Park City during Sundance Film Festival

It’s cold, it’s crowded, and it’s fantastic: welcome to the Sundance Film Festival. From catching shuttles to meeting celebs, I have had a very different and wonderful experience in Park City. The independent film industry has its own share of celebrities and it really surprised me to see some of the big stars attending their premieres to packed cinema houses. I got to see Kevin Bacon from literally two feet away and shook hands with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, aside from meeting some of the upcoming independent filmmakers. What I observed was that they were just normal people, like us, who were good – if not great – at their professions. During many Q and A sessions, I would see them joke around with one another just like we would with our classmates or friends. Getting over my initial hype of meeting stars, I met some people who worked behind the scenes for many hours, in order to bring this unique film festival to the world. I was able to meet volunteers at bus stations, staff members at theaters, and even strike up an occasional conversation with the person behind the snack stand at some theater. Not only were they excited about the film festival and had their experiences to share, they all really wanted to be here at Sundance. I have never seen such enthusiasm before and it definitely rubbed of on me, making me even more excited to be attending the festival.

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