Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute.[1] It takes place each January in Park City, Utah, Salt Lake City, and at the Sundance Resort, and is the largest independent film festival in the United States. It includes competitive categories, includes documentary and dramatic films, both feature length and short films, in which awards are given, as well as out-of-competition categories for showcasing new films.

Mary G. Steiner Egyptian Theatre is one of the festival's oldest and most recognizable venues

Sundance Film Festival
2021 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
LocationPark City, Salt Lake City, Provo, Utah, United States
Sundance Resort, Utah, United States
Founded1978
Founded byJohn Earle, Sterling Van Wagenen
Hosted bySundance Institute
LanguageEnglish
Websitesundance.org/festival

Description

Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the US, with more than 46,660 attending in 2016.[2] It is held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort (a ski resort near Provo, Utah) and acts as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers.[3]

The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres.[4]

History

1978: Utah/US Film Festival

Sundance began in Salt Lake City in August 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah.[5] It was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen,[6] head of Robert Redford's company Wildwood, and John Earle of the Utah Film Commission. The 1978 festival featured films such as Deliverance, A Streetcar Named Desire, Midnight Cowboy, Mean Streets, and Sweet Smell of Success.[7] The goal of the festival was to showcase American-made films, highlight the potential of independent film, and increase visibility for filmmaking in Utah. The main focus of the event was to conduct a competition for independent American films, present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions, and celebrate the Frank Capra Award. The festival also highlighted the work of regional filmmakers who worked outside the Hollywood system.

In 1979, Sterling Van Wagenen left to head up the first-year pilot program of what became the Sundance Institute, and James W. Ure took over briefly as executive director, followed by Cirina Hampton Catania. More than 60 films were screened at the festival that year, and panels featured many well-known Hollywood filmmakers. Also that year, the first Frank Capra Award went to Jimmy Stewart. The festival also made a profit for the first time. In 1980, Catania left to pursue a production career in Hollywood.

1981: US Film and Video Festival

In 1981, the festival moved to Park City, Utah, and changed the dates from September to January. The move from late summer to midwinter was done by the executive director Susan Barrell with the cooperation of Hollywood director Sydney Pollack, who suggested that running a film festival in a ski resort during winter would draw more attention from Hollywood. It was called the US Film and Video Festival.

1984: Sundance

In 1984, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival. Gary Beer and Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural US Film Festival presented by Sundance Institute (1985), which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. The branding and marketing transition from the US Film Festival to the Sundance Film Festival was managed under the direction of Colleen Allen, Allen Advertising Inc., by appointment of Robert Redford. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's character the Sundance Kid from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.[8]

The Sundance Film Festival experienced its extraordinary growth in the 1990s, under the leadership of Geoffrey Gilmore and John Cooper, who transformed the venue into the premier festival in the United States, on par of Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto International Film Festival. That crucial era is very well documented in Professor Emanuel Levy's book, Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Cinema (NYU Press, 1999, 2001, 2011), the most comprehensive chronicle of Sundance and the Indie movement over the past four decades.

Spin-offs in other locations

Sundance London (2012– )

UK-based publisher C21 Media first revealed in October 2010 that Robert Redford was planning to bring the Sundance Film Festival to London,[9] and in March the following year, Redford officially announced that Sundance London would be held at The O2, in London from 26–29 April 2012; the first time it has traveled outside the US.[10]

In a press statement, Redford said, "We are excited to partner with AEG Europe to bring a particular slice of American culture to life in the inspired setting of The O2, and in this city of such rich cultural history. [...] It is our mutual goal to bring to the UK, the very best in current American independent cinema, to introduce the artists responsible for it, and in essence, help build a picture of our country that is broadly reflective of the diversity of voices not always seen in our cultural exports."[10]

The majority of the film screenings, including the festival's premieres, would be held within the Cineworld cinema at The O2 entertainment district.[11] The 2013 Sundance London Festival was held 25–28 April 2013, and sponsored by car-maker Jaguar.[12]

Sundance London 2014 took place on 25–27 April 2014 at the O2 arena;[13] however the 2015 Festival was cancelled in an announcement on 16 January 2015.[14]

Sundance London returned to London from 2–5 June 2016,[15] and again 1–4 June 2017,[16] both at Picturehouse Central in London's West End. The 2018 and 2019 events continued at the same venue.[17]

Films shown at the 2019 event included the controversial dark tale The Nightingale, US comedy Corporate Animals, Lulu Wang's The Farewell (which won the Audience Award[18]) and Sophie Hyde's film based on Emma Jane Unsworth's novel about female friendship, Animals.[19]

Sundance Hong Kong (2014- )

Inaugurated in 2014, Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong has taken place in 2016, 2017, 2018 and from 19 September to 1 October 2019. The 2020 event has not been scheduled yet. It is held at The Metroplex in Kowloon Bay each year.[20]

Sundance at BAM

From 2006 through 2008, Sundance Institute collaborated with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on a special series of film screenings, performances, panel discussions, and special events bringing the institute's activities and the festival's programming to New York City.[21]

Notability

Many notable independent filmmakers received their big break at Sundance, including Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Todd Field, David O. Russell, Steve James, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, James Wan, Edward Burns, and Jim Jarmusch. The festival is also responsible for bringing wider attention to such films as Saw, Garden State, Super Troopers, The Blair Witch Project, Spanking the Monkey, Reservoir Dogs, Primer, In the Bedroom, Better Luck Tomorrow, Little Miss Sunshine, Donnie Darko, El Mariachi, Moon, Clerks, Thank You for Smoking, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, The Brothers McMullen, 500 Days of Summer, Napoleon Dynamite, Whiplash, Boyhood, and Get Out.

Three Seasons was the first in festival history to ever receive both the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award, in 1999. Later films that won both awards are: God Grew Tired of Us in 2006 (documentary category), Quinceañera in 2006 (dramatic category), Precious in 2009, Fruitvale (later retitled Fruitvale Station) in 2013, Whiplash in 2014, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl in 2015, and The Birth of a Nation in 2016.

At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, three films went on to garner eight Oscar nominations.[22] Manchester by the Sea took the lead in Sundance-supported films with six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.[23] The next year, about 40 films were acquired by distributors, among them including Amazon, Netflix, Lionsgate, and Universal.[24]

Growth of the festival

The festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies not affiliated with Sundance. Festival organizers have tried curbing these activities in recent years, beginning in 2007 with their ongoing Focus On Film campaign.

The 2009 film Official Rejection documented the experience of small filmmakers trying to get into various festivals in the late 2000s, including Sundance. The film contained several arguments that Sundance had become dominated by large studios and sponsoring corporations. A contrast was made between the 1990s, in which non-famous filmmakers with tiny budget films could get distribution deals from studios like Miramax Films or New Line Cinema, (like Kevin Smith's Clerks), and the 2000s, when major stars with multimillion-dollar films (like The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher) dominated the festival. Kevin Smith doubted that Clerks, if made in the late 2000s, would be accepted to Sundance.[25]

Numerous small festivals sprung up around Sundance in the Park City area, including Slamdance, Nodance, Slumdance, It-dance, X-Dance, Lapdance, Tromadance, The Park City Film Music Festival, etc., though all except Slamdance are no longer held.[26]

Included in the Sundance changes made in 2010, a new programming category titled "NEXT" (often denoted simply by the characters "<=>", which mean "less is more") was introduced to showcase innovative films that are able to transcend the confines of an independent budget. Another recent addition was the Sundance Film Festival USA program, in which eight of the festival's films are shown in eight different theaters around the United States.[27]

The premiere of, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's 2020 documentary film: Miss Americana, at the opening night of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and Swift's pre-announced appearance at the festival, caused a great surge in the number of attendees, traction and media coverage, which was new to the normally reserved festival.[28][29]

The 44th will be going virtual for the first time come 2021.

Directors
  • Geoff Gilmore – 1991–2009[30][31]
  • John Cooper – 2009–2020[32][33]
  • Tabitha Jackson – 2020–Present

See also

References
  1. Friedman, Megan (January 27, 2010). "Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  2. Stambro, Jan Elise. "The Economic Impacts of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival" (pdf). Bureau of Economic and Business Research. University of Utah. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  3. Cairns, Becky. "Sundance Film Festival drops Ogden as screening location". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  4. "Structure of the Sundance Film Festival". www.sundanceguide.net. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  5. "BBC - Films - Sundance Film Festival - A Brief History". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  6. "Redford's Wildwood Enterprises and PBS Bring "Skinwalkers" to the Small Screen | PBS About". Redford's Wildwood Enterprises and PBS Bring "Skinwalkers" to the Small Screen | PBS About. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  7. Craig, Benjamin. "History of the Sundance Film Festival". Sundance-A Festival Virgin's Guide. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  8. Peden, Lauren David (December 2005). "Sundance Subdued". Freedom Orange County Information (coastmagazine.com). Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  9. Benzine, Adam (October 7, 2010). "Exclusive: Redford plans London Sundance". C21 Media. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  10. Farmer, Stephen (October 2012). "Robert Redford, Sundance Institute And Aeg Europe Launch Sundance London At The O2". AEG Worldwide. Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  11. "Robert Redford, Sundance Institute and AEG Europe launch Sundance London at The O2". Sundance London. March 15, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  12. "Sundance London 2013". Sundance London. March 1, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  13. "Sundance London 2014 unveils lineup". Digital Spy. March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  14. "Sundance London 2015 cancelled, festival's future under review". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  15. Pierrot, John-Paul (April 20, 2016). "Sundance Film Festival: London 2016 – Programme Announced". Picturehouse Blog. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  16. Pierrot, John-Paul (April 25, 2017). "2017 Sundance Film Festival: London – Programme Announced". Picturehouse Blog. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  17. "Sundance Film Festival 2019: London". Premier. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  18. Dalton, Ben (June 3, 2019). "Lulu Wang's 'The Farewell' wins Sundance London 2019 audience award". ScreenDaily. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  19. Thompson, Jessie (May 28, 2019). "Sundance London 2019 line-up: First look at this year's film festival programme". ES. Evening Standard. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  20. "Sundance". hk.sundance.org. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  21. "Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians". BAM. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  22. Quinnette, Celia (January 24, 2017). "8 oscar nominations for films from the 2016 sundance film festival". Sundance TV. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  23. Quinnette, Celia (January 24, 2017). "8 oscar nominations for films from the 2016 sundance film festival". Sundance TV. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  24. "The Complete List of Movies Sold at Sundance 2016, and Why Amazon and Netflix Went All Out". Vulture. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  25. Kevin Smith, interviewed in Official Rejection, documentary film, 2009, directed by Paul Osborne
  26. Official Rejection, documentary film, 2009, directed by Paul Osborne
  27. Clark, Cody (January 22, 2010). "Redford launches 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City". The Daily Herald. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  28. Panzarino, Matthew (January 26, 2020). "Sundance: In Miss Americana, Taylor Swift demotes the internet". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  29. Sinha-Roy, Piya (January 24, 2020). "With 'Miss Americana,' Taylor Swift Brings Her Raw Star Power to Sundance". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  30. Kay, Jeremy (March 11, 2009). "John Cooper steps up as director of Sundance Film Festival". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  31. Cieply, Michael (February 17, 2009). "Shakeup in Film Festivals as a Familiar Face Moves". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  32. "Sundance Institute announces John Cooper as Director, Sundance Film Festival" (pdf) (Press release). Sundance Institute. March 11, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  33. "About". Sundance. Retrieved September 5, 2019.

Further reading

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