my sundance festivities

One of the wonderful wonderful benefits of living in Utah (that I am going to miss greatly should I be somewhere else next year) is the Sundance film festival. This was my third year going (didn't get to go my Sophomore year because I was on my study abroad in Paris--which is a pretty fair trade off I suppose). Hil and I have made a tradition of going up together and staying at her sisters house. It's perfect that we both love weird indie films and that we don't mind waiting in cold lines to see them.

First of all, I just love the atmosphere at the Sundance film festival. There are so many different and interesting people there, tons of stuff going on, and it's really just a fun environment (interesting, stuff, and fun....I'm really making you feel like your there aren't I...). When we first got there we parked in the free lot, of course. We heard that it was going to take a long time for the bus, so we just figured we would walk because I mean, how far could it be? Well it could be 2 miles. Woops. But, we had fun walking even if it was much much further than expected.

As a fantastic bonus, it actually wasn't that cold this year. It got a little chillier at night, and I was grateful for all my layers, but it was nothing compared to standing outside in below freezing and snow. This was especially nice when we were waiting in lines, which oddly is one of my favorite parts about the Sundance Film Festival. You always wind up chatting with the people in line, and they are usually pretty interesting people that you would never of struck up a conversation with if you had not been forced to patiently wait next to them to see if you were going to be let into the theater. 

You used to have to stand in line for several hours to get on the wait list which was annoying, but if you were dedicated you got to see the movies you wanted to see. Now, they have changed to an e-wait list system. It's great because you don't have to stand in the cold. It's awful because you just have to hope that you click the button faster than anyone else. After several very frustrating attempts when we didn't even make it on wait lists, and one failed attempt at being number 80 in line, we finally got spots number 23 and 24. We actually jumped up and down and cheered in the middle of the road.

The movie that we ended up seeing was God Help the Girl. We knew pretty much nothing about it going in, but were pleasantly surprised. It was a dramady with some musical aspects laced into it (yeah that's the best description I can give you). It was directed by the lead singer of Belle and Sebastian and starred Emily Browning. Since it was the premier of the film, afterwards the director and cast came out and did a Q&A, cool cool cool.

People always ask, did you see any celebrities? Here are my thoughts on celebs. I guess it's cool when you run into them, but I would probably never go out of my way or wait in some sort of incredible crowd to meet one because honestly they are just people. But, there are many directors and actors that I truly admire the work of. I know he's not a huge name, but I was rocking down the street and all the sudden realized I just passed Mark Duplass just standing on the side of the road chatting with some of his friends. So, I really awkwardly stopped, introduced myself to him, and asked him if we could snap a pic together. I loved his films Your Sisters Sister and Safety Not Guaranteed and after our pic chatted with him for a minute about some of his work. He was a super chill guy, especially given that I totally just butt into his conversation with his buddies, woops.

I can't believe this could be the last time I go to Sundance. I really hope it's not!! But, should this be my last time, it was at least a perfect visit. I only made it into one movie, but I have made notes of a bunch more that I suppose I will have to wait for to come out in theaters, or redbox, or download, or something like that. 

peace. love. and film.