We are a group from Saint Mary’s College of California going to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Check here for blog posts, photos, and video about our experiences at this 10 day-long festival in Park City, Utah!
Join in our Sundance Adventure! Check out the Sundance Website and the exciting indie films and events the festival offers this year!!
Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes follows a young girl in her perpetual search for her mother. Emanuel is an unusual girl, who lives in her own world and carries a holster of defensive, witty comebacks. She lives with her caring and well-meaning father, and his new wife, who just wants to be friends with her unreceptive new stepdaughter. When Linda, who bears a striking resemblance to Emanuel’s dead mother, moves in next door, Emanuel cannot help her curiosity and becomes drawn into Linda’s dark and delusional world. The strange exploration of the subject matter may polarize viewers, giving the film a 5. The film is beautifully shot and the heroine relatable, however the issue at its heart is about the mental incapacity to process pain.
Linda is a woman who suffered the loss of her child and was unable to bear it. Her psyche creates a myth, an alternate reality in which she did not lose her child, in which she is a happy single mother. The reason Emanuel is so drawn into this delusion is because, although she knows Linda’s baby is not a real child, she herself has a neurotic inability to move past her own loss. This makes her the most sympathetic to Linda’s situation, although she is just strong enough not to fall completely into her own delusions. Yet Emanuel’s desire for a connection to her mother is strong, and is captured in the water and French motifs throughout the film. Emanuel’s mother knew French, and described the feeling of being free amongst the fishes before she died giving birth to her. Emanuel hears water all the time, sees it flooding up to swallow her at various times. She also has a preoccupation with French music and culture. Both of these motifs are symbolic of the way her mother’s loss has changed her and her painful longing to recapture anything left from that relationship.
As the narrative progresses, Emanuel herself becomes more and more unstable, until she feels utterly unhinged. She becomes as invested in the doll- as- child delusion as Linda is. There is a gorgeous under water sequence, in which Emanuel is finally swallowed completely by the water. At first this symbolizes the way she has become completely overcome by the lingering presence of her dead mother and the impact of the pain. However, it then shifts, and becomes an image of freedom and the ability to let go. After the traumatic explosion of Linda’s alternate reality, Emanuel is finally able to accept and move on.
– Mariah Torres
The Lifeguard follows Leigh, a 29 year-old journalist living out the life she wanted in New York, when she has a mental breakdown and regresses into a state of adolescence. It is clear that the life she leads is not measuring up to the life she envisioned in high school, so she goes back to the point in her life when she had the most potential in order to start over. She moves back in with her parents and starts life guarding at the local pool. Here she reconnects with old friends, and starts an illicit relationship with a high school boy. The linear narrative is fairly straight forward and easy to follow, with an easily relatable main theme, and likeable, white, wealthy protagonist, giving this film a rating of 3 on the independent film spectrum.
The central theme of the film is feeling overwhelmed by life and the desire to relive when you felt most secure. Leigh does this literally by moving back home, making this a fantasy for people going through the same issues, and who can relate to the content on a symbolic level. Leigh needs to rebuild her confidence in a safe environment, but as she finds, there is a big difference between recuperating and hiding. Despite being almost thirty, Leigh does not really know who she is, she is lost, which is why she relates to the punky high school kids who hang out around the pool. On an emotional level they are at the same place in life, looking out into the abyss of the future with absolutely no idea what direction to go in.
Interestingly Leigh’s friends, who have remained living in town, seem to be having similar issues. Her friend Mel, who is vice principal of the high school and trying to get pregnant is also having a mini early -life -crisis and goes off gallivanting with Leigh and the teenage boys. Mel’s storyline strengthens the parallel theme running through their lives which is that you can feel lost and directionless and overwhelmed at any stage in life. And Mel has a lot to worry about; her issues getting pregnant have led to issues in her marriage. But through the tribulations of reclaimed youth they find they cannot go back, and have to deal with their adult problems in order to progress. The film is understated, funny at times, poignant when it needs to be, and makes you care about the characters as they meet adulthood head on.
– Mariah Torres
After researching and attending the Sundance Film Festival I feel like I have a greater understanding of the festival’s role in supporting independent filmmakers as well as increasing the public’s awareness and appreciation of independent film. Part of what was so exiting about being there was the sense that everybody was open and interested in experiencing something outside the norm. A passion for film as an art form pervaded the festival. I was surprised at the wide variety of content, it really covers the spectrum, from narrative feature films, to foreign documentary, to crazy experimental films; there is something to peak every interest. Yet having such a unique selection of films in one place also encourages you to seek out those films you don’t usually go for, and in this way it fosters growth and progression within the film going public.
As we learned in class, and saw at the festival, independent films tend to feature unusual or nonlinear plots, multi-dimensional characters who are often female, minorities, poor, homosexual, less attractive, and so on, not your usual Hollywood fare. The themes may be darker or more taboo than the average popular film, with an emphasis on character development. I noticed these attributes in literally every film I saw at Sundance, and while I love a good blockbuster or action flick, I really appreciated the intense characters studies most of the films I saw featured. Considering the quality of a great deal of the work, it amazes me that they were able to film in such a short amount of time. In the Q&A session after one film, the young female director told us she shot the movie in 27 days, which was seemingly luxurious to the Sundance crowd. The low budgets and short shooting timelines these filmmakers have to contend with in order to create engaging and movies stories is a credit to their passion and skill. I was heartened to see so many young directors, female directors, writer-directors, and first time directors. I genuinely liked the majority of the films I went to, and I think the prevalence of quality is due to the fact that in the unglamorous independent film world, everyone there is committed and believes in the story they are telling.
At the Festival there is an atmosphere of fostering new up and coming talent, and a collaborative effort to get their work out. There are people there who work in film at every level, from directors to writers, production assistants and so on. For people in the industry it can function as a place to network or meet other people with similar interests in film. But there are also tons of people who come just for fun, because they love watching movies and are interested in what’s new. You can meet some interesting folks just standing in the waitlist line, most of them are pretty friendly and you might as well chat if you’re going to be there for a few hours.
The evolution of the festival, from its very humble beginnings to the prestigious and well respected event it is today is remarkable. It was helpful to have a working knowledge of the types of films that the festival has supported in the past, as well as how it got started. The U.S. Film Festival, as it was then called, was first held in 1978 in Salt Lake City. The festival only moved to Park City many years later when director Sydney Pollack suggested they move it to winter and have it in a resort community to attract more people; a golden suggestion on his part. The early evolution of the festival seemed so fly by the seat of your pants; it gives me a greater sense of appreciation for how it turned out and what a big role it has had in advancing independent cinema.
I was grateful to be able to go to the Awards Party on the last Saturday night of the Sundance Film Festival. Erik, Patrick, and I went to see if we could bump into any filmmakers or actors, only to find the directors from The Spectacular Now and The Crash Reel, perusing the party as well. The full ten days of Sundance was an experience I would not trade, having met so many interesting and inspiring people while waiting in wait list lines, chatting on the shuttle buses, and merely by being a part of the class. Having sat through my first quadruple feature, I have to say…I don’t know if I can do that again, but it’s safe to say that the tricks of Sundance have been learned. Never again will I wait list on the first weekend, bottom line…should have just taken Virginia’s advice despite the pressure to get all fifteen of my tickets right away, but live and learn! I would love to come back to the festival with friends and family in the future, and I already found out about how to volunteer…so I guess the only question of my next Sundance is not if, but when. Let’s hope all our favorite movies from the festival will soon be in wide release! Here were a few of my favorites:
Ciao for now, Sundance! Until we meet again!
The vibrant snowboarding scene in Park City made me really want to stay and hit the slopes after the crowds left Sundance. The runs at the resort in Park City featured pretty wide open bowls that provided tons of room to carve and shred the powder. If you wanted something a little more extreme the park runs ranged from novice to advance, the mountain had multiple half pipes, tons of jumps, and rails everywhere. Park City seems like a legendary mountain, although it might not have the same challenging backcountry runs that some places in California have it still provides a ton of room to experiment and try different kinds of ski runs. After watching the movie Crash Reel and seeing the affection that some of the snowboarders have for Park City, it was an exciting experience to shred the same mountain. The ski runs in Park City run into the town and right at the doorstop of the ski shops and pizza places off main street like Davanza’s and the High West distillery. You can hang out there with some really radical boarders and grab a slice of pizza then catch a movie at the Egyptian. Park City really has a lot of fun things to do during Sundance and they love their snowboarders and skiiers there!
After learning about the history, watching the films, and attending the festival, I can now honestly say that I understand so much more about independent film. Independent film is a classification that does not just apply to what sells at the box office, but what makes our nation tick. Through independent films, directors and screenwriters can speak to the subconscious of Americans, making us start conversations and even actualize what is happening in our culture and the many subsets of culture within the United States and beyond. These films make us wonder, imagine, and think beyond being entertained. Taboo subjects can be talked about freely, artists can experiment, and the personal myths that we all deal with amidst other overarching cultural values can finally be brought out into the open, for all to explore. Film demonstrates a type of truth that we can experience in life, and as such, independent film does the best job of telling the most honest stories in order to gain understanding, and at the very least, further thought on the most difficult of subjects.
In terms of myth, as mainstream films tend to reinforce and perpetuate the economy religion of western culture, true independent films challenge the dominant culture values in such a way that the stories of every particular group in the U.S. can be represented in a way that communicates their realities. Independent film often included clashes between a character’s personal myth and their meta-myth, creating a difficult road for them, but hopefully demonstrating a life that was lived truthfully, if not happily. And that is the thing about independent film. It is not happy; it is real. It is as if a person vulnerably bears their whole selves to you when you watch an independent film, leaving out none of the hard times, the good times, or anything in between. Symbols, metaphors, and various art mediums combine in a way that is expressive solely of what needs to be awakened within the observer, sometimes causing confusion, but ultimately meditation on a certain thought.
If there is one thing I have learned about the filmmakers and the crews involved in independent filmmaking, it is this: they do not do it for the money. Even as years pass by and the budgets become higher for some independent films, the majority of films are made with very little money and the message of the film is often important more important than anything else in the process of producing the film. The greatest care is taken in order to deliver that message in a truthful way to audiences and judging by this year’s Sundance Film Festival, it seems that many well-known actors are willing to take part in delivering these messages too. Now, there may be some who argue this makes independent film less independent, but in fact, it is only helping to create a larger audience for the truths that must be spoken.
It was surprising to learn that so many people attend the festival and that access to the festival is not as exclusive as I had thought before coming, myself. The popularity of Sundance is just one example of how much independent film is needed and desired in the country, and throughout the world. More and more, people seem to want more of the truth that is in essence, independent film, and it was exciting to be a witness to the magic of conversation and wonder that was constantly shared throughout the festival, from each shuttle bus ride, to every new screening and question and answer period after each film.
Lovelace
Directors: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Screenwriter: Andy Bellin
In the film Lovelace, Amanda Seyfried plays the part of Linda Marchiano, better known by her stage name, Linda Lovelace. Alongside Peter Sarsgaard, who plays her abusive husband, the story revolves around her rise to fame via the pornographic film, Deep Throat, released in 1972. The film seeks to explain exactly who Linda Lovelace was and how she became a porn star, focusing on the abuse Linda experienced at the hands of her husband Chuck Traynor, who forced Linda into using her sexual appeal to make money. In the end, Linda is able to break free from Traynor with the help of other porn producers, later starting a family and seeking to return to normal life by writing a book about her life, with hopes to help other girls who feel trapped in similar situations because they were taught to be obedient to their husbands.
Lovelace does a great job of portraying Linda Lovelace in a way that is accessible to all audiences. Pornography is a taboo subject in American culture and the filmmakers were able to create Linda into a relatable person by looking past the explicitly shocking sexual material to get to the heart of Linda—a kind-hearted individual who only ever wanted to be loved and please those whom she loved. The film flowed in a way that was easy to follow as well, mirroring how the filmmakers learned of Linda’s story. Visually, the film made the audience feel like they too were peering into the seventies, as if it were as tangible as modern today. Perhaps if the movie were made in part or in whole with lenses that would allow the film to look more like film from the 1970s, the film might have transported the audience even more to that time, with a more old school feel.
In terms of myth, the film shows Linda growing up in a Christian household with conservative values, concern for outward image, stemming from her mother, and hard work stemming from her father’s work. Linda goes against the rules that her meta-myth has created when she stays too late at her boyfriend Chuck Traynor’s house one night, and suddenly she is kicked out and able to live her myth free of any of the old constraints of her family’s rules. It seems she is able to make her own happy myth for a time with her husband Chuck Traynor until they begin to lose their money to Traynor’s failed business ventures, of which Linda knows very little, until she becomes the sales pitch. Suddenly, Linda is asked to put the ethics aside that she learned from her parents, by taking on a role in a porn film, at the request of her husband. She believes her husband’s myth, enduring abuse, and even after she asks her own mother for help out of her situation, the meta-myth that raised her, will not keep her safe from Traynor because of the value her mother places in obedience to one’s husband. Thus, Linda must “act” in the porno, Deep Throat, against her own myth, which she is only able to confront and explain to others through an autobiography she writes after leaving her husband, with the help of her admiring porn film producers.
One mainstream American cultural belief that is challenged in the film is the traditional patriarchal belief that women should be obedient and accommodating to their husbands’ demands. In the movie, Linda runs to her mother and father’s home when her husband first beats her, hoping to find help out of her marriage that has taken a turn for the worse. Her mother disregards what Linda says, turning the blame on Linda when she says, “What did you do to make him hit you?” Essentially it was acceptable within their meta-myth for a husband to hit his wife if she did not respect him, and so Linda’s mother told her to go home and do what her husband wanted, in order to be a good wife. Once Linda is able to get away from her husband for good, she challenges the belief that the women in the porn industry always choose to participate in it, and she also challenges domestic violence by sharing her story, being a strong voice for women. In real life, Linda Marchiano really did challenge these perceptions of women in marriage and in pornography with her book, becoming a voice in the feminism movement.
In terms of the content of this film, the subject of pornography and the way in which the filmmakers portray Linda as an individual, rather than a mere pawn in the world of porn, speaks to the film’s independent aspects. Porn is a subject that is not widely accepted in the U.S., despite the fact that it is commonly used with the wide reach of the Internet, so making a movie about a famous porn movie of the 1970s is already a film subject that might understandably be a turn-off for big movie studios, besides the fact that there is quite a bit of nudity. The fact that the filmmakers did not merely leave the film about Linda’s time in pornography, also choosing to include the impact that Linda wanted to make upon women young and old with the message of her autobiography and her work advocating women’s rights.
During the question and answer period, Amanda Seyfried said it was a challenging part for her to play. The filmmakers said that in telling Linda’s story, they wanted to also convey the things she symbolizes in American pop culture history: a moment of sexual revolution and a spur to feminism, just as porn was becoming an exploding success, essentially defining a huge part of American culture today. The directors wanted to portray the fame struggle Linda had before she could gain back a sense of self, having no agenda in telling the story except to start a conversation in acknowledging Linda’s activism. Interestingly enough, the two directors were also gay and they publicly related the struggle of living their own myths with the myth that Linda struggled to live.
Narco Cultura
Director: Shaul Schwartz
In the documentary, Narco Cultura, the affects of Mexican cartel culture are examined through the eyes of a Mexican forensics officer of Juarez, juxtaposed with a Mexican-American narco corrida singer who praises the lives and the lifestyle of the same hunted cartel leaders. The documentary follows their daily lives and interactions, acting as a fly on the wall, throughout it all. The film is shown in a way that simply displays the feelings and lives of each person, without the audience ever seeing or hearing the documentary makers. There is no bias or government opinion inserted into the film at any given point, making the film as honest and real as possible, by cutting out any shots of the camera crew and others involved in the film, as well as by using the footage they collected to simply recreate the ideas of those involved in the project, rather than trying to create a new view point as a result of the information gathered.
The film quality was very polished and clean looking, for the most part. At times, the end of the scenes would blur, as a transition to the next scene, leaving just enough time in between one viewpoint and the next to show a stark difference of opinion about the same criminals or legends of power—as each sees them in their own minds. It was extremely effective to use this approach in the filming of Narco Cultura because metaphorically, the difference in opinion between the Mexican forensics officer and the narco corrida singer, tend to blend together into the overarching power that Mexican drug cartels have over both, and the groups of people they represent in society. The fact that the director, or any other member of the crew, was not shown or heard in the film, added to the feeling that the audience was hearing the opinions and the stories of the cop and the singer firsthand.
As far as myth is concerned, it was interesting to see how the forensics officer’s myth was consumed with doing justice and what he felt was right, even if it meant putting himself in danger, because his job was what he could contribute to the world and what he was good at. In contrast, the myth of the narco corrida singer seemed to be split between the same traditional family values that the officer in Mexico believed in, however the singer also believed fervently in the power of the cartel leaders. To honor these leaders, he and his band members slung bazookas and other weapons over their shoulders at live performances, imitating the same type of tough-guy attitude, and seemed to pay respects to the Sinaloa cartel at a gravesite in Mexico. It appears strange to the audience that the singer cannot see how he is promoting a culture and a type of power, that however admirable and exciting it may seem, is the same type of demented and dark power that could ruin the beautiful family he has been blessed with.
The content of the film is certainly independent because this issue, no matter how prevalent a part of American culture it has been over the last few years, the reactions in the audience make me think it safe to assume that most Americans are oblivious to what is actually going on. Mainstream media tells people that Mexico is dangerous and it has been made clear with the Mexican government’s declaration of war that drug cartels are a problem that is far from over. Narco Cultura offers audiences a perspective that has not been considered, made public, or explored much further than the newsworthy headlines. I do not know if mainstream studios and general media would feel comfortable airing the perspective that a Mexican-American believes the only way to gain respect is by being one of these criminal cartel members. At the end of the film, a sense of submissiveness was brought to the attention of the audience by the police officer on screen; something that really makes audiences think if they are the ones being submissive about the issue and how it affects their lives.
During the question and answer period, the director stated that they had tried to portray the stories of the two men in the film in an honest way without government thoughts. He also pointed out that the United States is very much involved with the issue, as much as it may want to brush it under the rug, specifically saying that this is our war as Americans, our money, and our weapons. In making the film, they wanted to how endless the cycle is and how people are drawn to war. Despite the sometimes disturbing narco corridas that have been banned from Mexico, the director told the audience that he still believes in freedom of speech and that he sees no reason why the songs should not continue to be made available in U.S. Target and Walmart stores, in order to educate people about is happening.
For me, the most powerful moment of the film happened near the end of the film when the narco corrida singers went to Mexico and visited a private cemetery where many drug cartel members were buried in lavish tombs that looked like colorful cities. Something that looked so beautiful, painted in bright happy colors, and celebrating the lives of the dead, was actually celebrating criminal lives that were the cause of so many innocent deaths. It was simply shocking to see the glory these destructive cartel members had gained, when it was clear the people they had killed were scarcely left a tomb stone, sometimes being buried in mass graves that left no trace behind for their families—not even an explanation as to why. It appalled me that the singer seemed near tears at the end of his visit, pouring out some of his beer on the dirt beside a grave, as a payment of respect to a man whom I can only imagine was never worthy of such respect, and rather punishment for his deeds.
Patrick Betti
2/3/12
Sundance
Milkshake
Director: David Andalman
Writers: David Andalman, Mariko Munro
In Milkshake a teenage boy sees his life change and his dreams come true as he becomes more popular and accepted with the cool kids in his school, although in the process he struggles to maintain his relationships with some of his best friends from his childhood. The character essentially has good intentions at heart and wants the best for his friends, but he sometimes has unrealistic expectations of his own talents and importance that get in the way of him viewing his situation logically.
The film uses a lot of humor to tell this coming-of-age story in a sort of tongue-in-cheek way, the style of humor it uses makes it stand out as an independent comedy. One example of this sort of tongue-in-cheek humor is that the main character is Al Jolson’s great-great grandson, yet he strives above all else to fit in with the African-American community. The character makes politically incorrect stereotypes about black people in ridiculous ways and shows a total insensitivity towards the issues of race, but in a generally harmless and innocent way. The movie essentially pokes fun at some of the racial taboos that we have in America and talks about how influential black culture has been on youth, especially in the 90’s when the movie takes place. The character listens to Tupac and idolizes him, yet idolizes him for all of the wrong reasons such as his violence against police. The movie really takes an honest look at the myth of black culture on America, but its brutal honesty means it makes risky jokes that put it out of the mainstream category. I would rate this movie as an 8 on a scale of how independent it is.
The film talks mostly about the myth of black culture in America. The film basically takes a rarely seen honest look at the reasons behind the myth and the somewhat politically incorrect reasons this myth exists among white people. It shows how the existence of rap culture and other largely black art forms have grown to include some less than flattering views of black people. For example the character worships many negative aspects of the culture and thinks highly of it for comically misguided reasons. It is implied in the movie that the culture he worships has many positive aspects and the many artists he finds fascinating actually have contributed significantly to their art form and social awareness. The character never fully realizes why his views on the matter are somewhat misguided, and at the end he is left wondering why his whole philosophy has come into question by his friends and family. This leaves it up to the viewer to think about why he was wrong and the whole myth of black culture in America.
SMC @ Sundance 2013 