Sundance Film Festival (July 28 - Aug 1)

Man, if I’m gonna go out and get wasted, I’m doing it in Monaco or somewhere else—not at FF.
FF is its own thing, and it deserves some respect, I guess.

Exactly. I’ve been hearing about the Sundance Film Festival for years, and yesterday I finally went to catch "Hours"... the festival is probably great—for the directors, actors, and the rest of the crew who spend the week stuffing themselves with truffle pasta and acting high and mighty in their shorts...
But for us regular people? First, they bleed you dry for parking down below $3.25... fine, whatever... but if I'm paying for parking AND I have a ticket for the screening, why on earth do I have to shell out an extra $3.25 for a shuttle to take me up the hill? That bus should be free if they're already gouging you on everything else..
The food options? Nonexistent. The only thing you can actually eat there is some greasy sliders ($10 4 sliders!). Honestly, if they just cooked up a massive batch of stew and sold it for cheap at the campsite down below, it wouldn't be such a disgrace. Could they not have organized this better? And while you're waiting for that miserable bus, they blast this totally inappropriate music... then the bus barely makes it to the top because, naturally, it's packed to the gills..
And look, after I finally fought my way through the crowd to see "Hours," the entrance and ticket checking felt like something only a younger crowd could survive. It's just shoving, pushing, trampling... it really could have been managed better
"Hours" was excellent, and seeing it outdoors was wonderful, but the second the film ended and I stepped out of the plaza, I was hit by a wall of smoke from sliders, popcorn, and other "local specialties"...
Then you've got these hordes of stumbling kids who apparently think spending their year traveling just to get drunk in Napa Valley is a good idea... I truly don't get it...😕

newcomer said:I was just reading an article in The New York Times claiming there are more social climbers than actual cinephiles attending this year's festival. So, come on, let's settle this—who among us is actually here for the art, and who's just here for the red carpet? 😁

Well, I've personally sat through 23 films so far, so if we're going by the numbers, I'm definitely leaning toward the cinephile side of the fence! 🙂

Too true. Everything has gone completely south. I’m totally broke. And at the Sundance Film Festival, there are just more and more tourists wandering around who don't have the slightest clue what they're even doing there. 😕There was way too much hype about how great things were going to be, and now look at this mess. On top of that, Grlic wants his own private festival, leaving those poor souls at the campsite getting absolutely ripped off.

...I think I'd head back to Napa Valley too... just for those truffles... woah! And the Manchestres!!

Honestly, when I was in Napa Valley, I didn't see any of that truffle or gourmet stuff everyone talks about. It all just boils down to cheap street food. Don't get me wrong, I love a good burger as much as the next guy, but still...

you're looking in all the wrong places 😁 😁it's right there in the middle of Times Square! everywhere, really... UGH, those burgers! why would anyone try to dress up a burger like that!?

I’ve been eating nothing but fast food three times a day for about four days now. 😁

And honestly, I'm feeling the consequences. 😁

On the bright side, my experience at the Sundance Film Festival was actually quite solid. Great films, great atmosphere, and plenty of fun.

I don't understand why people are complaining about the large number of young people attending. What exactly would you prefer? A crowd of makeup artists and pretentious film critics who show up to watch a movie, only to spend the rest of their time in ultra-expensive casinos, restaurants, and hotels, loudly debating some director's artistic retrospective?

It's a shame I didn't have more money to catch more screenings. I specifically regret missing Punch-Drunk Love and The Hours, though I assume they'll end up in video rental stores soon enough, so it isn't a huge loss.

I have to admit, Russian Ark caught me completely off guard. I was expecting some claustrophobic film set in a single room where people just walk in and out, but instead... well, I was totally blindsided.

Ugh... finally getting some decent sleep in my own bed after five days straight.😁
Personally, I thought the festival was awesome. The new campsite was kind of a disaster, but you could always find a decent spot nearby to crash (truth be told, the rate was $333)..
Hey, lonescout2, I seriously ate so much food I’m still feeling it. Only thing is, I don't get why they call it "manestra" when there isn't any actual soup involved.😁
..The movies were great and the crowd was solid. Of course, there were tons of people who didn't even care about the films, though it seemed like they mostly showed up for the first and last day. On the final day, the crowds were so massive that the festival vibe basically died and turned into some local seafood festival. But hey, if you knew what you wanted to see, you saw it (I got everything for free😁), and the daytime stuff like workshops and talks was excellent...

And Banderas, I'll believe you were actually at the festival only if you show me you were wearing an EKV or Xet shirt.😁

Jose Miller17 said:Personally, I thought the festival was fantastic. The new campsite was a bit of a disaster, but you could find some decent places to crash nearby (truth be told, the rates were $333)..

Are you joining them too, my son? 😁
We weren't harassed, nor were we even noticed (we possessed a certain cloak of minor invisibility 😁)

What are you even saying? It’s just a pathetic attempt to squeeze money out of people who don't have any cash to spare.🙄
Look, I didn't have much cash myself, but I started backing away pretty fast once I saw how those "organs" were being moved.😁

The last day was basically one giant, chaotic party.
🙂

Did I already mention those showers with the coldest water in the entire universe?
Anyone here ever volunteer... was it actually worth it?

I managed to squeeze in 25 out of the 27 films on the lineup. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have made it through without a steady supply of Red Bull, so I'm officially giving them all my eternal gratitude right now. 🙏

The side programming was actually pretty solid too—especially the sessions hosted by the USC School of Cinematic Arts—though it did feel like Hrvoje Hribar had to play the role of the strict classroom teacher just to keep everyone in line.

Come on, man, tell me which movies you actually haven't seen yet.
Now I’m curious—which two are we talking about?
I’ve watched pretty much everything within my budget, specifically: >, >, >, >, >, and I think there were a few others, but I can't recall them off the top of my head right now...

I haven't actually seen the Russian "Coward"—which is honestly my loss—but man, I was a total wreck just picking up my passes at the press center.

The second one on my list was Rušinović’s "World Monster"—I made sure to catch his lecture on storyboarding just so he wouldn't hold it against me. 😉

When I mentioned those '27 possibilities,' I was referring to the main lineup and the retrospective on new Russian cinema.

A quick little snapshot of this year's Sundance Film Festival: it feels like every single movie is some heavy, depressing drama where the goal is either to kill off the protagonist or just destroy everyone else's spirit (Lars von Trier is leading the pack there—but then again, who else would 🙂?).
At least five of the films dealt with illegal immigrants or the messy fallout of societal transitions (think things like "Reserve Part," "In This World," "Lilja 4-ever," "The West," and "Struggle").
The only real feel-good movie I found was "Almost an Ordinary Story" from South East Europe.

Here are the ones that really stuck with me:

"Punch-Drunk Love" by Paul Thomas Anderson (he's a pretty cool guy, by the way), USA
"Morvern Callar" by Lynne Ramsay, Ireland/UK
"Noi Albinoi" by Dagur Kárar, Iceland
"Fiesta de Margerita" by Renato Falcao, Brazil/USA
"Divine Intervention" by Ella Suleiman, Palestine/France
"Winter Sleep" by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey

I’m genuinely kicking myself for missing the chance to see Punch-Drunk Love. Both that and Lilja 4-ever were high on my watchlist, yet somehow I missed out on one from the jump and completely whiffed on the other. It’s honestly pretty pathetic. 🙄
There will be other opportunities, so I won't dwell on it too much—especially since I’m about 90% certain they'll turn up eventually, if not at the cinema, then at least on a streaming service here in the States.

I’m pretty sure these are definitely headed for distribution:

"Punch-Drunk Love"
"Bowling for Columbine" (honestly, it should have been released already)
"The Hours" (this one's also long overdue)
"Hero"
"Lilja 4-ever"
"Dogville"

You know, Hribar is such a complete idiot. All that nonsense he was spouting at those schools with Anderson and Holland... just painful.😁
...and then there was that bit where he tried to convince Anderson he’d filmed something for TV. Anderson keeps telling him he didn't, but Hribar just keeps insisting he did, while Anderson is just laughing like, "Look, I'm the one who actually knows if I filmed it or not."🙏 🙏 🙏

I have this nagging feeling that Hribar actually claimed "Boogie Nights" was Anderson's directorial debut, which is pretty funny considering this guy was sitting right there next to him!
The workshop probably would have been even better if Anderson had just handled it himself.

To be honest, I couldn't make it to every single session, and even when I did show up, I usually had to dash off early just to make sure I didn't miss the start of the next movie.

That session on production featuring Mike Downey and Sam Taylor was actually really great.