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Welcome to Sundance Film Festival
We arrived to Park City, Utah just before noon on Sunday, January 19. The press team welcomed guests and members of the press professionally and quickly during the weekend rush. The first four days at Sundance can be overwhelming for first time attendees. There is an unspoken rule when gathering coverage at Sundance. Media outlets compete for leverage in similar patterns as filmmakers in the 10 different categories for awards. A rush to get content up hit me suddenly after signing up for media. The idea of signing into my hotel was no where near me, as I ran to a screening of ‘Happy Valley‘ at The MARC Theater.
It was my first time watching a film at Sundance, and it was an excellent way to kick off my Sundance coverage. The eWaitlist is s system setup for guests to pick up tickets last second before the screening. There is hard copy tickets sold before the films at the box office. For those that are running last minute, (like myself in this case) the eWaitlist is a perfect way to still pick up a seat for the movie. The Sundance guests and volunteers embraced me with open arms as I made my way to the end of the line. It is important to arrive at the venue 30 minutes before the time that the film is scheduled to begin to secure your spot on the eWaitlist.
Once I was admitted to the show, a volunteer walked me behind the bleachers and to my seat. It was an adrenaline rush. There was a solid chance that I would have not made it in to the screening, but once I knew the gamble of the eWaitlist was going to pay off, I was ecstatic overall.
After watching ‘Happy Valley‘ midday Sunday, I made my way to Salt Lake City to catch a debate tournament at the University with my younger brother and his team. We live over a thousand miles apart, so when I get the chance to be supportive, I take up every opportunity to encourage his work. I stayed in Salt Lake City overnight, and woke up early and got checked in to the Mountain Village Resort on Monday afternoon.
When covering Sundance, I had no idea how far apart the venues were from one another. I found myself running almost a mile to the MARC Theater from the press check-in area on Sunday, but started to find out more on the bus system and shuttle systems that were running throughout the ten days of Sundance. Mountain Village provided a shuttle service when guests were unable to grab a free ride on the buses. It helps to plan ahead when traveling from venue to venue to secure seats for each screening.
Monday was packed with top tier events from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. It is truly a cinema lovers paradise. #FreeFail at Sundance is a series of panels, screenings and interactive discussions to help media producers see the error of their ways. The day was also packed with projects featuring New Frontier, and a remastered version of ‘Hoop Dreams’.
It marked the twentieth year anniversary for the remastered film. Steve James released ‘Life Itself’ this year. His latest film highlighted the brilliance behind Roger Ebert. Roger, Steve and myself all have rose up out of small markets with an undying passion for film and social change. Roger spoke about ‘Hoop Dreams’ after screening it in 1994.
The great American documentary. – Roger Ebert
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