What’s Left To Say About Sundance?

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What can I say about Sundance this year that hasn’t already been said?

Indeed, the lineup seemed to be more focused on independent films by new directors, rather than commercial offerings. The festival this year seemed less glamorous with fewer big-name stars present compared to previous years. To my disappointment, I encountered an unusually long wait of over an hour for what turned out to be quite average avocado toast. And to top it all off, despite your warning about keeping expenses low, I ended up spending $40 on the event.

In a more conversational tone:

You know, this year’s festival wasn’t like the usual star-studded events we’ve seen before; it felt more laid back with fewer A-listers. The food was a letdown too – I waited over an hour for some so-so avocado toast! And to make things worse, despite my boss telling me to watch the budget, I still ended up spending $40 on the festival. Quite a disappointing experience overall.

Compared to previous years, this year’s Sundance Festival seemed to be a pivotal moment, as there was a widespread agreement that the event’s stay in Park City had reached its end.

Or simply:

This year’s Sundance felt like a turning point, with many sensing that the festival’s time in Park City is coming to an end.

Last year at the festival, then-CEO Joana Vicente hinted that the event might relocate once our contract with Park City ended in 2026, causing a bit of panic among us dedicated fans. “What is Sundance without Park City?” became a common question. We reminisced about unforgettable screening experiences, tales of filmmakers’ lives forever altered, and the thrill of distributors rushing to secure rights for future successes right in the middle of screenings.

By 2025, with a change in leadership (a new CEO), the executives and representatives I interact with appear exhausted, and rather than diving deep into nostalgic reminiscence, they seem more concerned about the two thousand dollars or so they’ve spent on hotel bills.

Currently, numerous individuals are preparing to travel to Salt Lake City, Boulder, or Cincinnati due to an upcoming festival. However, veterans of the event express concerns about moving Sundance – a festival celebrated for its promotion of artistic and intellectual diversity – to Ohio. One individual shared their sentiments, stating, “I won’t be attending the state that produced JD Vance.” Interestingly, Utah, which has hosted the festival for four decades, is not a stronghold of free speech, as it was among the first states to ban over a dozen books from libraries and classrooms. In contrast, Boulder, being a college town in a predominantly liberal state, is frequently mentioned as a potential front-runner due to various reasons, one of which may be its perceived openness.

Regardless of its true significance, the film industry tends to view Sundance as a sort of unofficial harbinger for the year, interpreting news about sales in the single-digit range as if they were prophecies. If we’re forecasting the next twelve months based on a week in Park City, then things appear quite grim. So far, there have only been two significant sales reported. Even if buyers watch all films before making their initial offers, the dealmaking this year seems likely to be underwhelming.

A pervasive fatigue seems to affect the industry without any specific cause, such as an individual programmer, team, or event. The year 2024 saw a significant decrease in production levels that the industry is still recovering from. Ongoing mergers and acquisitions have left studios lacking stable structures for planning their release schedules. Furthermore, Sundance took place just a couple of weeks into a year where Los Angeles experienced one of its worst natural disasters ever. This event forced filmmakers, executives, and representatives to attend Park City after losing their homes.

Furthermore, there’s Trump. In 2017, Chelsea Handler, Laura Dern, and Charlize Theron led thousands of protesters down Main Street during the Women’s March, which was part of the festival, following Donald Trump’s inauguration for his first term as president. This year, after Trump’s re-election, a group of approximately 60 people staged a flash mob to promote their independent TV series, Chasers, and wore pink “pussy” hats as a symbolic yet somewhat sad reference to that day eight years ago.

Despite instances that echoed the exhilaration, silliness, and pure enjoyment that Sundance is known for – like Jennifer Lopez spinning tunes at Tao and Eva Victor’s directorial debut receiving widespread praise – this year underscored the necessity of change in Sundance.

As much as I’ll cherish the lively discussions about chemistry quizzes with the teens at the Eccles concession stand, I can’t deny that I won’t miss relying on Snickers from there because finding a quick meal somewhere else is next to impossible.

One movie producer I spoke with pointed out to me that among festivals, Sundance is generally seen as the one where filmmakers are expected to ‘graduate’ from. The Sundance Institute, under the guidance of the frequently lauded Michelle Satter, has done an outstanding job in discovering and nurturing filmmaking abilities. Abilities that then move on to bigger-budget productions or festivals like Venice and Cannes.

For years, the industry has relied on Sundance as a source of novelty – be it a director, actor, movie, and so forth. This year, Sundance offers us something fresh yet again – an innovative version of itself. I wish them nothing but success in their endeavor.

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2025-02-01 21:25