Day 3 - 22 January

The spin-offs astir: Slamdance, No Dance...

The original upstart kids, Slamdance Film Festival, flung their doors open wide Saturday night, screening Director Bret Stern's Road to Park City for a record crowd as well as heralding the true start of the party circuit with their Opening Night bash.

The film, a pseudo docu-comedy about filmmaking, fits the festival well since it chronicles the "how-hard-can-it-be" attitude and adventures of first-time filmmaker John Viener, although most audiences will feel they've been down this road before. The festival also delivered with their outrageous opening party extravaganza, again widening the personality gap between themselves and Sundance. The Skyy Vodka sponsorship for Slamdance Opening and Closing Night parties intends for special screenings of newly commissioned short films from Directors David Veloz and Agnieszka Holland at all of their events.

What at first looked to be a lack-luster schedule for the six-year-old festival, has instead garnered some impressive buzz for a number of films. Blink of an Eye, from Director Van Fischer bucks the indie comedy trend, opting to tell an emotional, dramatic story of one man's struggle for redemption. We Married Margo is a surprisingly engaging tongue-in-cheek profile of one woman's effect on those she marries, and Iranian/German director, Farhad Yawari's Dolphin's takes an early lead for the most compelling visual storytelling at the festival-particularly since it has no dialogue. Yawari's cinematography from Director of Photography Torsten Breuer is brilliantly captivating.

Blurring the distinction between Slamdance and the other dances are filmmakers who have multiple films screening: Producer Tony Hewett of the light, romantic comedy, What I Like About You (Director Jeff Stolhand) at Slamdance also has Sweet Thing (Director Mark David) at Slamdunk. What I Like About You filmmakers will host the hottest party ticket this week when Shawn Colvin plays on Monday night with director Mark David's band opening the show.

Slamdance has also entered the dot-com arena by launching the Anarchy Online Competition, in direct rivalry with ifilm.com (whose own party coincided with Slamdance's) and AtomFilms. The site will showcase 21 short films this month, both online and at the Dot Com Cave at the festival headquarters in Park City. The winner of the best online short film will be announced by the end of the festival.

With this addition of yet even more exhibition potential, the push for attention is nearly overwhelming. The hype machinery continues in full swing as filmmakers flood the streets: filmmakers in open-top convertibles dressed as fruit waving movie posters; filmmakers hawking postcards/posters/free tickets/press reviews of their films; filmmakers still "willing to work for distribution".

Screening venues for spin-off festivals spill out from nearly every storefront as they in turn vie for audience attention: No Dance, Slamdunk, and Digital Dance are among the new media exhibitors. It is literally impossible to walk five feet on Main Street without being accosted by a screening, a filmmaker or a publicist.

Showcasing the Dramatic Competition, Sundance took a few programming risks of their own; hitting the mark with Director Tony Pemberton's flawed yet chancy Beyond the Ocean. Filmed in New York and Russia, the thoughtful work evokes a homage to the Russian masters (and in fact, the Russian footage has far better production values than the American shot footage) with it's haunting beauty and sparse dialogue. Russian actress Dasha Volga is an exceptional performer whose translucent beauty belies a deeply complex character.

Unfortunately, Drop Back Ten, the new film from Director Stacy Cochran (My New Gun, Boys), did not survive its risky undertaking as well. Starring an unexpectedly (and appealingly) reflective James LeGros as a journalist sent to write about a young actor, the film is in turn a rambling, disjointed story of mass media, fallen dreams and uncertain redemption. LeGros performance has more depth and texture than the actor has previously exposed leading to the conclusion that his work with Cochran allows for greater range than from other directors, however the faulty story structure is quickly unsatisfying and LeGros is left with nothing to do.

Still on the A-list in Dramatic Competition after their first screenings are both Miguel Arteta's Chuck & Buck, and Lisa Kruger's Committed. Screening on Sunday are Rob Schmidt's Crime and Punishment in Suburbia (Schmidt's feature film debut was the highly acclaimed Saturn) and Jenniphr Goodman's The Tao of Steve, both of which have been highly anticipated. A majority of the films in competition this year waited until the festival to screen for the industry, a move that has only heightened curiosity.

Famed and prolific Mexican Director Arturo Ripstein was not in attendance for the screening of his new film, No One Writes to the Colonel (El Colonel no Tiene Quien le Escriba) as he is already in production on a new project. No One Writes... is a slow, graceful adaptation of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel about an ancient soldier surviving his world when the battles and victories have become extinct. Slowly elegant, the film is an actors' paradise for Marisa Paredes and Fernando Lujan who must feel this work to be the pinnacle of their careers.

Sunday's screenings at Sundance include Urbania from Director Jon Shear, and The Target Shoots First from Director Christopher Wilcha at Slamdance alongside both Blink of an Eye and Dolphins.

FilmFestivals.com reporter
Kathleen McInnis

Sundance