“Sundance 2016”

Thanks to the generosity of Dave and Terry Camarata I got to spend a week enjoying this film paradise!  I had been to Sundance fifteen  years ago when one of my best friends, Joel Lasker invited me to see the premiere of his brother Philip’s film, “The Man from Elysian Fields”.   It was a wonderful albeit brief experience.  We saw just the one movie but in the process were squeezed into a Marriott sleeping room to witness James Coburn, Andy Garcia and Olivia Williams interviewed.  We also sat in the reserved section for the movie next to Garcia and Williams.  James Coburn made a big splash during the Q&A and the film was a rousing Sundance success.  Search for it sometime.  It will be worth your time.  Other notable cast members included Angelica Huston, Julianna Marguiles and surprise of all surprises, Mick Jaggar! Coburn passed not long after the film’s release.  One of his lines was quite fitting.  Asked what he would change if he could live his life over he replied,   “Not a f*****g thing!”

Flash forward, here I am at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival which has been going strong since Robert Redford had the vision 32 years ago.  Park City is bustling during the ten days of this event.  Over 2000 people volunteer to make this happening run smoothly, and importantly on time.  Movies start at breakfast time in the many venues throughout the town and continue until after midnight with horror flicks and zany entries often playing at that hour.  Theaters in nearby Ogden and Salt Lake are also included as well as Redford’s Sundance Resort a short ride from Park City.

With Terry’s help navigating I got to see 12 films and 8 Shorts from the short film entries.  Overall the quality was outstanding.  I plan to feature some of these films here in the days ahead.  Undoubtedly some will get picked up and arrive “at a theater near you”, others may only reach cable and still others may not reach an audience.  I hope that at a minimum they will get some play on the Sundance Channel.  I will try to steer you to some which should not be missed.

in closing, this experience was priceless to me.  It is so satisfying to have the opportunity to be among the first to see top quality creative works with like minded movie buffs.  You could hear a pin drop during every showing I attended and the artists were very forthcoming and appreciative of their audiences during the regular Q&A sessions.

If you love movies put Sundance on your list and make plans to experience it.  Bring your skis along as some of the best skiing in the world is steps away.

I’ll be back soon.  Jerry