20 - 30 January - Park City

The 2000 Sundance Film Festival, January 20-30 in Park City, Utah, still considered by both industry insiders and filmmakers alike to be the most prestigious film festival in North America, unveiled a first-of-the-millennium festival showcase designed to assure it's preeminence as a ground-breaking event for independent film well into the new century.

Weathering accusations from years past of elitism, exclusionary practices and what some called selling out to mainstream Hollywood, 2000 Sundance proves the contrary as the festival reissued it's commitment to explore the artistic possibilities of filmmaking. Several new festival programs push the boundaries of traditional filmmaking by including a refocusing on new media, the digital explosion, theater and performance. The record number of submissions also confirmed the worldwide profile of the festival: programming for 2000 Sundance was culled from 347 documentary, 719 feature, 254 international feature and 1,928 short film submissions. All told, the 11-day event will feature 112 feature films and 65 short films, of which 71 are World Premieres, 8 are North American Premieres and 18 US Premieres.

Rebecca Yeldham, Senior Programmer Sundance Film Festival, commented on the noticeable trends from within the ranks of the submissions that saw considerably more digital films submitted and a greater spectrum of genres and budgets represented.

"On the whole," said Yeldham, " we saw women directors arrive with work that was collectively much stronger than in previous years-this is represented in the increased number of women directors in this year's program. In the Documentary category, we again see many works detailing the flip side of the American Dream but this year, tales of adversity often end with triumph and cause for optimism. Amongst the Dramatic submissions, we saw a number of films that were 'Millennium' themed; fewer coming-of-age stories and quirky comedies, and more works that were personal...many of which evoked a sense of loneliness and alienation at the century's close."...

Continuation

Sundance comes to an end: the wrap-up

Harvey wasn't there; the ticketing police were in full force, and tyro filmmakers, desperate to screen and be seen by the thousands of ready-made audience members walking the streets, overran Main Street. Still, the 2000 Sundance Film Festival managed to conclude as a kinder, gentler film festival determined to re-emphasize its focus on the filmmaker and de-emphasize its reputation as a buyers convention for mainstream indie film.

Without Harvey Weinstein (Miramax) in attendance, the festival lost its screaming, ranting and raving bidding-war incidents, and while the first few days where admittedly overwhelmingly hyped-out, they nonetheless settled into a rhythm showcasing a remarkably strong selection, particularly from filmmakers serving as both writer and director.

Of the top two Sundance awards, all three films, Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count on Me, Karyn Kusama's Girlfight (a tie for the Grand Jury Best Dramatic Feature Award) and Raymond DeFelitta's Two Family House (Audience Award for Best Dramatic Feature) came from writer/director hyphenates, two of whom had strong ties in the established film community to help them make their films. Lonergan's executive producer is Martin Scorsese, and Kusama's is John Sayles, leading to the conclusion that the American independent spirit is alive and well due mostly in part to strong helping hands.