I saw Robert Redford! Okay, sorry, I had to get that out. Now, on to the story:

Sushi at Sundance

On Friday, a bunch of us (Hannah, Travis, David, Lizzie, and I) decided to go explore Main Street and see what was going on.  We did some shopping, went to a pretty good sushi place for lunch, and checked out the Slamdance headquarters at the top of the hill.  The Slamdance people were way more chilled out and friendly than anyone we encountered working at Sundance.  We got tickets to see a Slamdance documentary called Superheroes and bought some really cool posters from the guy that designed the Slamdance posters.  You can check them out online, the company is called La La Land Posters.  We had heard that there had been a celebrity or two seen at the Sundance Channel headquarters, so we figured we’d check it out. (more…)

Never in my wildest dreams would I think I would see Robert Redford just standing on the side of the road. Never would I have thought I would have the opportunity to see World Premieres, or attend parties as the celebrities I see in Entertainment Weekly. So far to me this film festival has been an unbelievable experience, and it’s only just the beginning.

Me and Ali and Sam with the Big River Man (Martin Strel and crew)

 Prior to my arrival I really had not the faintest idea of what was to come or what to expect. The Sundance film festival is like another country, another world within a world and I observed that within my first 24 hours. So far I have seen several movies, starting with Big River Man, which entails the incredible story of overweight alcoholic, swimming the Amazon for a cause greater than himself. Myself alongside several of my classmates had a strong desire to see the film after reading several blogs and hearing about through word of mouth. We were so intrigued that we decided to waitlist, which is an experience in itself.

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… or at least that you ought to try and see when you have some free time and the inclination to stretch your cinematic imagination. On the eve of a new year of discovery and hype, it’s as good a time as any to see for yourself why indie filmmakers and distributors still pin their hopes on the January festival that got its improbable start in the snowy mountains above Salt Lake City, Utah. Between Netflix and Blockbuster and your local library, you should be able to find most of these.

John Lurie and Richard Edson in Stranger than Paradise

Sundance really hit its stride in 1985. Before that it was called the Utah/US Film Festival and hadn’t yet been sponsored by Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute. In 1985 it got a new name and gave the world an introduction to two of the most prolific and exciting filmmaking teams. Jim Jarmusch brought his second feature (following the largely unheralded debut film Permanent Vacation), and introduced the world to his own peculiar take on America in Stranger than Paradise. The Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) stunned audiences with their visceral take on pulp film noir in Blood Simple. Their ability to create intensity through memorable images - a shovel dragging on the pavement, shafts of light that stab through the darkness as bullets penetrate the walls that shelter a terrified Frances McDormand - signaled the emergence of a powerful new team of storytellers. (more…)