Overhanging Above Egyptian Theatre

To all us film buffs, or wanna be film buffs, or filmmakers in the beginnings: We did it. We did the Sundance Thing. How awesome is that, really? I know whenever I meet new people, that has been a conversation starter, even my dental technician called me up the other night asking how the trip was. Sundance is a way bigger deal than we can ever believe. I don’t think I’ve spent so much money before going to see movies. Normally, I wait to get Hollywood movies for around 5 bucks on Amazon, even if I do get them six or seven years later. Sundance is a big deal. We got lucky and had a trip pretty well paid for so that we could go and watch quality films, and then schmooze with the director and the entire cast. (more…)

I love the fact that I can say I’ve been to the Sundance Film Festival! I can honestly say that I had a great time. The people, the places, the films were all amazing.

I think I’ve picked up a new appreciation for what it means to be a filmmaker. I never really thought about what it takes to get an independent film made, but I just spent the last three weeks pondering this and it’s a little overwhelming. If I were a filmmaker, I’d say thank God for Sundance and other such festivals. That includes Slamdance, where I happily volunteered for the alternative festival housed in one hotel near the top of Main Street. (more…)

So the day we traveled back to Florida, we flew out of the Salt Lake City airport. While waiting in the terminal at our gate, I happened to be sitting in front of one of the televisions showing the news. I started watching the coverage for one of those award shows where the celebrities come and all the media outlets go crazy. I thought to myself, why doesn’t Sundance get this kind of national coverage?

I thought about this some more and then I felt stupid for thinking Sundance should have been on that screen in the news. If it were, it would completely undermine the point of the point of the festival. Yes, Sundance is well known and gets plenty of recognition in print around the world. I mean, how else would it get such great directors, like Alexis Dos Santos of Unmade Beds, to fill the world cinema categories? But it still, somehow, maintains a quiet existence in a way. The kind of existence that allows filmmakers, actors, and their audiences to casually interact. Where else can you walk down the street in a small mountain town and run into the directors or the stars of the movies you just saw? (more…)

The last film, if you want to call it that, that I saw at Sundance was sadly disappointing. It was a New Frontier entry called The Works of Maria Marshall. This category is supposed to be about what’s next in stretching the boundaries of film. So watching what Marshall repeatedly said was meant for art museum installations in a theater just didn’t capture my attention.

The description of her work made it sound like it would embody the unflinching nature of independent film. She uses herself and her children in short films that are provocative and possibly disturbing. Her teenage son is seen shooting a gun and the first film she made is the son as a baby smoking a cigarette. I bought a ticket for it because I wanted to get that range of emotion that’s far from mainstream film.   (more…)