The Lost Film Festival will be happening concurrently with Sundance in Park City, Utah this year. Lost Film is an underground alternative to the big-industry hustle that invades Park City every year. Comprised of independent artists creating significant films with little or no budget, Lost Film is a small but important monument to the not-so-silent minority operating outside the studio system. Their D.I.Y. (do it yourself) motto might be “Have hustle, but don’t be a hustler”.
Big on pranks, this roving event travels around the country debuting documentaries and more, poking a socially responsible finger at the mainstream, while never losing its sense of humor.
Lost Film Fest, sometimes called, “a pimple on the a*s of Sundance”, is in its third year and screenings and events will take place on Saturday, January 12, Sunday, January 13 and Saturday, January 19th from 8 AM – 8 PM each day in Park City UT at 268 Main Street at the iLOUNGE.
This year’s keynote speaker is activist Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys. Live music will be provided by The Fleshies. This year’s featured film will be, “D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist,” an arts documentary by Michael W. Dean. The doc features interviews with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), J Mascis (Dinosaur jr.), John John Jesse (Demonic Erotic painter), Jim Rose (Jim Rose Sideshow), Jim Thirwell (Foetus), Lydia Lunch, Mike Watt (Minutemen), Richard Kern (Filmmaker), Ron Ashton (Stooges), Madagin Shive (Bonfire Madagin), Dave Brockie (Gwar) and many others. The 60-minute film explores the methods and motivations of independent American artists working in different genres and mediums. “D.I.Y. or Die” profiles a fascinating group of icons and unknowns working in various media including print, film, graphic art, performance art and music. The three-dozen interviewees are mavericks that operate outside of any “studio system”, are beholden to no one, and produce influential, quality art regardless of a continuous paycheck. Filmmaker Dean says “One of my favorite scenes in our film is Ian MacKaye saying that Fugazi was offered a million dollars by a major label and they said ‘no way’ because it ‘just wasn’t something that was for sale.'”
For a full list of films playing at the 2002 event, visit the official Lost Film Festival web site.
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