Sundance Film Festival. The most important film festival in America. A time in which promising new voices in film, famous celebrities, fresh-faced film students, rich retirees, artsy hipsters, studio bigwigs and people who just so happen to live nearby can mingle peacefully while binging on the latest independent films in picturesque Park City, Utah.
As a first time festival go-er, I wasn’t entirely sure of what to expect. Would I find the films incomprehensibly artsy? More brilliant than anything I’d ever seen? Would I be brushing shoulders with celebs? Perhaps finding myself seated near someone famous in one of Park City’s many theaters? Would I be present at a screening of a film that turned out to be the next Reservoir Dogs, Little Miss Sunshine, Saw, Memento or Blair Witch Project?
Looking back now, I can confirm that Sundance films range from pretentious to crowd-pleasing, inscrutable to straightforward, hilarious to heart wrenching and all other conceivable adjectives that could be used to describe a film. There are documentaries and experiments in surrealism, comedies and thrillers, American westerns as well as Indonesian and Afghani films and even a series of midnight horror flicks.
Yet, the incredible variety of films present at the festival alone is not entirely what makes it such a spectacular environment that everyone, even those who don’t consider themselves film aficionados, should experience at least once. No, of all the aspects of Sundance and other film festivals, it’s the air of possibility that’s most exciting.
Seeing a film at a festival, particularly when it’s a completely unknown work, is unlike any other film-going experienced in our hyper-connected, spoiler saturated and Rotten Tomatoes faithful world (It’s possible that not everyone bases any and all film related decisions on Rotten Tomatoes … But honestly? I generally do).
When was the last time any of us entered a theater and could honestly say, “I have only a vague idea of what this film is about” or “I haven’t seen all the best moments of this film in a trailer?” And, though I respect critics, there’s something to be said for placing yourself in the hands of a new storyteller and hoping they’ve made something that’s worth your time.
Even more thrilling than the relative mystery of the film you’re seeing is contemplating its future prospects. One of the most invigorating parts of attending a festival is being in the room with both the artists and hundreds or thousands of people who aren’t afraid to show their exuberance for art, and being swept up in the thrill of contemplating what COULD be. Will this revelatory documentary make an impact on the world? Years from now, will this be the trippy cult favorite of college students everywhere?
On that note, I’d like to predict right here right now that Escape From Tomorrow will have a long and prosperous cult life ahead of it. This little film was shot illegally in Disney World and explores the twisted side of entertainment culture through the lens of a normal family as the father becomes progressively more unhinged on the last day of their dream vacation.
All you really need to know is that there are demonic hallucinations of Disney rides, an obsession with French teenage girls, a villain on a motorized chair and a human death via coughing up furballs (aka “Cat Flu”). Basically, the cult status of this film is in the bag. If the possibility of seeing that doesn’t motivate you to attend festivals, I don’t know what will. In all seriousness though, there are “normal” films as well, I promise.
So, all in all, what I’m saying is even if you can’t afford to head out to Sundance anytime soon, do support out the work of artists at your local film festivals. Sure festival tickets may sometimes be expensive (Sundance are $15 a pop), but does your $12 Real 3D ticket get you a Q&A with the creators afterwards?
Also, keep a lookout for all the great Sundance films heading to theaters in 2013, including some featuring big name actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Ellen Page, Amy Poehler and Michael Cera. Many of these indies have already been bought for theatrical distribution. Let’s show Hollywood that’s we’re interested in more than just Transformers 7: Decimation by Extraterrestrial Monster Trucks.
