My favorite part about Sundance really was meeting people. Watching the films was too of course, but meeting people was unexpectedly also so much fun. Not only did I enjoy the time with my class mates, I also talked to everyone I met everyday. From lyft drivers, to bus drivers, waiters at restaurants, people standing in line for films, people walking on the side walk, people riding the bus, people working at the box office, volunteers at the theater, everyone... so many people. It felt so good to be surrounded by individuals who felt the same passion and enthusiasm about film as I did. It was like a beautiful community hidden away in the mountain full of people who were creatively just like me. It was marvelous. Everyone was so kind and so willing to share their opinions and ideas and their own story. I truly miss the friendliness that Park City showed me.
I was also exposed to a level of diversity that I had never seen before. Where I’m from and even here on campus, I’m always surrounded by other black people, but at Sundance everyone was represented. White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian. There were people from all over the world who came to Sundance. Dre, Collin, Jason, and I met an Australian man at one of our screenings. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a real Australian accent in real life. It felt so good to be surrounded by so much diversity, yet having so much in common with everyone there. We were all cold, most of us were all far from home, and we were all super enthusiastic about films and film making.
It honestly felt good to be a regular festival attendee. At least for the first time. There’s something about waiting on the waitlist and not knowing if you’ll make it and waiting in line, and getting your ticket scanned and going to the box office hoping to trade something for something else that is part of the fun.
I remember while watching one of my screenings this girl beside me mentioned how she didn’t understand why we had to use paper as a voting ballot. She thought it was old fashioned and outdated. She also said that it was probably inaccurate because they have to be sorted by hand. I kind of agreed with her until someone else next to me mentioned how paper ballots were the best option because it ensures that the person who voted was actually there to view the screening and physical ballots are less likely to be tampered with, whereas digital numbers could be easily hacked.
All of the panels that I attended definitely spoke to the brand of Sundance. I think Sundance is about creating a platform for the stories of specific minority groups to be told in creative ways. Also getting films distributed is a large part of Sundance as well. I think most of the panels were all about that. Filmmakers discussed how they felt as minorities and how they’re happy that they can share stories about other minorities that other wise wouldn’t be shared. And there was also a lot of discussion about funding, getting films financed, and getting films noticed.
