There’s still two days left in the festival but it seems like it’s already over. Hardly anyone walks down Main Street anymore, let alone famous people. Not like the first weekend of the festival when everyone who was anyone thought it was the best time to show up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they came at all. It really makes the festival worthwhile for a first time attendee like me when I get to see my favorite actor or actress along with their cool indie movie premiere. It’s a little sad though, that just because I couldn’t make it to the first showing of a movie, the cast and maybe even the director have already skipped town. The Q and A session after the movie is one of the best parts of the festival and it’s disappointing when I just watched an amazing performance and none of the cast is represented to answer questions. I understand that they can’t give all of their fans a special appearance, but if I get to come to Sundance again, now I know that I should get as many premiere showings as possible.

 

Now that the festival has slowed down, I find myself noticing the little things that help make the times between movies just as memorable. Number one is the transit system. The free buses. They run from dawn until way past dusk so you don’t have to rely on a not-so-free taxi. Each festival stop has a friendly attendant who will tell you exactly which bus will take you to your destination in the shortest time. I have yet to meet a less than helpful attendant despite the cold and long hours of standing around with a bunch of tourists. I give my thanks to them for being able to keep a smile on their faces.

You gotta love souvenirs. Even better are the free ones. Hats, posters, shirts, food, and more. Come out of the theater and get handed a cool button to decorate your credentials pass, or walk down Main Street and pass a booth that just wants you to know that their company exists. My coolest post-movie freebie is the fake issue of The New York Times from The Yes Men Fix The World. In the film, those trouble making Yes Men decided to hand out their own ideal version of the Times dated six months in the future with headlines such as “Iraq War Ends” and “Nation Sets Its Sights on Building Sane Economy” and everyone in the audience got their own copy afterwards. I even picked up a random free CD at Headquarters that turned out to be an amateur who plays her own quirky songs on the ukulele. Ah, the power of free advertising, and I’m not complaining.

It’s also fun to just walk up and down Main Street and, like me, wander through the shops and just happen to find the perfect book in a hidden bookstore. I had some time before I needed to hop on a bus to the theater so I went on a picture taking adventure. I bet you didn’t know that just past the transit station is a row of trees decorated with dozens and dozens of shoes, sandals, ice skates, roller skates, ski boots, and the occasional flip flops. The most attractive thing to my camera lens is the landscape. I’m still not over the 360 degree view of the Wasatch Mountains.  

So, no more camera crews running up the street to get proof that celebs really do come out in public and no more star studded premiers, but if you stick around until the very end, you can find that half the experience is just being in the beautiful Park City that loves its film festival.

Tags: Emma Lord, park city, sundance, The Yes Men Fix The World

This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 3:32 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.