As I sit here crammed into an airplane seat the size of a tin can looking out at the Grand Canyon from 35,000 feet, it's tough to believe that we once again find ourselves in the middle of January on the first day of what's become an annual pilgrimage to one of the world's most revered film festivals. Yes, that's right - today marks the opening day of the annual Sundance Film Festival. On paper, this year's festival promises to be everything for those looking to explore the latest in independent cinema. Still trying very much to act like a small, hometown-style event, Sundance has long been proud of its humble beginnings and its unwavering focus on finding new talent and bringing a raw cinema to the people. However, over the years the reality of Sundance has grown to be something different. There are mobs of people, a dearth of parking and celebrities seemly go out of their way to make waves as they walk down Main Street. Still remaining are the vestiges of what Robert Redford and Geoff Gilmore believe to be at the heart of the festival, but it's now become a far more splashy affair with swag booths, miniature red-carpet-style premiers and celebrities that are there to be seen. More than anything, the festival now walks an interesting dichotomy between being the hometown festival it once was and a full-blown Hollywood event. It's not that the festival has lost its way, more that it's evolved due to its own success and the fact that it's now considered THE American film festival. Hard to escape Hollywood when that's exactly who the party of primary interest is.
This year's festival is likely to mark a change. I feel like I say this every year to an extent - there's always something that's different about the festival each year. But this year we're talking a whole new landscape. Economic times are a near 180 from what they were last year. Sponsors of the festival have dropped like flies. Volkswagen, long a staple, is nowhere to be seen. Adobe is no more. Delta is still the official airline of the festival, but is rumored to be scaling back quite heavily. Outside of the festival, independent film distributors have been through a rocky year with many not living to tell the tale. And then there's the whole money issue. Hollywood was flush with cash over the past few years as hedge funds became the hot funding source and investors were beating down doors left and right with money to burn. Hedge funds are now mostly a bad memory and tight credit markets mean that even the major studios are cutting way back on the number of films they're planning to release.
So what does this mean for Sundance? The answer depends on who you talk to. Some are decrying that this year's fest will be mostly a bust - well-received films with top talent won't be able to find buyers and the number of people who actually go to the festival will be a fraction of what we saw last year. On the other hand, many are saying that, while we'll certainly see distributors being far more selective with purchases than in the past, films that are ready for an audience will sell and sell well. After all, Hollywood had one of its best-ever years in 2008, so why wouldn't they snap up films ready for market? It's tough to say from here, on the day of the opening night festivities, who's going to be right. What we do know is that the fest will most definitely be more subdued this year - gifting suites will be scaled back, the once-ubiquitous bidding wars over film acquisitions will likely be few and far between and many serious journalists aren't able to even attend, thus cutting the buzz-building reviews that so many films rely on. Will this restore some of that low-key, independent vibe that Redford and Gilmore feel is still very much at the foundation of the festival? Probably not much as rumblings on the street suggest some semblance of the usual mixing of corporate sponsorship, Hollywood industry and filmmakers - and the general circus that defines the fest's opening weekend - will be very much in evidence.
Thus begin my annual postings direct from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. As in the past, I'll be writing on-the-fly from a Treo mobile phone while standing in lines and traversing the gauntlet that is Sundance. First film for me, the guitarist documentary "It Might Get Loud," unspools at a bright and early 8:00am sharp. Hopefully the opening night party will still allow for some semblance of sleep before the dawn.
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