Members of Colorado’s biggest business incubator on Thursday praised former Colorado film commissioner Donald Zuckerman, who was fired from his state office last month for “unsatisfactory behavior.”
Jay Seaton, who serves on the state’s Economic Development Commission, which is part of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), told The Denver Post that he hopes Zuckerman will be celebrated for his contributions to the state. “I mean, this guy just delivered Sundance.
“I had no idea that he would be on the outs. … He’s a very unique animal, and it’s unfortunate that we’re losing him,” he added.
The comments came during a regularly scheduled meeting of OEDIT, where Zuckerman was praised for building up the state’s film office, garnering legislative approval for millions of dollars in filming and film-festival credits and incentives, and attracting movies such as Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” to Colorado. He was also credited for securing the Sundance Film Festival, which will move to Boulder in 2027 after 44 years in Park City, Utah, the state where it was founded.
“(It’s) incredibly remarkable to see how, under Donald’s leadership, we were able to make something happen with very little resources,” EDC chairwoman Carrie Schiff said Thursday during the meeting. “I’m not sure how you did that, with the last miracle being your call to (Sundance board chairwoman) Gigi Pritzker that launched us on the path we are now on with Sundance.”
Zuckerman was fired in September from the job he’d held for 14 years. His boss, OEDIT director Eve Lieberman, has declined to discuss her reasoning for the firing, both at the time and again on Thursday. A press statement from the office only said that deputy film commissioner Arielle Brachfeld would serve as interim Film Commissioner.
A termination letter for Zuckerman obtained by The Denver Post, dated Sept. 12, said he “is being terminated effective immediately as a result of unsatisfactory behavior.”
Zuckerman declined comment to The Denver Post — although he did show up digitally on Thursday at the EDC meeting. “I’m turning 80 this year, but I’m very actively involved with Sundance and very actively involved with … the Stanley Hotel,” he said during the session, adding that he hopes to still serve on the SPACE board (Stanley Partnership for Art Culture and Education).
That project includes the construction of the new Stanley Exhibit Center and Blumhouse Space at the historic Estes Park hotel, which broke ground at a Sept. 25 ceremony attended by Gov. Jared Polis, Lieberman and others.
Zuckerman attended the groundbreaking as well — and was given a ceremonial shovel — but wasn’t mentioned at the podium during remarks, despite working on the deal for the past decade. The $60 million project, which was approved during Zuckerman’s tenure in 2015, includes a $46 million contribution from the state’s Regional Tourism Act to support construction.
From left, Robert Leighton, Co-Chair SeriesFest, former Colorado Film commissioner, Donald Zuckerman, and John Tayer, President and CEO Boulder Chamber before the ground breaking ceremony for the new Stanley Event Center and the Blumhouse Space at The Concert Hall at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)Former state treasurer and 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton also celebrated Zuckerman’s tenure at the Thursday meeting, as did board member Chris Franz, who said the office did a good job of figuring out how to build support and that Zuckerman “did a great job in maintaining the industrial base here so that it never disappeared, no matter how thin things got.”
“The guy has earned those accolades,” added Seaton, who is also the publisher of the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction. “I don’t think any of us really saw his exit coming. There’s no information around it, so we don’t know what happened.
“We’re all in your debt,” Seaton said of Zuckerman.
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