OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FILM DECK. Thoughts from Sundance, January 2006
by LisaBeth Weber. copyright 2007
SUNDANCE.
The word itself carries a cache that film lovers here, there, and everywhere, absorb with big eyes of wonder. We’ve all gazed at the curves of wheat that encase a film title on
screen and in print, hoping to trust the wheat as an endorsement. Though it’s widely known that the wheat goes beyond Sundance, there is an inexplicable association between the two that
remains universal.
Personally, this film lover owes a debt of gratitude to the County Theatre in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. If it weren’t for “The County”, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to visit so many amazing and varied films over the years. To have such a wonderful film house so close by has quite possibly changed many lives, including my own. It helped form my interest in independent film, which eventually led me to the road that is SUNDANCE. Long live THE COUNTY!
EN ROUTE TO SUNDANCE. 17 January, 2006, Phoenix, Arizona.
Oh yeah, there’s Mormons there too.
How could I have forgotten this important and perhaps needless to say pervasive point? Perhaps because it’s my first trip to Utah, well….Park City, well….SUNDANCE, perhaps because I’m an “a-religious agnostic nostalgic Jew”, perhaps I was too engrossed in my gatherings of preparing for my virginal journey to this most fabled film festival. One where no doubt, us film lovers may very well be considered the “strange” ones, travelers from far off lands wearing too much black (the locals call them “PIB’s”, as in People in Black) and potentially donning a pair of skis between flicks.
Regardless, as I gaze around the Southwest Gate C-6 waiting area in Phoenix, in between my origin of Philadelphia and the sainted Salt Lake City home of the above mentioned Mormon folk, I observe the sparse crowd to see if anyone looks like they are headed to Sundance. Filmmakers looking like Beatniks, poring over the Festival program, etc. So far, there is one with the New York times, one with a Sudoku book, one with kids books and kids, and aha, a woman of a certain age closely clutching and reading, The Book of Mormon. Welcome to Utah.
SUNDANCE SNOWSTORM. 18 JANUARY, 2006.
I guess you can’t really call them snowflakes. They’re too round. I guess you can’t really call them snowballs. They’re too teeny. They kinda look like those eency-weency little round pieces of Styrofoam, but you can’t call them that. It’s too artificial. So I’ll just call it snow. Snow as it should be. Snow that brings joy to this winter-shy writer as it drifts from above. It’s the day before the start of Sundance. No star sightings yet. That is, unless you want to count the snow.
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDANCE!!
Idyllic surroundings. Mountain after mountain. Folks with skis and snowboards on the always FREE city transit bus system. Sweet little downtown reflected on many a picture perfect postcard, and could be a film scene all on its own. A town ski lift that literally goes directly over Main Street. Stars and star gazers. More stars and more star gazers. More stars shopping and movie-ing. The locals. The media. The shops. The restaurants. And oh yes, movies, the common denominator of it all, shining presently among the effervescent snow showers.
There are seven Sundance Theaters in Park City, and five others scattered about, including Salt Lake City, and of course, the renowned SUNDANCE Resort. All told, there are 16 screens, in which to try to see 120 feature length films, and 80 shorts over 10 “daze”. It is hard to imagine attending nearly as many movies as one would like, though many have tried! That brings us to the fun of people watching, and watching people as they move from theater to theater, bus to bus, line to line, and hopefully when all is said and done, they’ve mostly been moved by the films themselves.
In order to best experience Sundance, one needs to enjoy the modes of transport in Park City, namely the busses and your feet. These are truly the best ways to get around. Though it is true that people have been known to drive and park in town, this is, shall we say, not highly recommended. Another tip from your friendly neighborhood accidental tour guide is to leave plenty of time between screenings to get from theater to theater. Believe me, you will be thanking yourself, and your experience will be much more relaxed. Now all one has to do is get tickets. Ah, getting tickets. Take a deep breath, be prepared, and be glad that you have nearly a whole year to plan ahead for Sundance 2007. I feel it is my civic duty to clue you in. Be ready to plan ahead, well, and for possibly any scenario from having that much sought after ticket in hand, to waiting on the infamous wait list lines. If you go to Sundance with nary a ticket in hand and you’re not the cousin of a filmmaker, or Brad Pitt, then too bad for you. But the good news is, there’s lots of time to learn “the art of purchasing tickets for Sundance” before the next festival. It isn’t that the wonderful folks at Sundance want to have people jump through hoops. In fact, there is a rhyme to the reason, and the methods they have come up with have alleviated major internet log jams and box office traffic nightmares. So the word to the wise is, months in advance of the festival, study www.sundance.org like you were studying for finals and you’ll be just fine. Mostly it involves things like pre-registering ($5.00 fee) to secure a date and time (sent to you via e-mail) when you can place your ticket orders. And in order to know what tickets to buy, the festival program is available weeks before your ordering time. This gives you the window to peruse the wonderfully in depth, yet comprehensive program book and figure out which films you want to see. And let me caution you again. Be sure you have a second and third choice at the ready, as most, if not all films sell out before the festival begins! And the types of ticket packages are another whole adventure. Read the descriptions well and then read them again.
Didn’t get the tickets you wanted? Welcome to the wonderful world of the waitlist line. Some have heat. Some don’t. Sometimes you get a seat with no problem, sometimes you don’t. But to tell you the truth, the wait list lines are legendary in their own right, and add their own form of “je ne sais crois” to the adventure that is Sundance. A seasoned Sundancer can begin to inherently sense which theater/film combo may have the best chance of getting a seat, especially as the festival gets into the meat of the week. After the first weekend of more stars per capita than an Oscar night in L.A., things drop off considerably, and suddenly one realizes that the middle of the week quite possibly may be the best time to catch a film. If you’re not that lucky, then dress warm, get a cup of coffee, and join the wait list line. Hey, you never know, that elusive contact you’ve been trying to meet could be standing right next to you! Can you say captive audience?
LIGHTS, CAMERA, SCREENING!
It’s cold, it’s snowing. Or it’s not that cold. The sun is out and warms your back like a summer day, ok, almost. The sun goes behind the mountain, and the temperature drops dramatically, just like the locals say. It’s nighttime. You can see your breath. The house is open and you’re in the queue, ticket in a gloved hand, coffee in the other, happily anticipating the film and its makers, hoping that yours may be the question that gets chosen during the Q & A. Everyone takes their seats. It’s a premiere. There’s excitement in the air. One of the Sundance programmers introduces the film, and possibly the makers, while eyes and heads gaze around and forward to see the faces behind the film. The lights dim and the ever-present SUNDANCE trailer awaits your gaze on the screen. You’ve seen it once before, 7 times before, 22 times before, yet each time it greets you, it’s like an old friend you’re happy to catch up with. The sponsor credits roll, and then it’s sit back, relax, and revel in how lucky you feel to be witnessing a filmmakers dream come true, and in an unspoken way, sharing the room with them at Sundance. The film is beautifully shot. It’s funny, it’s not. It’s a drama, it’s a documentary. You love it, you don’t. You’d see it again. No you wouldn’t. You don’t know what to make of it. It’s the most incredible film you’ve ever seen. You liked it but didn’t understand it. It moved you like nothing ever has. You laughed your ass off. You’d recommend it to friends. You liked the characters but not the plot. You liked the plot but not the characters. You cried. You cried more. You studied the credits. You stayed for the Q & A, knowing your question would be oh so meaningful to the filmmaker. You’re part of a unique audience. A Sundance audience. A voting audience. Don’t forget to cast that all important ballot after the screening. Your vote does count, as all votes should.
VOLUNTEERISM. A HECK OF A WAY TO SUNDANCE.
I recommend it, if you have the time, and the okey-dokey to commit to 10 ‘daze’ of full-time volunteering, plus training. Only local types can part-time volunteer, which is understandable once you learn the full scope of all things Sundance. Most Sundance jobs are at the various theaters, with various duties from ticket taker, to usher, to box office, to crowd liaison, and so on, and each is supervised by a Team Leader at each theater. I was lucky enough to be ‘hired’ as TEAM LEADER at the renowned EGYPTIAN THEATER, one of the original anchor theaters of Sundance, and truly the only Sundance venue that looks like an old-fashioned movie house. With its resounding Egyptian motif, it is one screen, 266 seats, and to this writer’s delight, was prominently featured in the NEW YORK TIMES with a picture that included one of our very own crew! The team leader works closely with the Manager and Assistant Manager, and is in charge of the theater team volunteers, making sure that all operations are running smoothly and continue to do so throughout the festival, before, during, and after each individual screening. This entails a swell attitude, quick thinking, and an overall ability to work and play well with others. There’s more to it than that of course, but suffice it to say, it’s kinda like being another manager. It was an incredible experience, one that I would repeat in a heartbeat, and also would be broken-hearted if I didn’t get to work with the same people next year. Friendships were born, locals helped us out-of-towners find out where the good soup was, folks gathered together after shifts to go out to a film (imagine that!) and so on. We were a great team, and in some ways, it still feels surreal to be home, like I was in some amazing summer camp and I can’t wait to go back.
AND NOW TO THE TIME-SENSITIVE PORTION OF OUR SHOW.
So, you want to know about movies, films, the silver screen! What was hot and/or not? Bearing in mind that (a) I didn’t always get to see my own personal hot list of films due to the work schedule, (b) I don’t claim to be a film critic, and (c) the dog ate my homework, here in no particular order is my commentary on actual films Sundance, with a rating of 1-5 (five being the best). For actual film details, and names of award winners, visit www.sundance.org.
· KINKY BOOTS - 5. Hysterical. Great cast, script, and theme. Audiences loved it.
· ADAM'S APPLES - 4. Wonderfully quirky, like a Danish Cohn brothers.
· FACTOTUM - 2. Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor made me want to see this film and they played their parts well. Liked some scenes, but overall too dark and depressing for this viewer. Lots of other folks liked it. Probably should’ve given it a 3.
· SOMEBODIES - 5. Filmed in 19 days by HADJI. He wrote it, starred in it, and directed it, yet it didn't feel forced at all. Whole audience at the Eccles Theater (1300 seats) laughed in all the right places. A very real and non-stereotyped window into a young African-American life.
· ALL ABOARD (the Rosie O'Donnell film) - 4. About 500 gay families taking a cruise together. Surprisingly enjoyable film, despite skeptical audiences…not about the subject matter, but about whether it would make for a good film. Funny, touching, and colorfully shot by a very talented filmmaker.
· COME EARLY MORNING - 5. Good story film with Ashley Judd. Grew on me more afterwards.
· SHERRY BABY - 4. Another good story film, with Maggie Gyllenhall. Also sank in more afterwards.
· KISS ME NOT ON THE EYES - 4. Gorgeous Lebanese film in Arabic, beautiful music, eyes into another culture.
· VIVA ZAPITIERA – 3. I thought the subject matter was great. I thought the film itself fell short. About Berlusconi's overtaking of the media. Most popular documentary in Europe, featuring political comedienne Sabina Guzzanti, considered to be the “Jon Stewart” of Italy.
· LEONARD COHEN, I'M YOUR MAN - 4. Musical and poetic approach to this master of word and more, featuring musical acts Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Bono, et. al. Very enjoyable, especially for a fan.
Amazingly and unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any of the award winners, even though most of them were on my hot list. Hopefully as award winners, they’ll stand a much better chance of being released so that we can all see them at the County Theater in the coming months. However, presently there are already some coming attractions at the County Theater that were at Sundance ’06!
· ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL - Heard medium response/reaction, but looks very interesting, especially for this art school graduate! With John Malkovich and Anjelica Huston.
· FRIENDS WITH MONEY - Of course this one had big buzz, with Jennifer Aniston, et. al. Friends with tickets liked it!
· THANK YOU FOR SMOKING - Heard controversial reactions while riding the bus in Park City. Makes me want to see it even more!
As to some of the films that were very “buzzy” at Sundance, I present to you:
· LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (HIGH buzz, and bought by FOX Searchlight for 10 million)
· STAY
· GOD GREW TIRED OF US (One of the most talked about films at Sundance, about the lost boys of Sudan).
· MADEINUSA
· QUINCEANERA
· SOLO DIOS SABE
· SON OF MAN
· A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS (produced by Sting’s wife, Trudy Styler).
· IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
· AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
· NO. 2
· STEPHANIE DALEY
· ‘TIS AUTUMN – THE SEARCH FOR JACKIE PARIS
· WORDPLAY
As to some other films that seemed somewhat buzzy and/or good things were heard about:
· SONGBIRDS
· FORGIVING THE FRANKLINS
· FLANNEL PAJAMAS
· THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
· AMERICAN BLACKOUT
· BLACK GOLD
· EVE AND THE FIREHORSE
· DARWIN AWARDS
· WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?
ALRIGHT MR. DEMILLE, I’M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP.
I had the fortunate opportunity to interview a handful of Sundance people, including JOHN COOPER, the Senior Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival. When I asked him what the hardest part of programming a festival like Sundance was, he spoke about how important it is to remain objective, and stay open. “You want to be a critic, but you can’t. You have to keep your heart open to all these dreams that people have. You don’t always like the style [of film], but you have to think about the audience. Cooper went on to say that a lot of people compare the programmers to critics, but that they don’t always understand that programming an entire festival involves more than viewing one film at a time. In keeping with the idea of being objective and pleasing many different tastes, he remarked, “When was the last time you saw 120 films that you liked in a year?”
Speaking with Cooper about some of the changes he’s seen in the festival in recent years, he reflected on how the filmmakers are “younger and younger” these days: “The medium of filmmaking is so powerful. The ‘American Dream’ used to be to ‘write the Great American novel’, or ‘to be a rock star’. The last couple of years, I’ve seen that switch to ‘being a filmmaker’.”
I went on to ask if he felt that had anything to do with how accessible filmmaking has become in the recent past. He replied, “To a certain extent. The accessibility of the technology helps to get people interested in filmmaking and they take it from there.” It was inspiring to hear this well informed and valued participant in the process speak so positively about the young filmmakers. He clearly sees what is perhaps the default status of young filmmakers carrying the torch of filmmaking into the future.
SUNDAY BRUNCH AT 350 MAIN. CREAM AND SUGAR?
I may not have been invited to the Paris Hilton soiree, and I may not care, but I WAS invited to the lovely Sunday brunch for the much anticipated documentary, WORDPLAY. Before going any further, I should say that unfortunately I was not able to see the film due to my work schedule. However, I had a most delightful time at the brunch, dining with the filmmaker’s (Patrick Creadon) parents, Patrick and Carol Creadon. Another guest at the table was Merl Reagle, one of the top puzzle masters in the country, who also happens to do the puzzle for the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. He mentioned that the Philadelphia area was one of the largest audiences he’s ever had for a book signing, and moments later, he was rattling off about 10 anagrams for my name right off the top of his head. It was a memorable time, and I learned more about the art of the Crossword than I ever thought possible over omelets.
Upon arriving, there were NEW YORK TIMES Sunday Magazines from that day at each table, of which certain tables full of guests had already completed in mere minutes and I’m not kidding. Turns out they were part of the cast, and in turn, part of a small but unforgettable population of master crossword puzzlers. My mom used to do the Sunday New York times puzzle in a more expected amount of time, which was certainly impressive enough to me as a kid, but to walk past these tables of people with the puzzle completely completed before they finished their first cup of coffee was truly astounding. I went from there to discussing Patrick’s interest in filmmaking with his mom, and who would know better than her! In her own words, “When Pat was 14, he played the lead in a movie about Tom Sawyer. It was on CBS and it was called, “Rascals and Robbers” (The Further Adventures of Huck Finn). Pat said to me, ‘Someday I’d like to be in the business, but not in front of the camera, behind.’ So even at 14, he had a desire to be in the business.”
Next, I had the chance to ask Patrick himself to comment about his film. “The surprising thing about WORDPLAY is that it’s a laugh out loud funny film and appeals to a very broad audience. There were people at the screening from 12 to 83 years old and it really resonates. We didn’t want to make a tiny little movie. We wanted to make a movie about a little slice of America. We did, and it’s called WORDPLAY.”
And it didn’t stop there. The other man of the hour, and subject of the film, was puzzle master extraordinaire, Will Shortz, New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor, and regular contributor on NPR (NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO). As a faithful NPR listener and fan myself, it was like watching art come to life when Will presented a live puzzle quiz to the guests. Of course with all those puzzle masters in the house, the rest of us barely stood a chance, but a great time was had by all, with laughter and puzzles abounding. I had a few minutes to chat with Will, and he remarked about how thrilling it is to be featured in a documentary about the world of crossword puzzles. “I’m blessed to work with some of the most educated and cultured people in the country. I can throw anything at puzzle solvers and know they’ll be able to handle it.” He hopes that many people will get to see the film, and we can all agree that everyone can handle that.
Alas, other participants in the film, like Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, and the Indigo Girls were not present for the brunch, but they are featured in the film, being the puzzle lovers that they are!
IN CLOSING, THE FESTIVAL OF FESTIVALS.
I’d go back in a heartbeat. The quintessential film festival, where if you’re not wearing jeans and polar fleece, you’re probably overdressed. Where much of the mainstream media and most entertainment shows make it look like it’s all about the red carpet. Where festival goers, and film lovers know it’s not about the red carpet, it’s about the films, and about being a pearl, in the heart of the snow. And now, it’s off to the more local and rapidly growing PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL, filled with 2 weeks of nearly 300 films from all around the world. I’ll once again be reunited with (and working for) the unflappable Bill Kline, head of Guest Services at Philly, and our manager extraordinaire at the previously mentioned Egyptian Theater at Sundance. Film Festivals are lucky to have someone like Bill at whichever helm he is running at the time. A calm, cool, and collected driving force, he keeps the ship fun and professional all at the same time. So, start planning for Sundance 2007, and in the meantime, come meet us in Philly, at another festival of festivals, right here in the backyard!