Diehards delight in last day at Sundance
What is left is the last day of an independent film festival, and finally they got it right.
The Sundance Film Festival's motto, "Focus On Film," was fully adopted Sunday by locals and film lovers who stayed "one more day" after Hollywood and the world press called it a year.
Patricia Marchant is a Sundance volunteer but was in line for Sunday's screening of "The Deal," which accommodated all of those in the stand-by line who wanted to see the afternoon screening of the William H. Macy and Meg Ryan comedy.
"Sunday (at the festival) is always a nice, fun day," she said. "Those who are still here are the diehards."
Include in that group Carolyn Leone and Leta Baker, Salt Lake transplants who watched all of their screenings this year in Salt Lake City but did venture to Park City for a panel and some atmosphere.
"I have seen a movie a day since last Saturday," Baker said. "This is my most rejuvenating week of the year."
They scoff at some who say the festival really ended last Wednesday when big-name stars and the press started to stream out of town while they just kept watching movies, including Friday night's documentary "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden," for which Academy Award nominee (for "Super Size Me") Morgan Spurlock showed up in Salt Lake after the film after midnight for a Q&A with the audience.
In total, 32 films were screened Sunday, most of them in Park City, including many of the films that won audience and jury awards for world documentary, dramatic and documentary competitions. Also included in the final day were winners of the cinematography, shorts and screenwriting awards. If award-winning films weren't your taste, screenings of films like "George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead" and a documentary soccer movie "Kicking It," about The Homeless World Cup, were also on tap.
Today, despite the festival being officially over, there are still more screenings for locals. The Sundance Institute uses bonus free "day-after" screenings as a way of saying thank you to local supporters (and taxpayers). Tickets disappeared a few hours after they were offered last week, but a Park City volunteer, although not wanting to make any promises or be an official spokesman, thought the chances of getting in free by waiting in the stand-by line were pretty good.
Both the Eccles Theater in Park City and the Sundance Screening Room in Provo Canyon will host screenings of films from the award winners list at 6 and 9 p.m. Salt Lake's films will screen at 3:30 and 6:30 and 9:30 p.m., while Ogden's Perry's Egyptian theater has screenings at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Elvin Chaou, who lives in Salt Lake, has been attending the festival since 2003 and was planning Sunday to see more films, including perhaps some of the free ones.
"Whatever I can get to, I go," he said. "I hang out until the end."
E-mail: lc@desnews.com
Recent comments
Golly Jenny, the author didnt call it the current motto and after...
Geeeeeeze | Jan. 28, 2008 at 7:03 p.m.
Um, the Sundance motto for 2008 was "Film Takes Place."...
Jenny | Jan. 28, 2008 at 10:20 a.m.
