Sundance: One of the many great reasons to live in Utah

Most of the year, people who haven't discovered that if you look past the strange politics, the polygamists, and the weird liquor laws, Utah is a great place to live, avoid it like the plaque. Every winter, though, celebrities and groupies flock to Utah in droves to prance around Park City in their tight designer jeans and knee high Uggs and watch indie films. And it is so AWESOME!


I love independent films (and the celebs aren't so bad either). It is so fun to get to see them (the films) before the rest of the world does and to pick the director/producer/writer/actors' brain about what they were thinking. It is one of the few places where you can run into the director at Starbucks 30 minutes before the film starts.


This year, I messed up and registered for individual ticket sales instead of the locals only sale. By the time my time slot rolled around, all the good tickets were gone. I decided to try my luck at the day-of ticket sales and wait listing. Wait listing is a waste of time, but I had moderate luck with the day-of ticket sales. I got tickets to Toe to Toe and The Greatest. Both were great (but depressing--I think that is a prerequisite to getting into Sundance). Toe to Toe is the not-so-classic story of a spoiled rich white girl and struggling black girl from the inner city. Both girls are new to a school, fighting for a position on the lacrosse team, and fighting over the same boy. The director said that she was trying to explore race relations and why the majority of interracial friendships end by Eighth Grade, but the movie seemed to be just as much about socioeconomic status and how girls apply a different standard to boys than they do to other girls. The main cast was there and they agreed to take this picture with me. The acting was great. I expect that we will see more of these actors in the future.

SONEQUA MARTIN, LOUISA KRAUSE

The Greatest had an all star cast and an incredibly emotional story about how a family deals with the death (car accident) of their teenage son on the last day of high school. The movie hit a little too close to home and I spent the majority of it crying so hard I couldn't see the screen. It had a happy ending, but I don't know how realistic it was. After the screening, Clem and I hurried to the front of the auditorium to talk to Susan Sarandon. We pushed right past James Bond (Pierce), who wasn't as social as Susan. She and the other young actors were so nice, signing autographs and taking photos. I told Susan, "I don't want an autograph or a picture (I had already taken a ton), I just want to shake your hand." Cheesy, I know, but so what. I GOT TO SHAKE SUSAN SARANDON'S HAND. :)

Pierce Brosnan, ?, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan, Johnny Simmons, Zoe Kravitz

The next week, I went to best of fest with Rod and a bunch of friends from work and school. Once again, the winners were depressing. Push is about an overweight black girl, who has been raped by her father, is pregnant with his child (again), abused physically and emotionally by her mom, and illiterate. Her life is about as hopeless as it gets. Everything that could happen to this girl did. She is still hopeful, though. It made us want to slit our wrists. Don't worry, we are not really suicidal, we just don't recommend watching this film if you want to be able to function afterwards.

Afghan Star was the most uplifting film I saw at Sundance. It is about an American Idol-type show in Afghanistan. Unlike the cheesy American show, though, it is making a real difference in Afghanistan. The movie points out that text voting is the first real experience that many Afghans have with the democratic process. The show is also making a huge political statement because for the last 30 or so years, singing and dancing has been forbidden, and men and women do not hang out together in public. That part was uplifting (and eye-opening! Who thought American Idol could have any relevance?). But the female participants will probably be killed for participating in it. Not so uplifting.