Sundance kicks off this Thursday, January 28th and going into it feels like the perfect culmination of everything that’s happened in 2020 and the fest tells us, before it even starts, a bit about what 2021 will look like. Plus, we’ll undoubtedly learn a lot as the week unfolds.
Normally, those of us lucky enough to go to Park City – and it is a lucky few, in spite of how much complaining about the festival is an annual ritual as well – get to see the films that will define American cinema before everyone else. But if you haven’t heard, this year almost anyone can “virtually” attend the fest, and for as cheap as $25 (with the Explorer pass). You can also attend the other Park City festival, Slamdance (albeit later in February this year), for just $10 bucks – always competing these two. And more importantly, you can join the conversation, as Sundance will be one of the first film fests that is truly trying to earn the title of Virtual Film Fest (everyone else is just poorly online).
Yes, a few others have experimented with virtual gatherings, but Sundance has apparently watched them all, experimented, and built something new – a mix of virtual and Zoom spaces where you can network, experience actual VR, watch cinema in VR (here comes the hate mail for combining those words), and presumably smoke pot on a balcony while blitzed off free booze and meeting your best of friends for life as you argue over some obscure film few will ever see, which is what really takes place in Park City. Indiewire has the full scoop on all of Sundance’s efforts and how to experience them, as does Engadget. To be honest, I’d rather just meet up with friends on HouseParty after some films than join them in these virtual spaces, but I’ll give these a chance, and report back soon (and if you want to HouseParty during the fest, do contact me).
I’m hoping that Sundance’s virtual worlds are as great as reported, because their website proves another lesson of 2020 – that film fests may be surviving the transition to the online space, but their websites remain among the clunkiest experiences available online. It’s barely navigable, and the fact that anyone approved this mess, but that it somehow is better than most other festival’s dismal sites, just shows how little thought festivals are putting into their brand online. But I’ll cut them some slack and just pretend that their website is a simulacrum of the shitty experience that is trying to get across Park City in the snow, waiting on crowded buses and hiking up hills in thin air to see a movie. The web experience shines if you think about it that way.
And let’s face it - There is something worse than film festival websites – it’s virtual cinema ones. I swear, there’s been some private competition going on between Museums, Film Fests and Restaurants for worst website each year, and they all won! But this year, there was a new entrant – the virtual cinema. Head on over to your favorite arthouse cinema and try, just try I beg you, to mercy-rent a film from them. Click around on a few titles and see how much more fun it gets?! You could do this all night, but odds are the sites will freeze on you before you get too far. I’ve had to force quit one of the better of these applications on my AppleTV at least three times this past month (I’ll spare mentioning who it was). Don’t even try to use any of the Sundance Satellite venue websites – I did, and it was scary. This doesn’t bode well for theaters (or fests or distributors) surviving the streaming revolution. To be fair, I attended CES this year, and their experience wasn’t much better, and that’s a technology fest – so this stuff ain’t easy. My wish for 2021 is that every foundation that supports film will give emergency funding to film fests and theaters to rebuild their websites, because if this is the future, we need it to feel like something built in ‘21 instead of looking like a trip through the Wayback Machine.
That gripe aside, I can’t wait to hear how the Sundance experience is for the filmmakers this year. Because that’s been the other main lesson of 2020 – that online film fests work for festivals, for audiences (minus the conversations), and for panel conversations, but they’ve not been a great experience for the filmmakers themselves. You’re lucky if you get a live Q&A, much less an opportunity to network with other filmmakers, industry panelists, or god-forbid, the jury. I was on the jury for one fest and the filmmaker had to reach out to me on LinkedIn to thank me and ask if we could do a 15-minute meeting. That should be part of the fest’s hospitality.
From what I’ve heard, Sundance is doing a better job of trying to make a good experience for the filmmakers. I hope they succeed at making it a “special” experience for the entire creative team (not just the directors, ahem…), and that they help them connect to all aspects of the industry (as they do at the regular fest) because those are the lifetime experiences that come in a close-second to seeing your film on the big screen at the Eccles or the Egyptian. Another nice touch would be improved transparency – I hope the fest will be giving extensive audience viewing reports to the filmmakers, and setting the standard for other festivals, but I haven’t heard a peep about this yet.
But most of what we hope to learn from Sundance will be somewhat out of the festival’s control. Sundance is always where we take the temperature of the field – what’s working, what’s not, what’s next, what’s the state of things? What are the stories being told? Who are the rising talents? How did X film get into the fest, when Y film we know about didn’t make the cut? Will the buyers show up? Lord knows, they haven’t been buying much out of the other festivals, but reports are the market will be strong (aren’t they always?). Who will they be? What buyers have enough money left in the bank to go spending? Anyone other than the big streamers? Or will they sit this out, already having enough films?
Can any buzz be created for the films? That’s been the biggest issue with online fests so far – no buzz seems to come out of them, beyond the organizers and the core industry. Will any of the films break through the noise to become the most talked-about films of ‘21? By the general public? Will any business networking get done in the virtual spaces? I know I take 5-10 formal meetings a day, and many more informal ones, in addition to films in Park City. Will that take place in the virtual version (I know my calendar says no)? How much Covid will spread in the satellite screenings that are being held indoors? Who goes to these things? Drive-ins and virtual spaces, sure, but haven’t folks heard about these new variants??!! And will these satellites help spread buzz and/or help the affiliates to make any money?
The fest has clearly tried it’s best to make all of this work. So, any critique here or later is more of the situation we all find ourselves in than in their particular response (as I said, CES had issues, and they are presumably much richer and tech savvy…). I’m actually excited to watch many of the films, and to see whether the virtual spaces work out. I’ll be spending the next week trying to participate in the fest fully, and not just on their official venues, but via social media and maybe even some phone calls and zooms with old friends I can’t see in person. I’ve even restarted the old Flicklist Instagram feed to curate the films I want to watch (see below). And I’m rooting for their success – because if Sundance can’t pull this off at a higher level…who can? And what they do pull off will likely trickle down and across to other festivals, making it a better experience for all of us.
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I've decided to re-launch the old Flicklist Instagram page here. Check it out, and if you like it, please share and spread the word. Flicklist was an app that a few of us tried to launch back about 6 or 7 years ago, and for myriad reasons - it failed miserably. But I've still got the name and the accounts, and I am still looking for good curation out there (don't even send me your fave; I've tried them all, and none of them work well). So I am going to be posting a weekly Flicklist 4 - the four films coming out that week that are worth your time. But during Sundance, I'll be posting more often, recommending a variety of great titles - some of which I've seen, and others I've been waiting to see. No app. No website. Just a list, with a link to where to watch. It may fail again, but I'll try it out for awhile until I get bored. LMK what you think.
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Film
Films from Zeinabu irene Davis on Criterion: I don't plug film releases often here, but I have a special place in my heart for Compensation by Zeinabu irene Davis, and indeed all of her films. And you can watch many of them right now on Criterion. Why this film? First, it's great. Without a full synopsis/review, its two love stories between two people over two time periods (1900 and 1990's), and it also explores Deaf Black culture, and racism, disability and difference in a unique manner. It was also a film I showed back when it premiered, and I learned a lot about Deaf culture and how to properly show a film for this community with the help of Zeinabu and her co-prodiucer, Yvonne Welbon. And I was able to get to know co-star John Earl Jelks pretty well, and he's gone on to many great things. Davis's films are also an important part of film culture/history and the L.A. Rebellion film movement. All of which are just as relevant today. Check it out, along with her other films.
Supercharge Your Film's Distribution in 2021: One of the best workshop instructors for indie filmmakers is Peter Broderick. He has a new, free, workshop with a colleague, and its so popular that they've already added a second class on Feb 5th. Details follow: Facing an unprecedented future without a plan? Figuring out your next move when the old rules no longer apply? Peter Broderick and Keith Ochwat have created a workshop to empower independent filmmakers to determine the most effective distribution strategies in 2021. The Old World of Distribution is on hold and teetering on the brink of extinction. We are now living in a New World of Distribution where the virtual has supplanted the physical. This workshop will focus on the new opportunities and challenges ahead for independent film distribution in 2021. Learn more and register here.
Is there room for all of these Niche Streaming Services? The Verge takes a humorous look at the myriad niche streaming services out there with a quiz - guess which streamer names are real and fake? It's a fun little game to play, and shows how we're getting closer and closer to streaming fatigue (are we there yet? I think so.) But it also digs into what's working, and what's not.
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Miscellany:
The State of GreenBiz 2021: GreenBiz has released their State of Green Business in 2021 report. You can download it for e-free - giving your email - here. The report is great for anyone interested in climate change and sustainability, and I would add filmmakers who are making media about this space, and it shows that sustainability did NOT fall off the agenda in 2020. And while many people remain skeptical, business is taking ESG seriously, finally.
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