What does an environmental studies student have to do with independent film? One major theme I consistently think about that attracts me to independent films is the contrast of reality and fantasy. What draws me to watch an independent film is the fact that the film will touch me on some daringly real level. I watch an independent film to draw in on the fact that the themes or dialogue in the film will touch me in some deep manner that will help me resolve some problem, issue, or bring light to something I have dwelled on. I watch independent films because there is a sense of truth that validates the lives we lead. I feel like I am drawn to “Hollywood” or more “classical” type films because they seem to lack that sense of reality, and dwell on the fantasy. When you have a harsh work week, do you pop in a Disney flick to numb the pain or pop in “Fight Club” to validate the struggle? I want to go to Sundance to further my independent research, to study the way film affects the way I think and feel.
2. One of the other themes I love about independent film is its organized chaos.
I love that the genre is extremely unconventional and edgy. I also admire the decision to incorporate independent literature and music with the films. In the film “Magnolia”, only underground artists were asked to be signed. Aimee Mann, a fairly unknown independent singer was asked to write music for the film that was unconventional. “Fight Club” was adapted from Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight Club”, who is a very independent, controversial, and edgy writer. It’s wonderful how a whole movement is so involved and connected. I feel only two movies we have watched so far capture this ethic; Easy Rider and Shadows. In “Easy Rider” the scenes of Peter Fonda and Daniel Hopper are flanked by Steppenwolf?s ?Born to be Wild? and other alternative rock ballads that defined that era, and generation. In “Shadows”, the only background music heard is of the underground music of the decade; jazz. Each of these films were independent and nouveau, and it only makes sense to include the underground music as well.
3. After you spend months saving up money and resources for the trip to Utah, two weeks memorizing material, watching important films, and learning just about everything you need to know about independent film, you get to Sundance and realize that everything you prepared for was just the beginning, one very small step. Arriving in Utah takes a toll on your body. I only recently realized it is because my neck is always in a craned position. My mouth is always dry because my jaw is consistently dropped. My eyes itch because they are stained from the constant stimulation. My lungs ache from every breath taking moment (not to mention the 300 something step climb we make several times a day to our condo.) Each day is more exhausting, exciting, and new from the last. It is so different than any other place I have been in the world.
4. When organizing everything in your mind in preparation for the trip to Sundance, I think one of the groups? daydreams were about our accommodations. In my mind, I had imagined kind of an apartment with two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls. To my surprise (and the rest of the group), we were pleasantly surprised to find a lavish four-floor duplex condo. We all had bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, a deck on every floor, two hot tubs, and a sauna in our connecting recreation room, with a pool and foosball table. Our place hit the spot completely, and meshed in perfectly with the cozy Park City village feel. Our condo was more like a lodge, and we frequently referred to it as the ?Real World Park City? house. The only downfall is the 277 steps we have to trek to get down to the city daily. Yikes.
5. Yesterday was the one of the first days I had the wait list experience. When a film is sold out in the box office, and you cannot find a (reasonable) scalper, you begin the wait list process. Some theaters differ slightly on the rules of engagement, but most of them ask that you arrive at the theater two hours before the opening and receive a numerical wait list slip in a large heated tent in the parking lot. After you receive your wait list slip, you can either wait in line for two hours, or bail and come back when it is time to open. After two hours, you get in line (in numerical order) and wait in hopes that your number is called and you can enter the theater. Usually, everyone from number one to twenty is called up and allowed inside. After that, you receive a wait list ticket stub, and a hand stamp for entry. After one stressful wait list process, I will never complain about the now simple ticketing processes of movie theaters back home.
6. In Park City, there is a certain clash of visitors. There are lots of different types of people that visit this small snowy village. One type I loved to encounter was the locals. There are two types of locals you will find in Park City; the film-loving kind that are always open for business and a great conversation, and the angsty, unappreciative youth who are sick and tired of the extra attention. Many places around Main Street you will find threatening fliers warning out-of-towners about local pranks, especially for those who wear fur. Upset teenagers are seen loitering around shops, bus stops, and other restaurants sometimes harassing LA yuppies and other gawking on-lookers. Sure, these locals are not openly friendly, but they inspired me to wonder what urged their behavior. I asked one 14-year old outside the Holiday bus stop why he was upset and he responded that ?everything stops, and it is impossible to get anywhere I have to go. Although everyone else is on vacation, I am still in school and have a schedule. A lot of people are not sympathetic to my needs.? Other teenagers complained about being late to sports practice, or finding a place to eat for lunch. I guess these things are important to consider when visiting a ski town, or place of major film festival.
7. One of the films that really moved me at Sundance was “Slingshot Hip-Hop”. This film, directed by Jackie Reem Salloum, is an impressive documentary about the rising popularity of Palestinian rap in the Middle East. The documentary focuses on the lives of different male rap groups and one solo female artist. This story not only documents their musical woes, but the everyday struggle of being Palestinian. The film observes a really creative and new view of conflict in the Middle East. The battle there is seen in through the eyes of aspiring artists who uplift the community and educate others. It is amazing that these artists living on the West Bank of Palestine do not have the opportunity to even travel their own country without passport checkpoints, but are invited all over the world to perform. If the film was not already uplifting, the fact that Salloum somehow got the rappers visa?s to the Festival to freestyle after the film was.
8. One of the most interesting films I saw over the trip was called ?The Wind and the Water? (Burwa Dii Ebo.) The film was different because it was not directed by one single person, but by a group of artists called the Igar Yala Collective. Along with the main director, Vero Bollow, the directors hailed from Panama in South America. The films soul was to capture the new upcoming generation in Panama portraying the struggles youth have to face in a commercializing world. One boy and girl are born at the same time, but one in a rich Panama City family and one on a tiny poor native reservation. Each portray the struggle of education, love, life, and work in their native country. The actors were so refreshing and new, and really showed the battle of preserving traditions and land. I was lucky enough meet the crew, and listen to their experience in the film. Even more refreshing, was the next day I went to see the film ?Blue Eyelids? and I sat next to most of the collective and find the main actor and actress holding hands through out the movie. It was nice to see that in real life the guy can get the girl!
9. One of the most memorable experiences of the Sundance trip was the New Frontier exhibit in Park City. The New Frontier Exhibit is a collective of multimedia artists coming together in a mall basement. Once entering with my Sundance ID, I find myself stunned. The room is dark, but lit only by projectors and backlit recycled bottles. Other projected shorts and video are flowing on the walls. In the back, two guys stand near a massive printer, making their own sweatshop-free ?denim? jeans from their computer. A woman in the middle of the floor is sprawled out on a thermo-sensitive couch, which leaves color imprints on the fabric due to body heat transfer. I feel like I am on Mars. In another accessible room is a microfilm of work by a man under the alias ?Xanadu?, who projects his own ?music videos? of war, government, and violence. This work was so impressive, nauseating, and unsettling, I felt myself thinking about them every time I hit the pillow before bed. I was surprised that Sundance had the courage to show such an impressive show, and make it accessible to visitors to see such impressive up and coming multi-media artists.
10. One really refreshing film I saw the first day at Sundance was called ?Pariah?. Pariah is a smart film directed by Dee Rees. It was nice to see one of the few student filmmakers that made it to Sundance, and sacrificed everything she had to make her artistic statement. Pariah starred Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, and Wendell Peirce, whom I recognized from ?The Wire?, a series about the streets of Baltimore on HBO. One interesting concept about Pariah that it is a ?short?, which means it is not a feature length film, only running for about 20 minutes or less. It is actually harder to produce a short than a feature length film because of the cutting and editing. It?s so hard to get everything you want to portray in a short film! However, Rees makes it work with her coming of age and sexuality film. ?Lee?, is a 17-year old girl who is confused about her sexual identity, which in turn hurts her family life, her school work, and circle of friends. It?s a bold and heart wrenching film about ?who do you become when you can?t be yourself?? A must see.
11. As an environmental studies student, I cannot help but observe the green additions Sundance has made to the festival. Most obvious is the fact that cars are very much looked down upon. Once you visit this small town, you will also realize it is impossible to park anywhere, and in the inches of snow everywhere. People are recommended to walk and take the mass transit of busses that relay to all of the Sundance venues around town. Also, each of the venue stores have a fraction of products that are made or originate from green sources. Many of the stores sell organic cotton t-shirts that are made in the U.S.A and from safe dyes. All of the Sundance venues also recycle everything. There are bins for paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum. All of the handout were also created out of a portion of recycled paper. And last but not least, many multimedia art projects were created using recycled products. How cool, and green!
12. The last film that really stole my heart was a documentary called “Alone In Four Walls”. This film is directed by a Russian woman named Alexandra Westmeier. Her documentary is focused on the juvenile boys in Russia who are sent to detention facilities for crime. Most of the boys in her film are under 15 years old, and have committed crimes from stealing to murder with no disregard for their actions. The children are documented for about a year, and follow their parents at home and the families they hurt along the way as well. The film is important because it shows the only place these boys are allowed to be children is jail, because on the outside, they must go to crime to survive. IT proves that no matter where you live, children crave to be loved and be kids.
I wasn’t planning to attend this at anytime during the festival, but I figured I would just go and see what it was all about. The first short was titled Pariah by director Dee Rees, and was about a young African American woman’s struggle with revealing to her parents her homosexuality, and identity struggles along the way. I found this short to be slightly strange for some reason, but I couldn’t really put my finger on why. It definitely wasn’t my favorite of the six. The young woman’s friend gives her a dildo, which I found to be kind of startling and out of place, yet at the same time it worked as the turning point in the story, and every story has to have a turning point.The second short was Waves by Adrian Sitaru. This was a story, on the one hand about a woman, who dies while swimming, leaving her mentally challenged son alone on the beach, and also about a family vacationing who’s father happens to be unfortunately pulled into the situation. I had a hard time understanding the importance of the family in the short, which was probably a pivotal aspect of the whole thing fitting together, and probably also why I found it so hard to like. The fact that she died was completely unexpected, and strange, and on top of that, that the random guy on the beach would actually volunteer to take the child seemed very unrealistic.The third short was FCU: Fact Checkers Unit by Dan Beers. It was a comedy about two guys who are hired to check “facts” in magazines about celebrities. It featured Bill Murray, who I found to be one of the few redeeming aspects of the short, the other being the random girl chewing the banana awkwardly. The rest seemed to force humor, and I think was a bad choice to place in the middle of the dramatic shorts prior to and following it. It made me question if I should be laughing. Something about this short felt very mainstream, and almost as if the idea had been done before.The next short was Dugong by Erin White. I really enjoyed this one. It was about a guy who returns to see his family he hasn’t seen in 10 years for his brother’s wedding, and the circumstances surrounding this event. This short left you wondering why he had been gone from the family for so long and taken his brother’s dog, because they seemed like such loving people. Regardless of how nice the family was, it made me feel as if the man had been wronged in some way, and created a very depressing atmosphere.The fifth was The Loss of a Wrestling Match by Jed Cowley. I really appreciated that the name gave away the story before you even started watching it, letting you know there was more to the story than just losing. It gave a ‘don’t ever give up’ kind of lesson, and seemed to either be mocking or honoring the life of a dedicated athlete. The final short was Soft by Simon Ellis. It was about a father, son, and a group of bullies picking on them both, and each one’s reaction to the situation. It contrasted logic and reason with emotion and feeling, the father representing logic and the son emotion. I found this short to be really intense and it ended up being one of my favorites in the set.
Blog Two: Casting a Glance by James Benning
Casting a Glance revolved around an interesting concept, and probably worked better as a piece of art more than a feature length film. I feel it enhanced the original work of art, the Spiral Jetty because of the fact that it is a simple physical form, usually only seen in one instance by the viewer. The piece was made to change with the seasons, and show the influence nature and weather had on it, something you can’t see in one instance. Because of this I felt it worked as an important component to the piece itself. The film is cut into segments, titled with 15 different dates, ranging from the seventies when it was first constructed to a year ago. Throughout the film the viewer believes these dates are truth, yet when Benning came up for the Q&A, he explained it was filmed over two years that happened to coincide with the changing tides of the past 30 years. This was slightly disheartening because I had been led to believe he had committed 30 years of his life to this project which would have been much more commendable. My favorite part about the film were the close micro shots of the rocks, sometimes covered in ice, and even more amazingly covered in salt from the lake. These salt shots were beautiful, and so were the ones in which the lake had frozen over, and snowballs were blowing across the landscape. This being one of the first films I saw, I quickly got a taste of what happens when a film isn’t typical mainstream viewing. Over half of the theatre cleared out by the end, something I found to be really rude and disrespectful. I couldn’t believe people would straight up reject a film, without waiting for the director’s comments on what he was trying to accomplish. They obviously didn’t understand, and if they had stayed maybe they would have. At random times during the film, you heard a strange distressed “WHEEEE!” in the background, and the director explained this as being meth addicts who had come out to the jetty to do drugs and shoot two large guns they had with them. If I stayed for anything, hearing this story was worth the wait. I also found it interesting that the director explained his definition of a true artist as someone who sticks with something, and sees it through to the end in hopes of gaining some insight or enlightenment in some way. I think he was commenting on the less than half the crowd that was left, and in a round about way thanking everyone who stayed for taking the time to find the worth in his work.
Blog Three: Fear(s) of the Dark by Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre diSciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire
This film is a black and white animation made by six different directors from several countries. Each story was very unique from the other, but each was also dark and twisted in some way. My favorite of the bunch was the one by Charles Burns in which the main character gets a girlfriend who becomes a creature and then breeds multiple creatures through the years. It was more creepy and disturbing than the other stories to me, because of the premise of something breeding under your skin. Marie Caillou’s story about the young Japanese girl who wanders into the forest and encounters many fears along the way was really visually enjoyable. The extreme variation in shades of black white and everything in between combined with crisp clarity made the images come to life. The segments in between were very rough and sketched, and appeared to be almost like the blueprints of a cartoon to come. I really enjoyed the way these apparently sloppy images became so three dimensional and showed movement so well. I found it interesting that the director that came to speak about the film mentioned how comic culture in France is huge. It is relatively nonexistent in the United States, which is unfortunate since it is such an amazing medium for film. It was neat to hear him speak about the processes they took to create the film also. The creation process combined both hand drawn and digitally created images combined to create a more three dimensional appeal. When the film began I immediately thought of Persepolis, an animated black and white film in theatres in the US right now, and I found myself wishing there were more animated films (other than Disney and computer generated images) being made. Read the rest of this entry »
I MET QUENTIN TARANTINO. He sat three rows behind us at the movie this morning, and outside, we formally met. He was surprisingly nice, and seemed genuine when he told us he didn’t do pictures. He even called me sweetheart! I was floored. It is entirely understandable, too, why he didn’t want a picture, so I’m not disappointed. Nonetheless, my Sundance experience is complete… now if only I can find Jim Jarmusch. It’s funny how this course has shaped the kind of people I want to see. Around this time last year, I was focused on Catherine Zeta-Jones and Cate Blanchett. This year, I’m breathless around directors and actors from the indie films I see. While it would still be amazing to see big name actors and actresses, I’d rather meet Steven Soderberg. I suppose things change!
- Mitchell Ann Crowley
Today at a screening of Pretty Bird (which was a fairly decent film), we sat nearly 4 rows in front of Quentin Tarantino, the famed and artistic director of films like “Pulp Fiction”, “Reservoir Dogs”, and “Kill Bill”. I couldn’t believe i breathing the same air as he was. I don’t get star-struck, but wow, was i in a daze. After the film, we decided not to stay for the Q&A and leave. However, when we walked outside, there he was. The man. The myth. The legend. He was really a nice guy, stopping to chat to his fans and admirers. Emily and Mitchell asked if they could get their picture taken with him, but he said he doesn’t do pictures. He was really nice and genuine about it. But i was blessed to get the opportunity to tell one of my film heroes that he was one of my biggest inspirations for becoming a filmmaker, and Tarantino told me “Thanks a lot buddy, i appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed the movie.”
- Dustin Geisler
The atmosphere of the Sundance Film Festival changed on Wednesday, January 23. It’s a surge of sadness and shocked. One of the film industries most prolific and gifted actors died in his New York apartment.
Heath Ledger was born in Australia, where he started his acting career in a tv series called “Sweat.” He came in the American scene in the tv series “Roar” back in 1997. His film debut “Two Hands” was screened in festivals, and then made a huge jump with “10 Things I Hate About You.” He the continued to show his wide range of acting in films like “The Patriot”, “A Knight’s Tale”, “Monsters Ball”, “The Four Feathers”, “Ned Kelly”, and “Lords of Dogtown.” He landed his first Oscar nomination playing a homosexual cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain.” His last film is the sequel to 2005 “Batman Begins” called “The Dark Knight”, where he was casted as Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker. “The Dark Knight” is to be released July 18, 2008.
Heath Ledger was a great actor, and a humble man. He was very gifted, and had a huge potential of achieving greatness. His family, friends, and fans will miss him.
Although I obviously didn’t know Ledger on a personal level, being at Sundance makes me feel like I did. I didn’t really realize how tight the acting community is with each other. It seems as though the entire mood of Sundance has changed.
The day following his death, Main Street which is normally as busy as Times Square at rush hour, was literally dead. It was like everyone was in such shock; they either left Sundance or didn’t feel like being in public. Yesterday was a bit better, and things feel a little more normal again, but it’s just weird. It’s like even though I didn’t know him on a personal level being at Sundance, you really feel like one within the community. With all of the stories, buzz and mood change of the festival, it makes me feel like I actually did know him or something. It was a tragic thing and being at Sundance when it happened has been a real eye opener. It makes me realize that even though the press, paparazzi and celebrities. Everyone is human and even though his or her, “celebrity status,” they are still human beings and grieve the same way anyone else would.
Thus far, Sundance has been an amazing experience. I?ve seen six
movies, all of them intriguing to say the least. We?ve stood in lines
for hours. I?ve talked to film lovers from all over the world. I?ve
met and seen directors and cast members all over town. Park City is a
completely different world. It?s great just to be around people who
genuinely love movies, and be in a community that supports that love.
The only bad thing happening in Park City is the sickness going around
the house. A few people are very sick and some have been unable to
leave their beds. I feel bad because they aren?t able to enjoy their
time here to the fullest. The house is fully stocked with medicine now
though, so hopefully kids will be up and about soon. I personally am
not sick, but am constantly thoroughly exhausted. I?m not sure if it?s
the altitude, the long days, the constant walking and standing, or
those damn three hundred and thirty stairs we have to walk up to get
home, but I feel like I am always tired. I just have to remember that
this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity and there?s time to be
tired later.
I have some good movies coming up in the next few days. Today I am
going to see Downloading Nancy, and the midnight showing and premier
of Donkey Punch. I have seen the director of Donkey Punch, Olly
Blackburn, a few different times around town. The film is a horror
movie, and I am really looking forward to seeing it. Tomorrow I am
waking up early to see Sugar, a film about a baseball player?s
struggles. I also cant wait to see the TBA movie. A bunch of students
went to the Box Office the first day and got tickets to a film that is
TBA. Sundance determines which film at the festival is most popular
and shows that at the TBA showing. I hope that I haven?t seen the film
that is going to be shown. I could always sell the ticket. I predict
it will be In Bruges because of the initial hype the movie received,
or the U2-3D show, because they were scalping tickets for six hundred
dollars. We are half way through our trip and I?ve done so much, but
am also feeling pressure to do and see so much more. There?s limited
time here in Park City, and I want to make the most of it!!
-Sarah Roberts
I went to the premiere of Choke. There I met Dave Mathews, but did not recognize him. For one, I don’t really listen to his music. My friend, Dustin did however, so I took a picture for him. This clearly famous person kept looking at me as if expecting me to ask to take a picture with him too. I just smiled and took a seat though. Then Dustin told me it was Dave Mathews. Cool, I actually met a celebrity, albeit one I don’t really even know. Then Choke showed. I managed to recognize Sam Rockwell as the guy from Psych on FX. Unfortunately he didn’t want to stick around for pictures after the Q&A. That’s okay though, because we took a picture with Angelica Houston who played his mom in Choke. I only recognize her as the Adam’s Family mom however. As for the movie, it was funny. Oddly enough my favorite part was a rape scene because if you hit someone with a knife, it isn’t hitting, it’s called stabbing.
- Aurora Potts
Paranormal Activity is advertized as the scariest movie of the year. It showed atSlamdance. The hype surrounding it made everyone real excited and expecting a goodthrill. After previewing the trailer online I was a bit disappointed, however everyonekept talking it up so I was still excited to see this great, horror film. Well thebeginning wasn’t what I expected. It was genuinely funny, showed a very sweet, likableyoung couple. The movie built up for a while. It was a bit dull, however the characterswe likable enough to remain enjoyable. Then suddenly doors were slamming, the girl isstanding for hours at a time, big bird foot prints are walking through powder, the guynext to me is asleep on the floor snoring in the doorway and I am laughing every time thegirl screams. She had some pretty gut-wrenching screams to her credit, however the moviewas like any other. It played on suspense and tried to scare audiences with loud soundsand sudden movements. And then the movie ended and I finally got to pee.
- Aurora Potts
Wow….just wow. Words cannot describe the dissapointment and pain I’m in right now. Was from a movie? A girl? Food? No. It was how the New York Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in overtime from a field goal. We had a phenomenal season that was Superbowl bound. Mistakes and glories. Brett Favre set a record setting, MVP caliber season, and his team mates as well did great things. Will we have another 13-3 or better next season? It’ll depend if Favre retires or not.Despite the Green Bay loss, the day was alright.
Anthony Q Artis joined us at our condo for breakfast, and gave us a presentation on documentaries. I asked him if could look at the documentary Mitchell Ann, Matt, and I made, and he was happy too. Other than the sound, he seemed to like it, and gave us pointers.
I went to go see Slingshot Hip-Hop last night, which is about Palestinian hip-hop artists who tell their stories about their oppression from the Israelis. Their influence is from artist like Tupac and The Public Enemy who had similar messages in their music. After the film, the rap groups did a Q&A, and performed freestyle in their native tounge.
- Dustin Geisler
o, today sucked.
All I want to do is watch movies. On Friday night I got my cell phone taken from me (okay I might have lost it, but I will believe what I want to believe). Today I walked a total of 9 miles (probably more like 3, but like I said…) trying to find the AT&T store that couldn’t help me. Yes, I finally find it and the dude is all like, “I can’t help you.” Next, I went to the CVS and bought a temporary cell phone for the week. To set it up, I had to deal with the man who is in the Guinness book of world records for having the strongest Indian accent of all time… literally (okay, maybe not literally). To come home I rode on one of the trains trafficking humans to Auschwitz (Park City Shuttle) and to get back to our condo I walked up 287 individual stairs (that’s not an exaggeration). Angry and frustrated, I decided to see the midnight show of Otto; or Up With Dead People. To my surprise it was a movie about gay zombies participating in gay zombie activities (xxx). The only entertaining thing about the entire film was watching half the theater clear out after 15 minutes.Celebrity sightings: Brendan Gleeson, Randy Quaid, Jay Baruchel, and George A. Romero- I shook his hand and exchanged a few words, but that not a big deal or anything (Afterwards I skipped down main street screaming like a 14 year old girl at a 98 degrees concert). I would also like to thank him for making the day bearable. Thanks.
- Matt Romary
Being sick sucks. The altitude, cold weather, and close quarters all
mixed together creates a time bomb for getting sick. The bomb went off
a couple days ago. For the past few days I have been bed ridden. I
slept the entire day yesterday. The good news is I am improving. I am
not 100%, but I am on the recovery. Thankfully, I only missed one
film, but it was a movie that I was looking forward to. It is called
Made in America and it is a documentary about gangs in LA and the US.
Hopefully, I can go see it at a later point or it comes to the general
public on DVD.
I did get to see one film on Saturday. It is called Otto: or, Up with
Dead People and it is one of the most unique things I have possibly
ever seen. To put it into a genre, I would say it is a zombie movie.
To be absolutely specific, it is a gay zombie movie-within-a-movie.
The main character, Otto, is a zombie who is confused about himself.
He does not want to eat humans, but he is inexplicably drawn to
humans. Before he died, he had a boyfriend, but he can?t remember much
of anything. His memories are vague and scattered. He is one confused
zombie. He is not welcomed in Berlin; (the movie was actually filmed
in Germany) he is chased by a gang and kids throw rocks at him. The
director, Bruce Labruce, includes some gay porn in all of his movies,
and he does not waiver from his style in the least. The movie ends
with a gay zombie orgy. I don?t know if I will ever watch another one
of his movies, but I got to see one. The movie took a unique take on
the zombie genre and it was very retrospective. I wouldn?t call it a
great film, but it was definitely a smart idea.
I haven?t met anyone famous, I have only seen three films, and I am
still a little sick, but I am loving it here. I am going to see Where
in the World is Osama? which is made by the same guy who did Super
Size Me. I am very excited, I will let you know how it is.
-Matt Went
So at Sundance it is not only a place where you can see a lot of movies, meet a lot of directors and get free stuff, but also a place where you can meet a lot of celebrities! So yesterday morning I went to the box office to buy a ticket for the movie, North Starr. After I bought my ticket I was sitting on the bench outside of the office with this guy in a leather jacket, shaggy hair and wearing a pair of aviators. We started talking a little bit and he asked me where I was from, what I was doing here, my name, what movies I had seen…just small talk kind of stuff. The entire time I had been thinking to myself, `man this guy looks familiar!’ I finally said that to him, and he said yea? So I asked him where he was from and how long he would be here at Sundance. He told me he was from LA and was here for three days. I kept thinking whoa… `I can’t believe I’m drawing a blank!’ I finally asked him his name and to take his sunglasses off! He said his name was Allen and then asked me if I was still trying to figure it out. I knew this guy had to be someone, because then this other guy came out of the box office with a ton of tickets and told him it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and that was it. This guy however had a striking resemblance to Adrian Grenier and no doubt, I think it was definitely him! If it wasn’t, then it had to be someone famous because they were pretty discrete and the whole situation just kind of fit the description that others have had with other celebrities here at Sundance. Man…who is this guy!
My second day here in Park City is so far my most exciting adventure yet. I saw 3 films, met a few celebs, and talked to some real nice people. I can honestly say i have not met one rude person here. Everyone here is real nice and friendly, talking about films and the festival and what-knot. There is a sense of fellowship within the Sundancers.My first film i saw was American Son starring Nick Cannon. This film is about a young Marine named Mike who gets deployed to Iraq in 96 hours, and within those 96 hours he goes back home to his dysfunctional family and wild, troublesome friends. He meets a beautiful latino girl named Christina, and their relationship grows everyday that he is home. However, Mike does not want to tell anyone, even his own family, that he is going to Iraq. He goes back home as a new man, bringing discipline and principles that he never had before enlisting. All this happens in this set time frame makes a dramatic and powerful scenario. I really enjoyed this film; it’s one of the best feature films i’ve seen so far. It has very powerful performance, especially by Nick Cannon. This is major jump for him, who was in teeny-bopper films like Drumline. I never knew he had it in him. After the Q&A, i had the chance to meet the director, Neil Abramson, and Nick Cannon, who i got a picture with. This is another film that hit me emotionally because of my friends who are in Iraq.
Right after that movie, i saw The Last Word with Winona Ryder, Wes Bentley, and Ray Ramano. This is a dark romance comedy about a writer named Evan whose profession is writing suicide letters. Evan meets Charlotte, who is the sister of a man who committed suicide who went to Evan to write a suicide note. They get into a relationship that is full of secrets and lies. Evan also is having a complicated time writing the note for Abel, a composer who making his money off of cell-phone ringtones, played by Ramano. I thought this was just a good movie. Nothing too special. The story dragged, and kept falling apart with trivial B-story plotlines. However, with an ethically challenged subject matter, it was surprisingly touching.
Right after the Q&A, i went straight to the Eccles Theatre to wait-line U2-3D. When i got there, the wait-line was outside in the cold. There was about 150 people wait listing inside the tent already, and they were giving out numbers to get the people seated for the 9:45 show. I did not get a number, but i still waited because there was a chance i could get in. I waited with some pretty cool people. A couple who lives in the vally near Salt Lake City, and a woman, who was a huge U2 fan, who works for the Utah Jazz. From the 2 and a half hours we waited, we talked about music, traveling, films, and Disney World. The couple from the vally actually had my Tour Guide show at the Great Movie Ride in Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios), and they got all excited. It’s pretty cool that someone remembered me from the ride. Then all sudden, the cameras where flashing, people ran to the car loop, and there were cheers. U2 came out of a van. It was mind blowing seeing rock legends like Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. within 20 feet of me. And guess what? We got into the 9:45 show that was supposed to be sold out with 250 wait listed. I was so pumped and excited, mostly because i got out of the 20 degree snowy weather. The film was amazing. It was a U2 concert film….in 3D. It wasn’t like anyone jumps out at you like other 3D films or theme park attractions. It filmed so the viewers could be part of the concert experience without being at the concert. The whole audience was into it, clapping, singing, and even had their lighters out during one of the ballads. It was an amazing film experience. And to top it all, the whole band came on stage to do Q&A. Afterwards, when everyone was exiting , i snuck to the back because i was impatient and didnt want to deal with the 1200 people exiting the theatre. Then suddenly, I saw Bono and a couple other men walking towards me. As he got near me, i said Hi and he smiled and said hi back, but he was in a rush so couldnt ask for a picture or have any conversation with me. But you know what….i met Bono.
What a day.
- Dustin Geisler
On the second day of our trip to Sundance Film Festival my roommate Conor and I woke up from a very restless night of sleep at 7 in the morning. Emily, Conor and I have tickets to see the film In Bruges. This film stars Hollywood actors Colin Ferrell and Brendan Gleeson. The film covered all spectrums of the film world, it made you laugh hysterically and it made you want to cry at the same time. Although it is still early and this is my first film I have seen here at the festival I can tell that this film is going to be hard ones to beat here. After walking in the freezing snow to find a bus stop we arrived back on Main Street in Park City where we met with Professor Anderson to have lunch in a small but very good pizza shop in the heart of town. There we discussed seeing all the directors and all the big name movie stars we have seen. It was interesting to see how people like Conor and Myself who do not know many small independent film makers were not nearly as excited as someone like Matt and Professor Anderson where to meet this almost unknown directors and young film makers. But they have a point when they say that you never know which one of these small film makers are going to turn out to be the next Quentin or Spielberg. After lunch a group of us sat in line to see the film The Wave. This is a German made film about a teacher who goes too far in creating a student “revolt” in his class. The film was much better than I expected and it made it even more interesting to know that it was based on a true story. After dinner we all headed back home and sat around until the power went out all over town and created some minor panic, but the lights sooned turned on and we all called it a night knowing that the next day was going to be just another day of fun films and exciting movie stars searches
- Bill Griswold
So today I woke up early (7:15) to get to the box office nice and early to see if I could grab some tickets. When I got there I noticed that there was 200 people standing in line, so I left.
A decent sized group of ours decided to check out the shorts program. The first one was about a young black lesbian girl who lived in Brooklyn who was struggling with her identity and dealing with her closed-minded parents. It was a very well done powerful short that was, in my opinion the best one of the group. Other short premises and my short takes on them:
A guy goes to a beach, along with a man teaching his wife to float, a woman with her mute kid, and a couple displaying inappropriate public affection, my least favorite. Had nothing to offer emotionally, visually, or anything that I consider important in a film.
A kid who loses a wrestling match. Nothing special. That’s all that happens.
Two fact checkers for a magazine go to Bill Murray’s house to find out if he drinks warm milk before bed (yes, Murray is in it). It was funny, Murray was funny, but sometimes it tried a little to hard to be funny.
A grown man is picked on by a group of teenagers. They follow him home and begin taunting him and throwing things at his house. The son stands up to the kids and beats the leader up with a wooden paddle and scares the rest of the hooligans away as his dad stand cowardly. A depressing story, but well done.
A scruffy man and his dog return home after being gone for ten years to attend his brothers wedding, surprising both the brother and their mother. Flashbacks of a manatee dancing under the water, the revealing of the news that he found their long lost father, and leaving his dog in the town as he leaves once again provokes many questions to the viewer and overall provides for a very unique and well done short. A close second in my rankings of the 6 shorts.
Later on I waited in the line for the movie, The Wave. I was number 31 out of about 110 and got in for the world premier. It turned out to be a tremendous movie about a rebel teacher who has to teach his class about Fascism. The students react with the attitude of, yes, the Nazi’s are bad we get it, it will never happen again because we are smarter now. The teacher then manipulates them into forming a fascist party of there own called the wave and shows them how easy it is to fall into the trap of a dictatorship. The Wave spirals out of control quickly and the climax is extremely intense. Great movie.
Celebrity sightings today: Gael Garcia Bernal, Mark Boone Junior (Google them)
- Matt Romary
