The Slamdance Film Festival, often called the ‘independent alternative’ fest held in Park City, Utah (January 21-28, 2005), unveiled its line up with a record 23 World and US feature premiers (including works-in-progress) as well as a striking departure for its Opening and Closing Night films.Two documentaries will bookend the festival: opening the festival is Mad Hot Ballroom (Marilyn Agrelo: USA), a gloriously fun chronicle of New York kids training for a ballroom dance contest. The film, ...

New York’s IFP Market Proves Central for IndependentsIndependent productions are multiplying exponentially, driven by funding from an expanding film industry, an unending number of film school graduates, the multiplication of distribution technologies and, last not lest, ever cheapening production technologies. Whereas Emanuel Levy counted only 50 independent productions in 1998 and 1000 in 1998, only six years later the number jumped to about 2000 last year with no end count in sight. I...