The Sundance Film Festival began this past Thursday in Park City, Utah, east of Salt Lake City, and continues until its award ceremony on Saturday.
The festival, backed by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, usually attracts around 20,000 people and many of the films discovered here will make their rounds on the art theater circuit this year.
Previous independent films discovered at Sundance include “The Blair Witch Project,” “Memento,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “The Usual Suspects,” “You Can Count on Me” and “Clerks.” Although success at Sundance doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll succeed in the real world, as just as many films flop.
This year’s line up includes documentaries on Fidel Castro (by conspiracy theorist extraordinaire Oliver Stone) and the late Tupac Shakur, a cross-genre film-noir musical starring Robert Downey Jr., and “Masked and Anonymous” featuring Bob Dylan as a cult star.
Although the films are made by independent studios with modest budgets, many of today’s hottest stars appear in the films, including: Ed Harris, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Claire Danes, Joaquin Phoenix and Kim Basinger.
But the star power really shines in Ed Solomon’s opening night redemption tale “Levity” with Kirsten Dunst, Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman and Holly Hunter. The film follows a recently released prisoner as he acclimates himself to his newfound freedom.
Another film creating quite a stir is Joey Curtis’ “Quattro Noza,” which features music by techno star DJ Spooky and spins the mythical tale of poetic love on the streets.
Tons of buzz surrounds Oliver Stone’s newest documentary “Comandante” which documents his uncensored talks in Cuba with Fidel Castro, a man who has possibly spent more time in the political spotlight than anyone else in world history.
Castro shares his life story openly with Stone, sharing stories about everything from his rise to power to the current state of his country.
As hundreds of Hollywood execs head out to a small city in Utah to find the next low-budget hit, those in the know remember to say a quick thanks to the illusive Redford who helped to make the independent film genre alive in a film world that often forgets its roots.
