by James Thompson

Sundance 2009 is providing some excellent experiences for filmmakers and some not-so-great experiences for others. On the positive side, the weather has been wonderful, the parties have been a lot of fun and a lot of good films are premiering.

I particularly enjoyed meeting many filmmakers at the Utah Brunch held at the Sundance House, FUJIFILMS’ Indie Moguls party at the Snow Park Lodge, NBC Universal’s reception at the Coda Gallery and Film the West reception at the Phoenix Gallery on Main Street. The host at each of these events provided an exceptional opportunity for Sundance attendees to enjoy a few festive hours while learning about their products, services and locations.

Several of the films I viewed hit the mark while presenting intense subject matter. The Greatest, starring Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon, portrayed parents coping with the death of their teenage son. Taking Chance follows the body of a 19-year-old marine from the battlefields of Iraq to his hometown in Wyoming. Kevin Bacon’s outstanding performance as a military officer, who voluntarily escorts the young marine’s body back to his family, made the film genuine.

On the negative side, Sundance was just too crowded; the buses were jam-packed. And, if you didn’t have a ticket for a screening, your chances of getting in were slim. In fact, I ran into one couple who had a very frustrating experience. They were told that anyone interested in attending the screening of The September Issue needed to line up at the theater two hours before the screening just to get wait-list numbers. To play it safe, they decided to go to the theater three and a half hours before the screening, and ended up being numbers 41 and 42 on the wait list. They left the theater after receiving their numbers and returned 30 minutes before the screening ─ as required ─ only to find that just the first 10 people on the wait list got in. That’s three and a half hours of waiting and, finally, rejection. Utah residents have first pick at the screening tickets. So if you’re visiting from out of town, you’re pretty much out of luck ─ unless you know someone.

Nevertheless, I still think it was worthwhile for the many independent filmmakers who trekked to the wonderful state of Utah for this yearly event.

Share This

This entry was posted on Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 10:32 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.