Park City Dispatch. 3.

When folks go to the effort to appear in the mountains for a festival (or two), they want the films that they see to be remarkable. Compromises will be made in the hope of finding something, anything, to like. The programmers haven't made it easy this time around, unfortunately.

Regardless, from the sublime (such as Bill Basquin's beautifully photographed short Range) to the superficial (Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential, which incidentally inverts everything good about Ghost World), the Bay Area is relatively well-represented at Sundance. Off the screen, the influence of San Francisco is better acknowledged at the SF360 announcement Monday night, reflecting a partnership between indieWIRE and the San Francisco Film Society (among other like-minded organizations). However, you'll have to travel south along the coast to find the city of choice - Los Angeles, reflected in the opening night picture, Friends with Money. If your idea of entertainment is a few hours with self-absorbed, unlikeable people, this film should suit you. With Park City largely transplanted with Southern Californian sorts for ten days, it figures that the area would be represented largely in (and out) of the makeshift cinemas that temporarily litter this mountain town.

For all of the fuss made about Sundance's "return to independent filmmaking," you still have to venture to the top of Main Street (specifically Treasure Mountain Inn, the site once again for Slamdance) to see such work in action. For instance, Todd Rohal's wonderful debut feature, The Guatemalan Handshake, is more inventive in its first ten minutes than the entire duration of many films (the abysmal Lucky Number Slevin, for instance) at the elder festival. The Call of Cthulhu similarly represents a milestone in no-budget production, obsessively recreating HP Lovecraft's tale in period detail.

Is it by coincidence, then, that the best work at Sundance arrives from outside our borders? Whether it be Mexico (Carlos Reygadas's stunning sophomore effort Battle in Heaven), Denmark (Allegro, from Reconstruction helmer Christoffer Boe) or Iraq (the latest from Gaza Strip director James Longely, Iraq in Fragments). A coincidence, as well, that all three are represented by the same publicist, Susan Norget?

Not unlike CES, new modes of distribution are a repeated topic of discussion at panels, parties and, in passing, along the street. Whether it be Ironweed's subscription service or IFC's latest offshoot, the tailspin of theatrical revenues (among other issues) has everyone talking about potentially lucrative ways to reach audiences. Not that I can blame them; GreenCine's intentions are identical.

Splitting time between screenings and parties is a necessity in these parts, since the real work is done at both. Whether it's playing chess with NWFF's Michael Seiwerath at the THINKFilm party (with Mix Master Mike spinning "virtual" records in the background), briefly chatting with John Waters at the here!/Outfest Queer Brunch (visiting to promote his new television show) or dining at our home-away-from-home with the Zellner Brothers (who once again have a characteristically confounding short screening at the festival), the real reason for returning to Park City is the assortment of exceptional people that descend on the town for a handful of days. It's an attraction that has brought me to Utah for the past half-dozen years. We'll see if that is enough to get me back again next time.

Posted by dwhudson at January 23, 2006 3:24 PM