Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a two-part story on the Sundance Independent Film Festival. Part one ran in last week’s SHOOT (2/4).
PARK CITY, Utah—The Sundance Independent Film Festival isn’t just about distribution deals anymore. The commercial community is becoming increasingly involved, scouting talent and trends or submitting films. As earlier reported, of the 112 films in competition in this year’s Festival—which ran from Jan. 20-30 in Park City, Utah—at least eight came from current or former members of the spot/clip community. Other spot directors had films screening non-competitively at Sundance, or could be found at the "alt fests" such as SlamDunk and NoDance. Still other commercial artisans were credited on films.
That’s the good news. Unfortunately, Sundance is no longer a well-kept secret; as the Festival grows and prospers, so too do grumblings of increased commercialization. Film selections are too tame, some say, or they have studio backing long before the Festival bows. Then there are Festival seminars like "Using the Internet to Market and Promote Your Film." Packaged ticket passes to the Festival cost up to $3,000. And the sponsors list, which includes Mercedes-Benz, among others, is a veritable who’s who of blue-chip corporations. In contrast, there is a scruffy-chic energy to the alt-fests that, to some, seems more in line with what independent filmmaking is about.
"Last year, only two Sundance films astonished me," said director Brian Belefant of New York-based Wildlife Management, whose short, Burning Desire, screened at SlamDunk. "It’s disappointing. Sundance is like Procter & Gamble. It’s not the cutting edge. Of course, that comes off as sour grapes because I submitted to Sundance and didn’t get in. But I’d put my short up against any short at Sundance."
"There should be a place for experimental film," added executive producer David Sussan of The Sussan Group, New York, whose film Minimum Wage, was directed by Brian O’Malley and screened at NoDance.
On the other hand, Sundance documentary juror Jessica Yu, who is represented by non•fic•tion spots and longform, Santa Monica, said that in terms of the films she judged, diversity ruled. "The range of styles and subject matter was more varied than in years past. I think there’s not only a proliferation of different looks to the films, but also more of an acceptance of them."
Paper Trail
During this year’s event, the press caught wind of a Park City ordinance outlawing filmmakers from distributing fliers or hanging posters advertising their films. Though this was ostensibly an effort to curtail trash, some viewed it as a form of censorship.
By some accounts, a few mavericks with fliers were pestered by police, who threatened jail time and a $2,000 fine. "We were careful about fliers," said Sussan. "But we did put posters all over our car." However, city officials reportedly disputed the tales as not only fictional but as publicity stunts.
Others took more drastic measures. Show Me the Aliens writer/director Devin Crawley and writer/producer Steve Hermanos staged mock abductions on Main Street, Park City’s central artery. At the NoDance awards, the pair was honored with the coveted Golden Orb for best guerilla marketing campaign.
Former Sundance COO Trevor Macy, who is now COO of bicoastal/international Propaganda Films, diplomatically declined to feed the fire. "Sundance has been a huge part of the movement that has pulled independent filmmaking up in the world," he said. "Sundance hasn’t changed so much as the market has changed. As for the other festivals, I say more power to them. And I think Sundance has been remarkably tolerant of them. I think they respect the tenacity of those filmmakers."
Yu agreed. "Sundance is getting more commercial attention now, but blaming the Festival for that is like blaming someone for becoming famous." Likewise, Mark Tiedemann, who directed the Sundance short, Girl Go Boom, and who is repped for spots by Celsius, New York, suggested that "it will be interesting to see what Slamdance looks like in a few years." Slamdance, the first alt-fest to set up shop in Park City, was launched six years ago and has been growing ever since.
Shortfilms.com
If there was ever a year for short films, Sundance 2000 was it. Films such as Titler—which was directed by Jonathan Bekemeier of Picture Park, Boston and Santa Monica—have generated considerable interest, in part because of the dot-com revolution. "All the dot-coms are looking for content to put out there," said Bekemeier, whose film received an honorable mention for short filmmaking. "We’ve been approached by a lot of them."
However, Bekemeier isn’t in a hurry to sell. Nor is Jeff Feinberg of Soaring Eagle Films, Claremont, Calif., and executive producer of Dreamer, which was included in the native forum at Sundance. "Tons of dot-coms approached us," Feinberg said. "The technology will be perfect in another year, but it’s still in development." Dreamer was written, produced and directed by Raymond Speiss, Jr., sound supervisor both on HBO’s The Sopranos and at Todd-AO Studios, Hollywood.
The skeptics might be wise to reconsider, however. Tiedemann struck distribution deals with AtomFilms.com, Seattle, as well as the Sundance Channel and the Sci-Fi Channel. The director said that "depending on how it’s received" on the Web, a filmmaker could recoup the cost of his or her short, and even turn a profit.
Mark Osborne, who has been working out of bicoastal/international Satellite, said his Oscar-nominated short More, which won the short film award at Sundance last year, screened on IFILM.com, and the response from the public was "great." It was downloaded roughly 36,000 times, he said, adding that he got "tons of e-mails" from fans. This year, Osborne was at Sundance with Dropping Out, his first feature, which premiered in the American spectrum category.
Macy said he’s been encouraging Propaganda directors to pursue shorts. "Our goal is to be director-driven. It’s all about developing their craft," he said, adding, "We’re about to announce a venue [where they can distribute them]."
As Sundance drew to a close, several other films were sold to Web companies, including Los Gringos, directed by Rob Letterman, which was sold to Los Angeles-based MediaTrip.com. The aforementioned AtomFilms bought a total of five shorts, including In God We Trust, directed by Jason Reitman. Meanwhile, the Sundance Channel licensed six short films and was in negotiation for five other titles.
Still, others maintain that the short film market and dot-com hype was just that—hype—or that the opportunity would be lost in a year or two. "Dot-coms have created a new market for shorts," Belefant said. "But it will be temporary until the technology gets to the point where they can put features online."
Digital Dance
Dot-coms weren’t the only digital presence in Park City. In addition to NoDance, which bills itself as "the world’s first and only DVD-projected film festival," Sundance also offered filmmakers the opportunity to screen their films digitally. More than a dozen accepted the offer. Meanwhile, DigiDance promised "DV and high-definition films all day long."
Not surprisingly, then, the film-vs.-DV debate is heating up. While many people have "mixed feelings" about DV, such as Belefant, Feinberg said numerous filmmakers are shooting on DV and then transferring to film because it’s cheaper. "Film companies are concerned that eventually no one will use film," Feinberg said.
"I love film, but shooting a feature on DV is a dream for me," said Osborne, who used 35mm film for Dropping Out, and DV for a few sequences. "It’s so easy, and there’s a spontaneity to it."
For director Mark Forster, who filmed Everything Put Together on DV, the medium "allows a certain intimacy, both between myself and the actors, and for the audience watching the film." Moreover, he was able to shoot the film in two weeks with a skeleton crew.
Macy described himself as a "big fan" of DV, adding that Propaganda director Steve Hanft is set to direct the company’s first DV feature; the working title is Recyclers. "DV is cheap and the director is able to get so much coverage," Macy said. "It’s a tool that gives the filmmaker flexibility within a reasonable budget."
Loretta Jeneski, executive producer of non•fic•tion, said she prefers film, but also described DV as a valuable tool. "I know people shooting commercials on digital now," she said. "Most are doing it because they’re interested in the technology. As far as I’m concerned, it’s another tool, another option for a director. And I think it will allow filmmakers—documentarians in particular—to tell a story that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to tell for budgetary reasons."
Check out www.shootonline. com for a list of films that were showcased in Park City and made by current or former spot and/or clip directors and executive producers.
