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Show - rr i ran. MOVIES IN THE MOUNTAINS ! Between Films... G Drop in at the Grub Steak! ly Since V. 1976 N 28 day aged Black Angus Beef Fresh Seafood 45 Item Fresh Salad Bar Lunch Dinner Live Entertainment on Friday & Saturday 649-8060 Prospector Square Corner of Sidewinder and Gold Dust www.grubsteakrestaurant.com It is interesting to note that the year the fledgling U.S. Independent Film Festival moved from Salt Lake to Park City was also the year Deer Valley Resort welcomed its first skiers. The resort opened in December, 1981 and a month later hosted several film festival-related parties and receptions. It was the first glimpse many had of Sow Park Lodge with its huge log beams and spacious dining rooms. The festites - just a handful of hopefuls back then were dwarfed by the cav- : ernous halls and duly impressed by the red carpet treatment. Who among that rebellious, rag-tag lot, though, could have imagined that 21 years later Deer Valley would be an Olympic host and the film festival would become a launching pad for future Oscar winners? During its early years in Park City, festival organizers struggled to find screening screen-ing rooms and audiences were often left waiting in the dark while volunteers scrambled to find an extra projector, or the third reel of a just-finished film. Only a few recognizable stars attended and tickets were plentiful. Enthusiastic local residents became guinea pigs for a spectrum of experimental techniques and subjects while soon-to-be-famous filmmakers networked at the local bars. Soon, the event began to develop a buzz among industry heavyweights on both coasts. In the early 80s it became fashionable for established directors and actors to bring their personal projects, the ones that they thought wouldn't appeal to a mass market, to Park City where they would rough it for a week amid the quaint historic his-toric buildings and snowstorms of northern Utah. The buzz began to grow louder but the festival was still teetering under a dark cloud of debt and disorganization. In 1985 the U.S. Independent Film Festival gave up some of its independence by turning its management over to Robert Redford's Sundance Institute. There were gasps of horror and strident critics who predicted that the Sundance kid would reel the festival in from the fringe and cast it back into the mainstream. After its name change," the Sundance Film Festival did get a haircut and shave but Redford was adamant in training the spotlight on independent film makers and cultivating new arenas for interaction between innovators and the industry. For the balance of the 80s Redford personally nurtured the festival, he brunched with the press at Deer Valley, chose the Egyptian Theater for opening night of his film "Out of Africa" and workshopped with film students. The effort paid off drawing Hollywood attention from Variety, Entertainment Tonight and the big studio movers and shakers. During the 90s Sundance exploded on the scene and in the process dealt with some awkward growing pains. Rogue festivals jumped on Sundance's coattails, hyperactive publicity agents began resorting to guerrilla tactics to advertise their clients' projects, Park City's modest theaters and narrow streets bulged uncomfortably uncom-fortably with people and traffic, the movies were sold out, the police complained about the parties and worst of all - there were critics who claimed Sundance had sold out. The crisis climaxed at the turn of the millennium. Sundance organizers suggested sug-gested the event had perhaps outgrown Park City. And there were residents who wholeheartedly agreed. But when it was officially announced that the festival might move back to Salt Lake City, Park City residents, business leaders and government officials rallied to convince Sundance to stay. Last year, festival attendees knew they would have to dodge through Olympic barriers, squeeze into hastily improvised parking lots and take somewhat of a back seat to ski jumpers and bobsledders, but still they slept in line to get first crack at screening tickets and Main Street was jammed with limos full of industry insiders looking for the next big hit. This year, Sundance is back, with a more extensive lineup than ever. In addition addi-tion to the dramatic and documentary competition films there are categories showcasing world cinema and online films. There are also lists of special interest pojects for those looking for films made by andor about women, gays, African-Americans, African-Americans, Asians and South Americans. Apparently, as a result of the expanded programming, most of the critics have stopped howling about the commercialization commercializa-tion of Sundance's films. The Sundance Film Festival and Deer Valley (ergo Park City) are at the top of their game and for the next two weeks you are invited to enjoy the best of all worlds - the mountains, the arts and the spirit of independence. |
