Festival Corner

Every year, the Sundance Film Festival takes over the quaint ski town of Park City, Utah, and runs a full and invigorating 10 days, from the third Thursday of January through the following Sunday. Everybody who’s Anybody of Hollywood shows up the first weekend to ride the mayhem for 3 straight crazy days. Most of the crowd leaves by Tuesday, and it’s after that when it becomes much less hassle to attend screenings.

The Sundance Film Festival is an ongoing party –  day and night — and this year was no exception. This year’s festival made my record book as I attended 10 parties in one 13-hour stretch on the first Sunday, a definite lesson in endurance! Getting into the parties themselves can be exhausting. At some, we were on the list, others we had to talk our way into, still more we were working press, and the last handful we simply walked into while creating various distractions. But, of all the parties we attended this year, the most phenomenal was held against a beautiful snow covered backdrop – an outdoor reception at the 5 star St. Regis Resort Terrace Patio in Deer Valley, thrown by Seattle Socialite JJ McKay and sponsored by Eddie Bauer. Here’s a link to just a little piece of the gorgeous afternoon, even more so than the video captures:



Another highlight of the current festival is the many many music acts that perform all over many small venues in Park City. Two shows I attended and enjoyed this year were Ozomatli and Lauryn Hill.

Aside from the parties, being at Sundance can spoil a girl – all the freebies, aka ‘swag’: Eddie Bauer backpacks, facials,  rides around town, complimentary housing, massages, snowboard demo boards, abundant food and open bars, fancy meals on company credit cards, and more. Rebekah and I even received our money back on airline tickets and earned $300 credits on Southwest for bumping to later flights – no big deal for us as we arrived a day before the fest started. If you play your cards right, this trip doesn’t have to cost anything!

With all the swag lounges, dinners, and networking receptions, it was almost easy to forget about the films. But, alas, after the first weekend celebs made their way back to Tinseltown, and the massive exodus of amateur Sundancers left the snow, our schedule (and the theaters and sidewalks) were cleared for films. Unfortunately, we saw only 3 movies this year, but they were each worthwhile. And, it’s refreshing to note that they were all written and directed by first-time filmmakers and in the US Dramatic competition section. Perhaps the most moving moments of the festival were the tear-jerking Q&A’s after.

Thumbs up for “Gun Hill Road” about a transsexual teen coming out to his ex-con father Esai Morales, and for “Little Birds” about 2 teen girls who run away from home directed by a young ex-gang member. The third film,”Here,” demonstrated some extraordinary authentic acting by Ben Foster and his Armenian co-star, Lubna Azabal.

And, while we’re on the subject of Sundance films, a bit of trivia: 4 of the 5 documentaries recently nominated for the Academy Awards 2011 premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. You may remember hearing about “Wasteland” and “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” my prediction to take the Oscar, and both great films. Additional 2010 Sundance films to be nominated that I also enjoyed are “Animal Kingdom” (best actress nomination) and “The Kids Are Alright,” amongst others.

New on our roster this year was assisting a PR company at two large club venues. Rebekah and I were given the task of inviting celebrities to the 50 Cent party on Friday and the KT Tunsall (Suddenly I See) party on Saturday, then locate them in line, escort them into VIP, and make sure they were photographed in the crowd. Along the way we friended Rick Fox and Eliza Dushka as well as Ryan and Trista from “The Bachelorette” – both beautiful couples. Also, in attendance at our events were Bobby Kennedy 3rd, Cheryl Hines, and the producers of “The Cove”.

Aside from the parties, dinners and films, let’s not forget the the Sundance Film Festival was built one one thing – the slopes! I enjoyed 2 full days of snowboarding with a promotional snowboard (thanks to Burton!). This year it snowed plenty and early which made for amazing powder. Thankfully our private condo sported a very fancy hot tub which we used nightly and invented our own game of musical chairs. But, I’ll save the stories of my roommates for another time as the cast of delightful characters filling up our 4 bedroom 12 person plus a van condo can serve as it’s own reality show!

Overall, the 2011 Sundance film festival brought many new connections along with familiar faces from last year. This year, Rebekah and I only stayed for one week, but next year we plan to return for the entire festival, so that our skier and film buff friends can come at the end to enjoy the empty slopes and see some flicks. So, if one of those categories describes you, mark yor calendars for the 2nd half of Sundance next year! I enjoyed the parties, music, films, boarding, and even the long 20 degree walks home. I am a very lucky woman! See you next year, Park City!

To contact Karen Henry email: khmediapr@gmail.com