Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has made the trip to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival — because Cincinnati has high hopes of stealing it away.

The fest kicks off this week with movies featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Ayo Edebiri, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

It ended up a light day—almost a celebration, after a hard-fought schedule. I hitched a ride with Dylan back to Portland, and we reflected on the whole experience. The day punctuated the years-long ...