Park City, 1/21.

"With Sunday's announcement in Park City, the Cinema Eye Honors, a new award for nonfiction filmmaking that grew out of debate here over the Academy's shortlist in November, stands prepared to exist not as a counter-punch to another organization but as a new tradition within the nonfiction community and an important New York-based annual event for documentary excellence." AJ Schnack's got the list.

"So much for the sellers' market," writes David M Halbfinger in the New York Times. "The Sundance Film Festival's opening weekend, often the setting for rapturous audience reactions and frenzied all-night bidding wars, drew to a close looking more and more like a disappointment, if not an outright dud."

"It's a little early to be calling this year's fest a dud just because Geoff Gilmore programmed a bunch of films that aren't selling the first weekend," counters Variety's Anne Thompson.

"So far nothing has breakout buzz, and the highest-profile titles, that is, the ones with the big name actors, are faring particularly poorly." The Oregonian's Shawn Levy offers his take on the first weekend.

S James Snyder has another overview in the New York Sun.

Ian Olds at FilmInFocus: "Five Things for Short Filmmakers to Know Coming to Sundance."

Photos: Matt Dentler, Chris Garcia (more) and Ray Pride (more).

Posted by dwhudson at January 21, 2008 3:50 PM