Run and Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon, according to a press release from Visit Savannah.

“We are thrilled to take on the responsibility of these popular local running events," said Mike Nadeau, owner and CEO of Fleet Feet Savannah/Pooler/Bluffton, in the press release. "Our commitment to promoting health, wellness, and community engagement aligns perfectly with the spirit of the Publix Savannah Women's Half Marathon & 5K and the Enmarket Savannah River Bridge Run."

Registration for this year’s bridge is currently open, and the race is set to take place on Dec. 7. The event features a 5k and a 10k that features two crossings of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. There is also a “ruck division” where runners carry a weighted rucksack or backpack.

Runners interested in taking on the bridge’s 5.5% grade can register here.

Beth Majeroni, the education chair of Ladies on the Right, a local conservative women's organization, speaks out against a list of books in Savannah-Chatham Schools that she considers inappropriate at an April 5 School Board meeting.
Beth Majeroni, the education chair of Ladies on the Right, a local conservative women's organization, speaks out against a list of books in Savannah-Chatham Schools that she considers inappropriate at an April 5 School Board meeting.

Majeroni files legal complaint against Chatham Board of Elections

Majeroni’s legal complaint stems from a July 10, 2023, BOE meeting where she was physically removed after being called out of order during her public comment by the BOE Chairman Tom Mahoney.

At the heart of the claim, filed in Savannah’s division for U.S. District Court, is that Majeroni was being forced to end her public remarks before her allotted 3 minutes and subsequently removed from the meeting violated her First Amendment rights.

The legal complaint states that Majeroni’s public comments at the meeting were “protected political speech concerning elections, legal proceedings and the Open Records Act.”

The complaint includes 13 counts in total ranging from First Amendment rights violations, to battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Claims were made against the BOE, Mahoney, and the two officers involved in Majeroni’s removal.

Majeroni is represented by lawyers from two Atlanta-based law firms. Beal, Sutherland, Berlin, & Brown LLC specialize in employment litigation, and Wade, Grunberg, Wilson LLC represent clients in defamation lawsuits, such as the tax investigator who won a $775,000 judgment against reality television personality Todd Chrisley .

Mahoney told the Savannah Morning News after the incident that Majeroni was “very disruptive” to the meeting.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: On Our Radar: Savannah out of running for Sundance Film Festival