Sundance Film Festival 2008

...Alright, folks—the biggest documentary festival in America ( 😁 ) actually kicked off this past Monday, yet it feels like we've all collectively decided to pretend it isn't happening 🙂. To make sure we don't stay in total silence, I figured I'd start a thread so we can actually talk about it! 🙂 As usual, you can find the full lineup over on the official website. The first wave of reviews and chatter is already starting to pick up, so it’s high time we weighed in 🙂. What's on your watchlist—if anything? Have you caught anything yet, and more importantly, what did you think? Are you happy with the selection this year (or are you missing Jennifer Lawrence? 😵)?

Unfortunately, due to some personal stuff, I'm totally skipping Sundance 😢 for now—though hopefully, that changes 🙂. Regardless, I definitely won't be missing the discussion this Saturday 😳

Watched an awesome Apple iPhone 3 last night, but man, that Danish The Spy Game was just a total snooze fest. I took a quick look at the lineup—there’s definitely some good stuff in there—but I’m running low on time... If I can swing it, I might catch the winners on Sunday.

I don't really have much to say about the Danish one, but regarding Apple... it's classic straight-to-the-point filmmaking, but with three really great leads. It was short, sweet, and stayed focused. It avoided all that cheap sentimentality, unnecessary dragging, and most importantly, it didn't fall into that tired "us versus them" cliché (though I'm sure not everyone will agree with me on that).

It felt like there weren't even that many people there, especially considering all the hype about massive media crowds. I guess most people finally realized they aren't that interested in animal sex 😁

So, I was just wondering, how much does a ticket actually run me?

Jose White23 said:I don't have much to say about the Danish one, but regarding Diana... it’s a classic, straightforward factual take, but man, those three protagonists were excellent. It was short and punchy, avoided the usual cheap sentimentality or dragging its feet, and most importantly, it didn't fall into that tired "us vs. them" trope (though I'm sure not everyone will agree with me there).

I'll give you that. My only gripe with the Apple film is that it felt a bit unfinished. For instance, I found myself wondering what those three protagonists actually did after the war ended. Probably just a budget issue—they couldn't afford to make it any longer.
As for the Danish flick? I didn't even finish it. Just typical Danish problems.

I caught a screening of War Dance a couple of nights ago—it covers war-torn Northern Kenya and follows kids heading to a national music and dance competition. I really appreciated how they handled the subject matter; it’s this heavy, tragic undertone because you’re looking at childhoods that have been completely shattered, yet it’s balanced by this incredible sense of optimism and raw vitality. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, honestly. Very moving.
I also managed to catch a short film by Lozinski and was pleasantly surprised—it was witty and felt quite gutsy for its time.
I’ve definitely missed out on a lot of what I intended to see—including the re-release of The Devil Came on Horseback today (yeah, yeah, I know, I clearly have a thing for stories about Africa 😉), but starting tomorrow—well, technically starting now since it's hard to type this in the middle of the night 😁—I’m planning to hit at least two screenings a day. 🙂

Sophia Hughes90 said:So, how much are the tickets?

http://www.festivalwebsite.com/html/en/tickets.php

Thanks so much for the link, though I actually managed to track it down myself in the meantime!

I honestly can’t believe how quiet this thread is. We’re talking about a handful of comments here, while that other discussion about the Tribeca Film Festival went on for pages. *sigh*
I managed to catch about ten screenings in total, and I’m sitting here wondering if this year's lineup was genuinely that stellar or if my standards have just shifted. Either way, everything I saw hit the mark. 🙂
Obviously, there isn't a uniform level of quality across the board, but sometimes a truly compelling subject matter can carry a film much further than its technical polish.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the turnout at the screenings. The crowds were solid, and the organization was surprisingly smooth—it was such a relief that the schedule actually stayed on track. They really nailed the timing this year. It wasn't like the mess we dealt with at the Toronto International Film Festival, where they’d schedule films for 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM, but then slot a thirty-minute short right before a massive three-hour epic. By the time the crowd settles in, the trailers run, and people filter out, you’re already forty-five minutes behind schedule. :rolajz:

All things considered, this year's Sundance Film Festival was 👍

steelstag4 said:I find it absolutely staggering that there are so few comments on this thread, and when it comes to that mess at the Tribeca Film Festival, we get pages upon pages of chatter. *sigh*
...
All things considered, this year's Sundance Film Festival 2008 was 👍

And honestly, what is there left to debate when the execution this year was so undeniably stellar? Perhaps the silence from everyone else is meant to be a testament to its quality. 👍
In light of how smoothly Sundance ran, the sheer organizational catastrophe at the Tribeca Film Festival feels even more egregious. It is frankly unacceptable—and patently unfair—that there isn't some sort of accountability system in place to reward excellence or penalize incompetence. It would be nothing if not common sense to take the massive amounts of capital that Tribeca squandered this year and redirect them toward those who actually demonstrate professionalism and competence. I noticed that Sundance introduced an award from Amnesty International for promoting human rights this year; well, one would think the folks over at Tribeca could have managed a similar thought, wouldn't they? Isn't that exactly their supposed area of expertise?

rustyseal40 said:Honestly, there isn't much left to say when this year was such a massive success; maybe the silence from the critics speaks for itself. 👍
After a Sundance Film Festival like this one, the organizational mess at the Tribeca Film Festival feels even more amateurish by comparison.

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I’d go as far as saying this was the best Sundance yet.