The 2002 Slamdance Film Festival will close with Michael Ritchie’s 1968 classic “Downhill Racer,” an exhilarating thriller set against the backdrops of the Olympics, starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman. A surprise special guest will introduce the screening. Dazzling ski scenes spark this compelling character study of an egotistical small town skier (Redford) who has a chance at fame as an Olympian. But he soon discovers that glory may be all too fleeting. Making a special guest appearance to introduce the screening is Dick Movitz, Giant Slalom competitior in the 1948 Olympics in St. Moritz. At the time he was the reigning U.S. Slalom Champion.
DOWNHILL RACER will screen on Thursday, January 17th at 3:00 PM at the Silvermine. Shuttles are available from the Treasure Mountain Inn on Main Street and at the bottom of Main Street. The City Bus #4 heading towards Deer Valley also stops at the Silvermine. Park City locals are invited for free on a first come, first served basis with I.D.
“With Slamdance nestled beneath the snow capped ski-runs of pre-Olympics Park City, it seems the obvious choice to combine film and snow sports in honor of the world’s biggest sporting event with a screening of ‘Downhill Racer.’ Screening with DOWNHILL RACER is a 15 min. program of Shorts from the idiosyncratic filmmaking collective known as TRAKTOR. They made over 300 commercials and in the arena of music video, are responsible for an award-winning ‘Fat Boy Slim’ video. A Not to Be Missed Gold Medal Experience!!
Following at 7 PM, the festival winners will be announced prior to the 9 PM Filmmaker Party.
Filmmaker Party ^ Once again opening its doors to the filmmakers from all of the festivals in Park City – including NoDance, Slamdunk, Digidance, Tromadance and Lost Film Festival – Slamdance is planning to re-create the magic and chaos of last year’s Festival Summit.
“I’m certainly proud that our events have grown so much in the past few years; in the beginning, we were only able to get a few people through the door,” said Director of Events, Andrea Clark regarding the decision to extend invitations to other festivals. “At roughly 2500 bodies a night, we’re now the standard for super-sized parties in Park City, and it feels good to accommodate so many people and filmmakers in a town that’s known for its exclusive invites and closed-door policies. I suppose we just need that many people to make our celebrations complete.”
The event, which follows the annual Slamdance Sparky Awards, will be held on January 17th, 2002 at 9 pm, inviting back its own residents Ezra G, Akiko and Alien Tom, as well as Nettwerk America’s recording artist and House songbird DJ Colette. Joining them will be Valerie of the Vibe Tribe, last year’s Slamdance sensation with her inventive costumes and turntable freestylings.
Also performing live are MC Supernatural and DJ Organic (Kevin Fitzgerald, director of Slamdance film THE ART OF RHYME). Completing the entertainment is the live video animation and artistry of VJ V2, Vello Virkhaus. The Filmmaker Party sponsors include Hypnotic and the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival, Dos Equis, Kozak Vodka, Makers Mark and Jagermeister. Tickets are available by invitation to Slamdance affiliates and for purchase to the public ($10 each) through Slamdance in Utah; sales open Monday, January 7th. Ticket sales sites are located at the Treasure Mountain Inn (255 Main St.), 435.649.7178 or the Silvermine
The Platinum Sponsors for Slamdance 2002 are Kodak and JVC. Other sponsors include American Apparel, Avon Rentals, Brewvies, Burton Snowboards, Crest National, Deluxe Labs, DGA, Digital Film Group, Dos Equis, Film Festival Today, Jagermeister, Knitting Factory, Los Angeles Film School, Maryland Film Office, Movieola, Panavision, Kozak Vodka, Trakker Technologies, Video Equipment Rentals and X-96.
Highlights from the 2001 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City included over $70,000 in cash and prizes awarded to the winning films. Several films were picked up for distribution, Audience Award winner AMERICAN CHAI and Special Screening WENDIGO being the most recent. Almost every film went on to play at other international film festivals. The short film “Bean Cake” won the Palme D’Or for short film at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival.
The 2000 Grand Jury Winner – Frank Novak’s GOOD HOUSEKEEPING – went on to screen in the prestigious Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival, where it was acquired for US distribution by Shooting Gallery in conjunction with Universal Studios. Alumni include MEMENTO director Christopher Nolan (’99 award-winner FOLLOWING); the Russo Brothers (’97 entry PIECES) and MONSTER’S BALL director Marc Forster (’96 Audience Award winner LOUNGERS). Participation in the Slamdance Film Festival helped to discover these filmmakers and to propel them to their next features into production.
Get more info at the official Slamdance web site.
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