Sundance

Thursday, January 18----I will freely admit it….I’ve got a little bit of a problem with Sundance. First, there is the location. As a New York City boy, I have always been more impressed with film festivals that happen in real cities, as opposed to the rarified environment of beach resorts (Cannes, Deauville), mountain retreats (Sundance, Telluride) or country wilds (The Hamptons). For me, there is no replacing the mixed vitality of a first class festival that is part of the fabric of a diverse city. Urban festivals, for me anyway, strike a responsive chord and create a more meaningful and profound cinematic experience. It doesn’t get much better than the audience high at film festivals in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Berlin and London.

But ok, I will play along….pack my snowshoes, wool hat and my warmest sweater....and pretend that a film festival set in a ski resort in the middle of winter is exactly my cup of tea. Aside from the proximity to Robert Redford’s legendary compound, even Sundance afficianados freely admit that Park City is lacking in many of the things that are essential for a public festival….limited theater capacity, lack of efficient public transit (although the Festival valiantly tries with its free shuttle bus service) and the excesses of a ski resort (jacked up prices, no parking, crowded narrow streets). And let’s not even mention the cold…..this year setting a record of 5 below zero on the first night of arrival.

Also the crowds...although there is a certain quotient of Festival attendees drawn from the general public, the vast majority of the activity is inside the industry. So, you are at a professional event, but you're not; you're participating in a festival-cum-film-market, but you're not. There seem to be more hustlers and hangers-on and fewer non-professional film buffs. And, did I mention, it's frigging cold....

One of the vexing questions for me has always been: why have a film festival at a ski resort where the attendees are too busy to ski? While the restaurants do a bang-up business (especially those that offer their special “festival menus” that quadruple the price of a hamburger during Festival week), and the hotels and condominiums can charge high-season top-dollar rates, the fact is that Sundance is expensive, difficult to negotiate, and downright stressful at times.

But ok, before I dwell too much on the negative, it’s important to remember the promise of Sundance…..the dreams and the dreamers, who come together in a communal ritual of palpable intensity. There is no church but the church of film. And if you've come to this not terribly convenient spot, it is because of an abiding passion in cinema, celebrity and the whole media parade. Even if you are here to do business, there are many more places infinitely more efficient. But Sundance has the spark, and it is the alchemy that can ignite careers that continues to draw the hopefuls.

Yes, the Sundance magic does touch a few films and filmmakers each year. The films, which all are pretty much world premieres, and therefore unknown quantities, begin as a blank page, upon which the aspirations of fledgling filmmakers, aggressive agents and desperate distributors are etched. Only time will tell if a heralded film becomes the next LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (boffo) or the next HAPPY, TEXAS (bomb), but the dream remains potent and remarkably alive.

So, while I bristle at the lack of convenience and shiver from the cold, I am still drawn to this unlikely place. Promise is as palpable in the air as the condensation of your breath. Hope is rarified, particularly in this high mountain altitude. And for this journalist, the ability to see new films, to interview film directors, to check the pulse of the industry, brings its own sense of pleasure. Some, please come join on this journey, where hope springs eternal, unless it gets frozen first (did I mention how frigging cold it is here?).

Sandy Mandelberger
Sundance Online Dailies Editor