In a time of change! For almost two decades, I have jumped in the car and headed south for four hours to attend what is considered to be the most influential film festival in the U.S.—Sundance. It could change a filmmaker’s life to have a film screen in Park City, Utah, no matter the cold temperatures, a blizzard, or an event—pandemic, politics, etc.
Sundance has always been known for embracing independent film artists and the many collaborators contributing to a vision that becomes a visual story for all to experience with hundreds of people. No two festivals are ever the same, and neither has been the case with any of my experiences in attending over the years.
My hybrid pass has offered very few in-person premieres for the past two years, and I spend more time watching films on my computer at home. Having these options is wonderful, but I love attending a premiere, especially seeing the people behind the film—hearing their voices, seeing who they are and what they wear, and being in an audience with strangers who are all there to rejoice in watching independent films. The Q&As are informative and sometimes heated, and the audience reaction is why I spend money and rarely ever get paid to attend Sundance—it’s my choice.
“My hybrid pass has offered very few in-person premieres for the past two years, and I spend more time watching films on my computer at home.”
Nonetheless, I scrounge for tickets, begging publicists and filmmakers, as well as any connection I have to score a premiere ticket, and this has worked. For 2025, I did see the premieres By Design, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), and the short docs program. The rest of this year’s Sundance films I saw were online. I walked out of By Design, and Sly Lives! had major technical issues. I had to leave before the film ended, and when I walked out into the Eccles Theater lobby at midnight, I saw all the volunteers and ticket-checkers on the floor, appearing exhausted—is this Sundance?
However, to my surprise, I enjoyed the short documentary film block with Hold Me Close, which demonstrated excellent conversation editing. Tiger, a wild story about a Native American t-shirt company, and so much more, and The Reality of Hope, which was a very beautiful and forward-thinking use of virtual reality.
