A few thoughts from some of the students who came to the festival in 2006 and 2008:

On why to go:

• “Sundance is not just about watching movies, traveling, or going on a vacation, but it’s about sharing an accomplishment.  It’s about sharing your love of movies with other people.  But most of all it’s about respecting the dreams that so many have worked so hard to pursue, produce, and accomplish, and that is why I am attending the festival.” (Emily Behrens, ‘08)
• “What draws me to watch an independent film is the fact that the film will touch me on some daringly real level….I watch independent films because there is a sense of truth that validates the lives we lead.” (Sharon Oegerle, ‘08)
• “Overall I am just hoping to see original and well made films that tell a great story while keeping me attracted to it without boring me.  And even if I don’t like any of the films I see I will still enjoy seeing how well these young film makers have done and to see what stories they have to tell.” (Bill Griswold, ‘08)

On getting prepared:

• bring socks: “There is no need to bring 10 changes of clothes (that’s way too many), but bringing lots of socks is a must. My feet were constantly cold unless I would wear 2 pairs, and then I ran out. Wearing socks 2 days in a row is pretty gross, and they aren’t as warm the second day for some reason.” (James Janoski, ‘06)
• see lots of movies: “Not all independent movies are good, and as a matter of fact most are pretty bad. The only way to find a good one is to go to tons and tons of movies. Do not believe the hype on most of the movies, because the ones that I did hear that were good ended up being pretty bad. … And do not choose a movie just because it has some stars in it.” (James Janoski, ‘06)

On celebrity sightings:

• “I MET QUENTIN TARANTINO. He sat three rows behind us at the movie this morning, and outside, we formally met. He was surprisingly nice, and seemed genuine when he told us he didn’t do pictures. He even called me sweetheart! I was floored.” (Mitchell Ann Crowley, ‘08) 
• Today at a screening of Pretty Bird (which was a fairly decent film), we sat nearly 4 rows in front of Quentin Tarantino, the famed and artistic director of films like “Pulp Fiction”, “Reservoir Dogs”, and “Kill Bill”. I couldn’t believe i breathing the same air as he was. I don’t get star-struck, but wow, was i in a daze….I was blessed to get the opportunity to tell one of my film heroes that he was one of my biggest inspirations for becoming a filmmaker.” (Dustin Geisler, ‘08)
• “Celebrity sightings: Brendan Gleeson, Randy Quaid, Jay Baruchel, and George A. Romero- I shook his hand and exchanged a few words, but that’s not a big deal or anything (Afterwards I skipped down main street screaming like a 14 year old girl at a 98 degrees concert). I would also like to thank him for making the day bearable.” (Matt Romary, ‘08)
• “I attended the world premiere of The Merry Gentlemen, Michael Keaton’s directorial debut….He talked about the anxiety and fear he was feeling at the moment, watching his film with an audience who would be judging it, and the uncertainty of their opinion of it. 
• “Neil Young appeared just before the film (Heart of Gold) started and as he walked to the microphone I shouted, ‘Go Neil!’ He looked at me with a bewildered look on his face, but at least I was able to get his attention.” (Lee Taylor, ‘06)

On waiting in lines:

• the wait list: “When a film is sold out in the box office, and you cannot find a (reasonable) scalper, you begin the wait list process….you arrive at the theater two hours before the opening and receive a numerical wait list slip in a large heated tent in the parking lot. After you receive your wait list slip, you can either wait in line for two hours, or bail and come back when it is time to open. After two hours, you get in line (in numerical order) and wait in hopes that your number is called and you can enter the theater. Usually, everyone from number one to twenty is called up and allowed inside. After that, you receive a wait list ticket stub, and a hand stamp for entry. After one stressful wait list process, I will never complain about the now simple ticketing processes of movie theaters back home.” (Sharon Oegerle, ‘08)
• the box office: “So today I woke up early (7:15) to get to the box office nice and early to see if I could grab some tickets. When I got there I noticed that there was 200 people standing in line, so I left.” (Matt Romary, ‘08)

Park City, Main Street

 

 

On Park City, Utah:

• “I can honestly say i have not met one rude person here. Everyone here is real nice and friendly, talking about films and the festival and what-knot. There is a sense of fellowship within the Sundancers.” (Dustin Geisler, ‘08)
• “I always imagined it to be more like a concert with different stages in the same general area. I didn’t realize we basically went all over Park City to the different theaters. I like it this way because there’s more to see and learn about the area, however. The inescapable snow and white, mountain scenery is breathtaking. The ski lifts running over Main Street go to show how big snow sports are in this place. The house we are staying in is amazing. I still don’t know my way around.” (Aurora Potts, ‘08)
• “The town itself is very nice and the people are very polite and always willing to help you with anything you need, although there are some locals who obviously do not like the large amount of tourists and movie stars literally invading their town for these couple of weeks.” (Bill Griswold, ‘08)
• “The food was pretty bad, and the waiters were the worst I have ever encountered in any given town. I should have just bought lots of food at Albertsons and took that around in a backpack, but I did not.” (James Janoski, ‘08)
• “When we finally arrived in Park City, Utah, we found our condo, got settled in and took a group trip to Main Street, where the action is. I couldn’t believe how crowded the place was. It felt like Time Square during rush hour, except instead of random business people and tourists, it was full of TV stations, camera crews, security guards, paparazzi and of course celebrities. Park City is pretty much the cutest little town I have ever seen!” (Emily Behrens, ‘08)
• “There are lots of different types of people that visit this small snowy village. One type I loved to encounter was the locals. There are two types of locals you will find in Park City; the film-loving kind that are always open for business and a great conversation, and  the angsty, unappreciative youth who are sick and tired of the extra attention….Upset teenagers are seen loitering around shops, bus stops, and other restaurants sometimes harassing LA yuppies and other gawking on-lookers.” (Sharon Oegerle, ‘08)

On favorites: 

• The Wave: “It was a German film about a teacher who creates a dictatorship in his own class to teach autocracy. The kids take it too far and form their own club/gang sort of thing. People start to get hurt. It gets bad. It’s horribly thought provoking and in all places, Germany, you’d think have learned their lesson. This was the message however. How things like that can start out as such a good idea. The movie was phenomenal. I was embarrassed to have tears streaming down my face at the end, especially next to a bunch of guys and the professor, but what could I do?” (Aurora Potts, ‘08)
• “The Wackness was about a young man about to start college. He is a drug dealer and ends up having to deal even more drugs because he wants to help out with his family’s financial issues. While this is going on he is also falling in love for the first time and getting his heart broken for the first time. I enjoyed the film so much because I could relate to his issues with first loves and teen issues as well.” (Gabby Wolk, ‘08)
• The Escapist: ”Okay, so I lied when I said that The Mysteries of Pittsburg was my favorite film so far. The Escapist, by far, beats Mysteries….The Escapist was a very gritty and dirty film dealing with prison politics, snitches, brotherhood, and the ultimate escape. … The emotions, ranging from love to hate to anger, could be seen through each character’s eyes and felt through their actions.I’m crossing my fingers that this film gets picked up by distributors so other people can see this and leave the theaters as happy and content as I was last night.” (Lindsay Jennings, ‘08)

• “I thought Son of Man was a tremendous movie and as a South African myself I was able to notice a lot of things that made it stand out all the more….The film is very much an authentic record of South Africa, as well as a retelling of the gospel. As a South African I’m truly glad to get this chance to see the country again and to hear the story of its people.” (Patrick Crotty, ‘06)

On disappointments: 

• the lost phone, the bad movies: “All I want to do is watch movies. On Friday night I got my cell phone taken from me (okay I might have lost it, but I will believe what I want to believe). Today I walked a total of 9 miles (probably more like 3, but like I said…) trying to find the AT&T store that couldn’t help me. Yes, I finally find it and the dude is all like, “I can’t help you.” Next, I went to the CVS and bought a temporary cell phone for the week….Angry and frustrated, I decided to see the midnight show of Otto; or Up With Dead People. To my surprise it was a movie about gay zombies participating in gay zombie activities (xxx). The only entertaining thing about the entire film was watching half the theater clear out after 15 minutes.” (Matt Romary, ‘08)
• being sick: ”Being sick sucks. The altitude, cold weather, and close quarters all mixed together creates a time bomb for getting sick. The bomb went off a couple days ago. For the past few days I have been bed ridden. I slept the entire day yesterday. The good news is I am improving. I am not 100%, but I am on the recovery.” (Matt Went, ‘08)
• bad press over a terrible loss: I went to the premiere of Sleepwalking….As I was waiting for the shuttle, my friend got a phone call from his father saying that Heath Ledger had been found dead in his apartment hours earlier. I was literally in shock because the actor was so young. However what surprised me the most was what the lady standing next to me had said. She went on to tell me that Ledger had been in the process of working on a film that included the same producer from Sleepwalking, and with Stahl. Apparently just before the movie, some jerk from the press asked Stahl if he had a reaction to Ledger’s death and Stahl hadn’t heard of the new yet. Press can be such jerks.” (Emily Behrens, ‘08)

On the value of the experience:

• “Thankfully it’s still possible to talk to some people who really do enjoy films and are there for the movies; however, there are a great deal of people in attendance for less noble reasons: rich kids who get mommy and daddy to send them along to Sundance so they can ski with their rich friends and buy their way into their rich parties; journalists, who, rather than show the world all of the wonderful movies, instead talk about the antics of the celebrities and the idle rich; The people to talk to are the ones that wait with you in line for three hours. Those surprisingly few fans that can be found paging through the Sundance guide continually with a grin on their faces. These are my favorite people, and these are the people that Sundance should really be for.” (Patrick Crotty, ‘06)
• “To an extent, it really seems like the festival has changed since 1991. The question for me, even though I have been there once before, really remains whether or not it has changed for the better….the question is whether or not Sundance is still this place where films can come out of nowhere and become huge….the fact remains that Sundance is the biggest, most important film festival in the United States today. It is on some level indicative of the great opportunity there still is for independent filmmakers out there today to get there work seen yet is also struggling, in many ways, to maintain that certain level of intimacy and seeming disconnect from the “big machine in the west” which originally made it so appealing.” (Ryan Conrath, ‘05, ‘06)
• “The spirit surrounding Sundance is also invigorating,…I love the idea of standing in line, talking to people who I don’t know, who also share a love for the cinema, about which movies they liked or disliked and about which directors they have seen or want to see.  I want to be part of the bustling, crowded streets packed with people just waiting to see if there is a chance of getting a ticket or the cafés busy with filmmakers trying to network with other filmmakers, each talking about their own films.” (Lindsay Jennings, ‘08)

Stay tuned for updates from festival ‘09!

Tags: aurora potts, box office, brendan gleeson, celebrity, dustin geisler, film festival, filmmaking, george romero, independent film, michael keaton, movies, park city, quentin tarantino, randy quaid, skiing, snow, sundance, utah

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