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The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S.^[1] Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as the Sundance Resort, the festival is the premier showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature-length films and short films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the New Frontier, Spectrum, and Park City @ Midnight.

History

Utah/US Film Festival

Sundance began in Salt Lake City in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah. Founded by Sterling Van Wagenen (then head of Wildwood, Robert Redford's company), John Earle and Cirina Hampton Catania (both serving on the Utah Film Commission at the time).

With Chairperson Robert Redford, and the help of Governor Scott Matheson of Utah, the goal of the festival was to showcase strictly American-made films, highlight what the potential of independent film could be and to increase visibility for filmmaking in Utah. At the time, the main focus of the event was to conduct a competition for independent American films, present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions and to celebrate the Frank Capra Award (given the first year to Jimmy Stewart); it highlighted the work of "regional" filmmakers who worked outside the Hollywood system.

The jury of the 1978 festival was headed by Gary Allison, and included Verna Fields, Linwood Gale Dunn, Katherine Ross, Charles E. Sellier Jr., Mark Rydell, and Anthea Sylbert.

In 1979, Sterling Van Wagenen left to head up the first year "pilot" program of what was to become the Sundance Institute and Cirina Hampton Catania took over as Executive Director of the Festival. Over 60 films were screened at the Festival that year, the Frank Capra Award went to Jimmy Stewart and panels featured many well-known Hollywood filmmakers. The Festival made a profit for the first time. In 1980, Catania left the Festival to pursue a production career in Hollywood.

Several factors helped propel the growth of Utah/US Film Festival. First was the involvement of actor Robert Redford. Redford, a Utah resident, became the festival's inaugural chairman and having his name associated with Sundance gave the festival great attention. Secondly, the country was hungry for a venue that would celebrate American-made films as the only other festival doing so at the time was the then fledgling Dallas Film Fest. Response in Hollywood was unprecedented as major studios did all they could to contribute their resources.

In 1981, the festival moved to Park City, Utah and changed from September to January. The move from late summer to mid-winter was reportedly done on the advice of Hollywood director Sydney Pollack, who suggested that running a film festival in a ski resort during winter would draw more attention from Hollywood.

In 1984-85, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival and changed the name to Sundance. Gary Beer and Sterling Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural Sundance Film Festival which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby.

Sundance Institute

Management of the Festival was taken over by the Sundance Institute, a non-profit organization, in 1985. In 1991 the Festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's character The Sundance Kid from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.^[2]. Many famous independent filmmakers, including Kevin Smith, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, James Wan, Edward Burns and Jim Jarmusch had their big break at Sundance. It is also responsible for bringing wider attention to films such as Saw, Garden State, The Blair Witch Project, Better Luck Tomorrow, Primer, Reservoir Dogs, Little Miss Sunshine, El Mariachi, Clerks, Thank You for Smoking, Sex, lies, and videotape, The Brothers McMullen and Napoleon Dynamite. Three Seasons was the first in Festival history to ever receive both the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award in 1999, the same as God Grew Tired of Us and Quinceañera in 2006.

Corporate America has taken notice of the Festival by setting up independent marketing operations during the Festival. This has not pleased the Sundance Film Festival, who have tried various ways to encourage brands to officially sponsor the festival, instead of creating their own marketing event. The Festival has also (controversially, in some circles) become a press event for celebrities.

From 2006 through 2008, the Sundance Institute collaborated with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on a special series of film screenings, performances, panel discussions, and special events bringing the institute's activities and the festival's programming to New York City.^[3] In January 2009, the festival was marked by a early exodus of celebrities who turned up for the first few days of the festival, but left early to attend the inauguration of the first African-American president, Barack Obama, in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. This did not dampen the enthusiam of thousands of remaining independent film fans.

Growth of the festival

The Festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, directors from studios that are subsidiaries of the major studios, paparazzi, and luxury-goods company sponsors giving gifts to the attendees.

In recent years the Festival has strived to distance itself from these distractions, and in 2007 and 2008 handed out buttons to all filmmakers that read, "Focus on Film."

Festivalgoers who cannot obtain tickets in advance may buy same-day tickets at the box office, or line up for wait list tickets at a theater two hours before a scheduled showing. Wait list tickets are an excellent way to get into the screenings that appear to be sold out, for those who are prepared to wait.

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival.

In popular culture

In December 1998, South Park, an animated show on the network Comedy Central, came out with an episode where the directors of the festival move it to a "different small mountain town", that of the show's main setting South Park, in order to "drain it and morph it into a new LA".

In Entourage, one of the independent movies which Vincent Chase stars in (Queens Boulevard) premiers at the Sundance Film Festival, and gains its popularity from there on.

In The Simpsons episode Any Given Sundance, Lisa enters a documentary about her family into the Sundance Film Festival.

References

Notes

^ The Associated Press (January 18, 2006). "Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians". via Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2007-11-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Lauren David Peden (2005). "Sundance Subdued". Freedom Orange County Information (coastmagazine.com). Retrieved 2007-11-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^ "Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians". BAM. Retrieved 2007-11-11.

External links

Sundance Institute

[1] The Associated Press (January 18, 2006). "Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians". via Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2007-11-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[2] Lauren David Peden (2005). "Sundance Subdued". Freedom Orange County Information (coastmagazine.com). Retrieved 2007-11-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

[3] "Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians". BAM. Retrieved 2007-11-11.

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	The '''Sundance Film Festival''' is a [[film festival]] that takes place annually in the state of [[Utah]], in the [[United States]]. It is the largest [[Independent film\|independent]] cinema festival in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web\|author=The Associated Press\|title=Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians\|url=http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/sundance/news/aps/20060118/113762388000.html\|date=[[January 18]], [[2006]]\|publisher=via Yahoo! News\|accessdate=2007-11-11}}</ref> Held in January in [[Park City, Utah\|Park City]], [[Salt Lake City, Utah\|Salt Lake City]], and [[Ogden, Utah\|Ogden]], as well as the [[Sundance\|Sundance Resort]], the festival is the premier showcase for new work from [[United States\|American]] and international [[independent film]]makers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and international dramatic and [[documentary films]], both feature-length films and short films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the New Frontier, Spectrum, and Park City @ Midnight. :)		The '''Sundance Film Festival''' is a [[film festival]] that takes place annually in the state of [[Utah]], in the [[United States]]. It is the largest [[Independent film\|independent]] cinema festival in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web\|author=The Associated Press\|title=Sundance Mixed With Stars, Politicians\|url=http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/sundance/news/aps/20060118/113762388000.html\|date=[[January 18]], [[2006]]\|publisher=via Yahoo! News\|accessdate=2007-11-11}}</ref> Held in January in [[Park City, Utah\|Park City]], [[Salt Lake City, Utah\|Salt Lake City]], and [[Ogden, Utah\|Ogden]], as well as the [[Sundance\|Sundance Resort]], the festival is the premier showcase for new work from [[United States\|American]] and international [[independent film]]makers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and international dramatic and [[documentary films]], both feature-length films and short films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the New Frontier, Spectrum, and Park City @ Midnight.

	==History==		==History==