So much of the press coverage of Sundance in recent years has focused on the peripheral elements (Paris Hilton, agencie parties, swag, etc.) that have threatened to take the spotlight away from the films and their makers.
I actually didn't attend the festival this year, but I did go to the opening night of "The Sundance Institute at BAM," the ambitious, intriguing partnership between two of the most powerful arts organizations in the country.
Little Miss Sunshine, which scored a record-setting deal with Fox Searchlight, kicked off the event. The directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farris, came across as rereshingly humble as they introduced their movie, a well-crafted comedy that seems to hold a good chance of recouping on its eight-figure price tag when it's released later this year. Watching such a buzzed-about film beyond the confines of Eccles theater madness and dealmaking frenzy was refreshing, and the party afterwards had, at least in comparison to a overcrowded Park City event, a relaxed, celebratory feel to it.
Thankfully, the 14-feature program of 2006 titles isn't just about the big sellers -- last night's film, for example, was the omnibus art-porn film
Districted. The series, which runs through May 21, also includes a concert series, a retrospective and a focus on the Sundance Institute's labs. More info is available at
here. If you're based in NYC, you should try to check it out.
#
posted by Matthew Ross @ 5/14/2006 10:44:00 PM
Comments (0)
