I will never in a million years forget the experience of my first (and hopefully not my last) visit to the Sundance Film Festival. In all honesty, it wasn’t quite what I expected, but it never let me down. Each and every little thing contributed to the experience: the 200+ stairs that MUST be climbed several times a day, the theater loop shuttle that exceeded maximum capacity almost every time, duplicating that sardines-in-a-can feeling. Even paying $20 for a sandwich and a soda (!!!) had its own special influence.

Park City is an iconic mountain town. Surrounded by snowy mountainous terrain, the bitter cold demanded layers upon layers of clothing.

Sundance is what you make it to be, and I don’t know if I could write enough in one blog to convey how much fun I had… I enjoyed most of the films I saw, and I can only hope now that some of these great works are picked up and distributed so one day I can say “I was there for the premiere!”

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Main Street

There is a little bit of everything for everyone in Park City, that is during the Sundance Film Festival.  Where It is common for companies to take over various places on Main Street just for the festival. Main Street is a charming and unique street that although has some length to it is worth walking. During NON-festival hours the street is home to many a lovely restaurants, clothing shops, and various art galleries, etc. But when the big ol’ festival comes to town many of these little art galleries get turned into well, something a bit… louder.  Some one has to talk about and critique the nightlife! so I will take on that responsibility and let everyone know that the nightlife in my personal opinion is worth commenting on.

Queer Lounge Entrance

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Humpday was a film by Lynn Shelton about two old college friends. Ben (Mark Duplass) is married to a wife he loves, and the two are attempting to have kids. Everything gets thrown up in the air when Andy (Joshua Leonard), Ben’s old friend from school shows up on his doorstep at two in the morning. Ben is an artist, he travels, and lives a very “Kerouac-esque” life. After a drunken dinner party and subsequent night (while Ben’s wife sits at home with cold pork chops) the two entertain an idea that two straight guys having sex would be a perfect addition to Humpfest, a porn competition. This becomes a sort of macho challenge between the two old friends, each maintaining his commitment to this idea and each trying simultaneously to let the other know that its “okay” to back out. Eventually, Ben must tell his wife what his plans for Andy’s “art project” are, and things just go downhill from there. Deadset on facing the thing that makes both men most uncomfortable, simply to prove themselves, the situation is unmistakably funny yet also telling.

Mark and Lynn

With mostly unscripted dialgoue, the director says “the writing happened in the editing room”. Throughout the filming, neither the director nor the characters knew if both men were going to eventually follow through and enter the competition. This style of filming lent an air of sponteneity and realism that adds a lot to the film, with original dialogue such as “You know, you aren’t as Kerouac as you think you are, and I’m not as white-picket-fence as you think I am. These black and whites!” The film was shot in order, and over the course of ten days and was built entirely around the actors. It raised a certain philosophical question: should you do what scares you most, or makes you least comfortable, just for the sake of doing it? A funny, light comedy. Not ground-breaking or exceptional, but good.

First of I’d like to thank Mom, Dad and Sallie Mae for making it possible for me to go on this trip. As my first study (kinda) abroad trip from Eckerd this has been a great one. Living in Park City, just minutes from Main Street for 10 days was a great growing experience. Attending the film festival and participating in all of the activities that goes with it was amazing. Never have I seen so many BlackBerrys and iPhones in one place. When new President Obama was sworn the theatre I was sitting in at 10am lit up with a blueish LCD glow from all the text messages and emails from happy friends all over the country. (more…)

Spring Semester has officially started. It’s hard to believe that my Sudance ‘09 experience has happened and is already over. These last two weeks are one of the best escapades of my nineteen years. There is no way that this final blog will be an accurate representation how much I enjoyed Sundance. 

It’s hard to believe that anyone couldn’t love Sundance, but I guess it has to do with what you put into it, and depends on your view of films. I wanted to do as much as possible with an open mind. I could have done more, but I wouldn’t take anything back. I saw some amazing films, some of which won awards, others were bought, and many I can’t wait to see again. There were a few that disappointed me, but only one that I did not like. There were five films I would have liked to see but did not get to; I hope that they will in some way be distributed. 

Not only did I get to see some incredible films, but the atmosphere in which I saw them made the experience that much better. For the majority of the films there was a Q&A afterwards done by the director, writer, producer, and/or the actors. This made the films considerably more personal; I was able to understanding and hear the creators point of view. The Q&A for Brief Interviews with Hideous Men helped me understand some of the choices the writer and director made, making me appreciate the film on a different level.

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I had a great experience at the Sundance Film Festival. Not only did I see many interesting and unique films but I was also able to see the filmmakers and actors in person. I was able to ask questions during the Q and A section after the films in order to better understand what inspired the directors and or writers to create the film. I was also able to better understand the struggles they went through in order to make the film. for instance Antoine Fuqua filming in the projects of Brooklyn for Brooklyn’s Finest.

Brooklyn Project

 Or Jean-Stephane Sauvaire finding children soldiers to play the parts of children soldiers in Johnny Mad Dog. It gave me a very personal view on the filmmaking process that I could have gotten nowhere else.

Aside from the terrific films I saw there were other upsides to sundance. I was pleasantly surprised with most of the restaurants I ate at. Bandits was one of my favorite spots. A bar-b-q restaurant with an old western cowboy theme that had some of the best nachos I have ever laid my hands on. Another favorite of mine was Good Karma a Indian restaurant that had great lamb curry and holla bread. (more…)

Mississippi Damned

Lizzie and I had the chance to see the excellent Mississippi Damned at the Slamdance Film Festival, and while waiting in line we met the director and the editor of the film. We were both impressed by the story, cinematography, and the editing - the film immediately gives a strong impression of place, and the mood of the film alternates between a poetic and recollective style and an intense immediacy. The performances throughout the film were quite strong and the characters were utterly convincing.

Here’s a brief interview with the director, Tina Mabry. For more about the film, check out Lizzie’s review, and the film’s website.

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