sundance 2006 - Zoael

Sundance: Swag, Stars, Snow,
Skis and Some Serious Cinema
BY JACKIE LOVELL
AT 2 A.M. WE SAW A MAN IN A LONG
wool coat with a wide brimmed
hat. He said, “Hi,” as he passed.
Wash turned to me and said, “That was
the Midnight Cowboy.” I thought it was
the drink talking. Two days later on the
bottom left corner of the Sundance
Snapshots page was a smiling picture of
John Voight. “We had an encounter with
the original Joe Buck!”, comments
Richard Glatzer (Quinceañera, Dramatic
Grand Jury prize winner, and Dramatic
Audience Award winner).
Only at Sundance can you meet a
movie star walking the streets at 2 a.m,
go to a glitzy party every night and, in
the same locale, see some of the most
creative films in the world. The Festival
audiences agreed, and packed the seven
Park City venues. There were the waiting
lists for the waiting lists.
Now in it’s Silver Year, Sundance is a
well-oiled machine. Two-hundred films
from amongst 3000 applications showcased this year.
From its humble, idealistic beginnings to “create a
new and independent thinking in movies,” the
Festival has now expanded to include workshops, discussion
panels, forums, and film music. It is the place
to meet like-minded filmmakers. Not to be left out,
Film Festival Reporter and Indie Slate magazine,
hosted a party for filmmakers on the last Thursday of
the Festival. The Spotted Frog Bookstore, Café and
Wine Bar provided an eclectic setting for filmmakers
to meet, greet, and get acquainted, while listening to
the soothing sounds of the John Flanders Jazz Trio.
Arguably, Sundance has to attract the press and the
public. So, along with the fantastic, one-of-a-kind
documentaries and world cinema films, there has to
be the “special” screenings starring “known” talent.
In keeping with this, Friends with Money opened
the Sundance Festival with Jennifer Aniston and
Joan Cusack present. However, this has added some
unfavorable side effects to the Festival. Adam Parrish
King (The Wraith of Cobble Hill) commented, “The
worst was the first day of the first weekend, and Main
Street was full of what I expected—lots of paparazzi
chasing stars. That turned me off.”
Another peculiar exaggeration at Sundance was the
swag (sealed with a gift). In these exclusive lounges
the “A” list celebrities were given freebies worth thousands
of dollars. Every festival has its bag of goodies
for the filmgoers and press, and that’s how I keep
my Koozie collection growing. Lets face it, handing out
thousands of dollars of presents to an individual
(including designer handbags, jewelry, electronic
games and adventure ski trips) is not just too much, it’s
downright outrageous. May I suggest that next year the
marketing gurus try donating instead (in the name of
their product) to the neglected coffee farmers in Black
Gold, or the Sudanese young men in God Grew Tired
of Us. It might not leave such a bitter taste.
8
SUNDANCE 2006
Park City now, as if it was all a dream...
After the “drama” of the first weekend, the Festival
returned to the business at hand. Networking is the
main event at Sundance. This turned out to be very
important to Richard Glatzer.
“It’s nice to realize that the problems and stresses
that you go through making a film are universal, and
it’s great to share the camaraderie of others in the
trenches. On the whole, independent filmmakers are
a very supportive bunch, and help each other out.”
The filmmakers wear the Sundance ID passes
swinging around their necks like a badge of honor.
They have every right to. For some, it is their first
time here. For others, it is a right of passage, as one
of their projects finally gets recognized.
Adam Parish King is one of the newcomers. This is the
first time Adam has entered a film into a festival —and
the first time he has actually been to a film festival. With
his fifteen-minute, black and white short The Wraith of
Cobble Hill, he tied for the Jury prize in short films with
Bugcrush.” The oddest experience at Sundance I had
was getting the award. It was very surreal.” A full-time
sound engineer in Los Angeles and former MFA in film
production from USC School of Cinema, he is currently
working on the sound for a television documentary,
Back Country Boot Camp. While at the Festival, Adam
worked on the Back Country sound during the day, and
went out and saw a movie each night. “I saw some really
great films. The theatergoers were really into the
films. I especially enjoyed the Q&As.” Adam is currently
working on a feature animated film.
The third time is the charm at Sundance for In the
Pit writer Juan Carlos Rulfo (World Cinema
Documentary Jury Prize). Rulfo already knows his
film will be at the Miami Film Festival. A native of
Mexico City where In the Pit was filmed, Rulfo is in
awe of his time at Sundance. “I was a little confused.
People were interested in me, and not just the film. I
was sure someone else had won.”
It never fails to amaze me that each
filmmaker has a great story to tell. That
is what Sundance is, and should only be
about. The affirmation Sundance gives
new filmmakers allows them to continue
their work.
The first time Tin Dardamal ever
picked up a camera was to film deNADIE
(World Documentary Audience Award).
Tin focuses on Central America, immigration
and the U.S. border crisis. His
reception at Sundance has inspired him.
“What I learned is that I am now more
confident to continue doing this. To have
won the Audience Award and know
deNADIE touched people. Hopefully
there will be more cultural understanding
in the U.S. that will level the playing
field.” Tin has taken a semester off from
studying to be an industrial engineer. He
is currently planning to film his next documentary
in Bolivia. deNADIE will be
shown next at the Amnesty International
Film Festival in Amsterdam in the Hague.
Alex Pastor (Natural Route, Jury
prize in International Short Film making) nearly
didn’t go to the award ceremony.
“We actually had tickets for a film that night, but we
knew there was a party afterwards and we figured
that might be fun, so we went. And we won! I froze
on stage. It took me a while to get over the shock.”
Alex studied screenwriting at film school in
Barcelona, Spain, and Natural Route was his first
short film. Studiously working on his second short,
he finished shooting it just a few weeks ago. Monday,
he looked at the dailies and Tuesday he was at
Sundance. Alex has already done the rounds of the
festivals in Spain, Milan and Palm Springs,
The Sunday morning after the Awards, Park City
became a ski resort again. For the first time in ten days,
Main Street was empty. Along with the filmmakers, the
paparazzi and celebrities are gone. No matter what you
think about Sundance, the filmmakers are important.
Sundance is still one of the most influential festivals in
the world. If your film makes it to Sundance, you have
good chance of furthering your film career in whatever
way you choose. For some, it will be the only chance
they have to publicize their movie.
With Quinceañera winning both the Dramatic
Grand Jury Prize and the Dramatic Audience awards
I wondered if director/writers Wash Westmoreland
and Richard Glatzer felt changed by the Festival.
“We took away two trophies, which is way beyond
anything we could have imagined going in, and a flu
virus, which I could have done without. The Festival
hasn’t changed us, but it sure has started the phone
ringing! Thank you, Sundance!”
Originally from England, trained in Theatre Arts,
Jackie Lovell is a freelance writer. She also writes
for Indie Slate magazine. She was at Sundance
until they turned the lights out. She can be contacted
at www.jacquelinelovell.biz.