Get ready for the hype overload that will be the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. It officially kicks off Thursday, Jan. 20, opens for business Friday, Jan. 21 and continues for 10 days, with winners announced Saturday, Jan. 29.
Between now and the first of February, it will be hard to get away from the media coverage. That said, here’s a discussion by actress Vera Farmiga, who’s starring in “Higher Ground,” a film in the U.S. Dramatic Competition produced by my friend and indie film legend, Gill Holland:
To see this particular film during the next two weeks, though, you have to be in Park City, Utah.
— But don’t despair if you don’t have an incredibly overpriced hotel room booked for the gala.
*If you live in Ann Arbor, MI; Brookline, MA; Brooklyn; Chicago; Los Angeles; Madison, WI; Nashville; San Francisco or Seattle — the Sundance 2011 festival comes to you.
For one day, Thursday, Jan. 27th. And at specific arthouse venues.
This is the second year Sundance has managed this event, and its intent is to promote the Institute, the individual films and filmmakers, and the independent, arthouse theaters where the screenings are held.
And Park City will be directly involved: the “Life In A Day” documentary that kicked off on YouTube this summer — inviting submissions for ordinary people to record what was happening on July 24 around the globe — will be shown there as part of the connected, nationwide experience.
“A major component of the Sundance Institute mission is to expand and engage audiences for independent storytelling,” Keri Putnam, Sundance Institute Executive Director, said. “Sundance Film Festival USA is an extension of the Institute’s year-round support of independent theaters across the country – designed both to provide people with access to films premiering at the Festival, and to encourage interaction between artists and audiences.”
Oh, and the Sundance Channel might possibly provide some information about what’s going on during the festival. Plus CNN, MSNBC, Fox, USA Today, the New York Times, etc etc etc. And let’s not forget US Weekly.
James Hyatt 
[…] Ground – I previewed this earlier — it’s Vera Farmiga’s directorical debut, and she’s acting in it as well. (She starred next to George Clooney in “Up in the […]