Hello from Park City, Utah. I am at the Sundance Film Festival with Flashpoint Academy Academic Dean Paula Froehle. It's my first Sundance experience and so far it has been a lot of fun, very informative, and we even got some business done. Details and pictures will follow- the dumb filmmaker can't get his pictures off his camera until he returns to Chicago. Here is a quick rundown of our first 36 hours.
- Two film screenings- a bad collection of shorts, and great Korean documentary called Old Partner about a farmer and his 40 year old ox.
- Two very interesting panels- one on new ways independent filmmakers can self-distribute their films, the other hosted by Variety and the Illinois Film Office- 30% tax breaks to shoot in Illinois!- about 10 directors to watch.
- Lots of hanging out talking film, talking film business.
- A great debate, about the film Doubt, though I think it was determined (I determined) that Betsy Steinberg, head of the Illinois Film Office, and I were right about what happened to Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character and everyone else is completely wrong.
- Celebrity sightings: Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Perry Farrell, Paris Hilton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
More later, more specifics and pics.
PeterH
yay for the update, looking forward to more!
ReplyDeleteI am just getting acquainted with the independent film industry and have found some of the details to be fascinating so far. "Clearance and Copyright " written by Michael C. Donaldson, has been my favorite book so far- it is a must read for anyone interested in making an independent film- a great reference book.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading more of your updates on the Sundance film festival- It all sounds so exciting!