I finally went to the Sundance Film Festival for the first time in my life. What a fantastic experience. Even though I had spent nearly 3 weeks in Argentina, my trip to Sundance equaled my jaunt to the Southern Hemisphere in terms of impact. Sundance was exactly what everyone had told me it would be - amazing. From the moment I stepped off the plane, the air in Utah was crisp. Excitement was around me. The air was buzzing. Even people waiting at the baggage claim were excited. After a full day spent at the airport where we met a cool AOL film critic, we were finally on our way to our condos. The view of the mountains was lovely.
Park City itself is beautiful. A quaint town become famous for Sundance and the Winter Olympics was the perfect setting, albeit cold and slushy, for Sundance. Although I spent each day doing a whole lot of waiting to buy tickets or to see films or get from theater to theater, it just didn't matter. After each film, I had an intense appreciation for what goes into the making of a film. One of the best things about Sundance is that the director, producer, and most of the cast stays for a Q&A at the end of the film. You watch the film and come to your own interpretation and get the added bonus of finding out why a director cast the movie in a particular way, the bigger statement he's trying to make about hope and life, and maybe even get to spot a celebrity or two. I'll never forget my first flick there - the premiere of The Yellow Handkerchief at the ginormous Eccles Theater.
Despite a few bumps along the road and the fact that my toes almost froze off due to a severe lack in judgement in packing my clothes, I left Sundance exhilarated. Fully appreciative of film, especially independent film, armed with a glimpse into the movie industry I had never gotten before, and an intense realization of how small the world truly is. (I met another AOL film critic on the bus who worked with the one we met in the SLC airport. And then bumped into him at the Netflix party. And then was approached by a producer who sat next to me on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin over a year and a half ago and actually remembered me. Crazy.)
In honor of my time there, I still sport my little "focus on film" pin from Sundance on my winter coat.
