Category: News

James Franco Channels Allen Ginsberg in the Sundance Opener ‘Howl’

A packed house for one the Sundance Film Festival’s openers, Howl, gave John Cooper a rousing wave of applause as he announced, “I’m John Cooper, director of the Sundance Film Festival. How did that happen?”
Begun as a doc with funds from the Sundance Institute, Howl’s directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, made the risky decision to switch course. “It just wasn’t working so we needed to do something bold,” said Friedman.

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Your Guide to Animation at the Sundance Film Festival

Greetings, weary traveler, and welcome to exotic Park City, land of enchantment and the finest short film treasures this side of the mountain.
Ah, I know what you came for, what you traveled far and wide to see—that’s right, our exceptional collection of animated wares. Well, you came to the right place, because this year contains a wealth of dazzling visceral gems and mesmerizing intimate affairs, along with all sorts of wonders in-between.

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The Digital Distribution of Short Films (an Art in Itself)

In October, it wasn’t uncommon that Sundance Film Festival shorts programmer Jon Korn added an extra hour of screening time to his routine 12-hour block. However, instead of picking up another title from the pile of literally thousands of unwatched films, he turned his focus to the online ether. Labeling it “the only type of multitasking I can do,” Korn ended up perusing his favorite sites: Funny or Die, YouTube, and countless other online destinations, all in search of putting together our 2010 Shorts Program.

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Surviving Sundance: How to Avoid the Dreaded Festival Flu

Getting sick at Sundance is hell. Sleep deprivation, cold, elevation, and the sheer number of walking germ factories make it inevitable Festivalgoers will come down with something. Roadside Attraction’s Dusty Smith puts the experience best… “At Sundance 2008 I caught the vicious bug that everyone was passing around which caused me to pass out three times during ‘Man On Wire’ and gave me a massive 20-minute nosebleed during ‘Pretty Bird.

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One on One: An Interview with the Sundance Institute’s Cara Mertes and Michelle Satter

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival is bringing 50,000 people to a snowy decked-with -colored-lights Main Street, that from a postcard could be any fabled intersection of Americana. But it’s a far hop, skip, and jump from any old crossroads; it’s busting with creative energy complete with artists/cinephiles/activists/politicians/entreprenuers/humanitarians all who form a singular parka-bundled community eager to engage, connect, and be changed by a fundamental love for story. Once we leave the mountain and return to our respective towns that hopefully have already taken down their holiday lights, the challenge to propel the momentum of the Festival and find new reaches for these stories is still an uphill climb.

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2010 Sundance Film Festival Announces Off-Screen Panels And Special Events

Park City, UT—The 2010 Sundance Film Festival announced today the lineup of panels and special events, offering festivalgoers in-depth conversation, lively debate, and critical insight into a broad range of cultural and social issues. As one of the premier film festivals in the world, the Sundance Film Festival annually attracts a diverse group of leaders from the worlds of art, entertainment, science, and technology and has become a global convergence for dialogue on art and culture – and art’s role as a catalyst for change.  The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah.

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2010 Sundance Film Festival Presents A Night Of Musical Storytelling

Park City, UT – Sundance Institute today announced the line-up for the 2010 Celebration of Music in Film, an annual concert honoring the art and imagination of film music. This year’s distinctive performances showcase the enduring and integral relationship of music to independent film. The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 21-31, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

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A Shot of Shorts

If anyone has any doubt as to the ‘health’ of filmmaking, this year’s abundance of short film submissions can certainly provide ample evidence to the contrary. With 6,092 short film submissions to the Sundance Film Festival this year, it’s quite clear we’re living in a video culture, and men, women, children, not to mention monkeys (see Fiddlestix by the Zellner Bros.), are all part of the vast and growing world in which anyone can make a film.

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2010 Sundance Film Festival Announces Jury Members

Park City, UT— The 2010 Sundance Film Festival announced today the members of five juries awarding prizes at the Festival, which runs January 21-31, 2010 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The juries collectively are comprised of individuals from the global arts community, each of whom brings unique perspective and range of experience.
All awards will be announced the evening of January 30 at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony, to be hosted by David Hyde Pierce at the Park City Racquet Club.

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