My first Sundance film!

Have you heard of the Sundance Film Festival? It was started in 1981 by Robert Redford and friends, runs in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, and showcases independent films each January. Filmmakers are given a chance to show their work and, if they're lucky, the films are picked up for more general distribution. (Fun fact: did you know that Napoleon Dynamite, The Brave Little Toaster, and The Blair Witch Project all debuted at Sundance?) In addition, a lot of these films feature established Hollywood stars, and the Festival is known almost as much for "star"-gazing as quality productions.

I have lived in Utah for my entire life, and have never attended the famous Festival.

Until this year!

My adorable friend Jenna invited me to come with her this year. She picked out a few films, and I chose one that seemed interesting and played on a date I was free, and before I knew it, it was Friday the 20th and I met her and her friend Heather at the Salt Lake City Library with ticket in hand!

From left: me, Heather, and Jenna

We saw Putin's Kiss. I admit, I had only read over the overview once several weeks ago, so I was a little surprised to discover it was a documentary... a political, Russian documentary! Haha! So appropriate for my first independent film! Lucky for me, my relationship with NPR helped me understand more of what was going on than I might have otherwise, and I don't mind films with subtitles. On the contrary, it was fascinating to get a glimpse into the Russian political system and see how the main subject changes throughout the film. Knowing that this was real made it feel just a little more brutal, a little more heartbreaking, and a little more hopeful. If you don't mind foreign films, I recommend this one. It was something different for me, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

Plus, Jenna and Heather are delightful! We're all literary people, so we had no trouble finding things to talk about. One of my favorite moments was when Jenna bravely decided to approach her favorite Junior High school teacher, who she was sure wouldn't remember her. On the contrary, as soon as the teacher saw her she jumped up and climbed over everyone in her row to give Jenna the best hug! It's just so cool when teachers remember their students (even from ten years before). They chatted for several minutes and I could see how thrilled Jenna was that she didn't chicken out -- I'll always regret that I let my chance to thank my favorite teacher go by. Just such a cute moment!

Ah, Sundance. Bringing people together in the most unexpected ways!

I hope to have another chance to go in the future, and maybe (maybe, I'm not excited about the weather and crowds) I'll drive up to Park City sometime where much of the real action goes on. T'would definitely be an adventure!

Thank you for inviting me, Jenna!

Speaking of adventures, my photographer friend Mandie was contracted by the festival this year to take official photos of the venues and volunteers. Her photos are terrific, and her blog posts tickle me 'cause she has such a cute writing style (she is such an upbeat person and writes the way she speaks!) -- go check it out!

Have you ever been to the Sundance Festival? Are you going this year? What have you seen?