The panels I attended at Sundance certainly focused on capturing the image that Sundance wants to present. The first panel I attended featured Zazie Beetz, Elle Lorraine, and Taylour Paige speaking about the challenges of acting. While Beetz has acted in higher budget films, the panel primarily focused on the experiences on lower budget sets, and specifically the challenges of being a woman of color in film. Whether or not the festival exemplifies this, Sundance wants their brand to be one that promotes diversity and equity in film. In addition, I attended a panel featuring Kathreen Khavari and Linas Phillips, two actors who also produced and directed their upcoming projects respectively. The Sundance brand is all about focusing on smaller projects and specifically the production that goes into them, and having two people who work both in front of and behind the camera truly captures the essence of what Sundance’s brand is.

Sundance is a festival that was essentially designed for older white men to enjoy, as it was started at a time when that demographic dominated the film industry and was established in a skiing town. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was more diversity than I expected at the festival, mainly in regards to race and location. Many of the people I interacted with were from outside of the United States, from places such as Venezuela, Russia, and Sweden to name a few. There was also a fair amount of people of Native American descent, which was a pleasant sight to see as Alabama does not have a very large Native population. In keeping with this topic, I was pleased that each film began with a message thanking the Ute Native Americans which the land Park City rests on belongs. Overall, while higher class white men certainly were the majority, it was nice to interact with people of more diverse backgrounds.

The culture at Sundance is one that, for the most part, focuses on respect and love for the films taking place. Whether I was standing in line or riding the bus, I found myself having conversations with strangers much more often at Sundance than I would normally. Obviously I cannot speak for every person in attendance, but generally the people I interacted with were just happy to be there and experiencing the festival to its fullest. I ran into several people from or related to the film industry as well who were just as excited about the festival; publicists, agents, journalists, amateur filmmakers, all excited to be there and engaged in the community around them.

           New Frontier is a section of the Sundance Film Festival that puts alternative forms of storytelling at the forefront for audiences to enjoy. Many of the exhibits feature various levels virtual or augmented reality to enhance the experience and immerse those participating. Sundance has always been at the front of innovative films and media, and New Frontier fits in perfectly with this model. Many of these experimental experiences would not be able to be displayed in other locations, as they typically require more hardware and involvement than the average patron would possess. The New Frontier also features a looser format for attendance, with some of the exhibits being free to the public. This allows festival goers to stop in for a few minutes between screenings and check out a few of the exhibits, as I did throughout the week.

           Technology seemed to dominate the landscape at Sundance this year. Wherever I looked, there were crowds of people on the Sundance app checking times, joining waitlists, planning transportation routes, etc. The general feeling about these technologies tended to be positive, especially that of the E-Waitlist; many people greatly appreciated to ability to join a waitlist without having to physically journey to the theatre. I spoke with a few people who had been going to Sundance for many years, and they especially enjoyed the E-Waitlist, as they contrasted it with their own experience of having to go to the theatre hours in advance, getting a physical number, and coming back 45 minutes ahead of the showtime. Overall, the technology employed by Sundance seemed to be a welcome addition to the Sundance culture, and I personally enjoyed the ease of use involved with it.

           Possessor was a film that I knew nothing about going in, aside from the intriguing photo used to promote it, and that it was supposedly quite graphic. Upon watching the film, I would describe Possessor as a “miss” for a variety of reasons. The film has an issue with pacing, as the film begins with a scene of action, and then slows to a snail’s pace as exposition is dumped onto the audience for the next third of the film. Once the film truly begins, we are treated to a vast collage of abstract imagery meant to depict the mental struggle of the main character, which I found to be visually interesting. The film does indulge in graphic violence, although it is so extreme that it almost comes off as comical as opposed to shocking. Overall, I’m glad that I gave Possessor a chance; although I was not a fan, the visuals and concept alone made it worth at least checking out.

Finding Taylor Paige in search of Zazie

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