Slamdance Film
Festival

Thursday, January 25

We gave nine filmmakers
$99 dollars each to make digital shorts. Or at least that was the plan. We recently
learned that we never forked over the money," said Slamdance programmer Paul
Rachman as he introduced the new '$99 shorts' program.



Despite their total lack of funds, the nine artists (all Slamdance alumni) made
their films, which can be seen online. The results are mixed, but good overall.




The Third Date, by Noel Dowd, is a fully-scripted and complete short
comedy with well-developed characters. In contrast, Dennis Dortch's The White
Girl Theme consists of nothing more than a lovely but bored actress lounging
on a couch trying to think of something to say. Significant Others, by
Rob Thomas, is a pleasantly smart POV of a marriage counselor's clients seated
side-by-side on a couch, facing the camera. Perhaps the most ambitious and best
realized was David Baer's Never Date an Actress, which is just exactly
the cautionary tale implied by the title. It's funny, sharp, and its closing
sequence implies that it may not be fiction.



The $99 shorts are well worth checking out, at www.slamdance.com/99dollar/.
They also screened at various times at the Silvermine this week.



Me and the Moilsies, a 20-minute short by Justin Schwartz, traces a Hasidic
boy's initiation into a roving gang. It was well received at its morning screening.
The story is a bit surreal, but expertly made, and the gorgeous 35 mm image
puts any $99 special to shame.



Another Slamdance program which has been stealing people away from Sundance
is the 'Fireside Chat' series, which takes place at the Treasure Mountain Inn
every day from 3:00 - 4:30. These are not typical festival panel discussions,
but more like round-table talks on a given topic, with the line between presenters
and spectators deliberately blurred.



Today's Fireside topic was Screenwriting. The top-placing winners of the Slamdance
screenplay competition were in attendance: Russell Paquette, Thomas Russell,
David Guest, Sophia Heller, and Nelson McCormick, as well as seasoned writer
and Slamdance alum David Hayter (who wrote the X-Men), and others.



Topics ranged from how to hold your ground when fighting with a creative executive
("They're not creative," insisted Hayter) to the various approaches to dramatic
structure. Much was made of the practical wisdom of writing for a budget, and
just as the group generally agreed that indie writers shouldn't put interplanetary
space battles into their scripts, an audience member pointed out that technology
is bringing special effects within everyone's reach, and the debate took off
again.



The one damper on today's Fireside Chat was that the digital tape of a flickering
fireplace, which is normally projected on a low screen against the wall, was
stolen. The chat proceeded with no fire.



Slamdance buzz: Hybrid is a favorite in the documentary department, and
several people were heard to say that American Chai and/or Paul is
Dead might be headed for an award on Friday…



Surreal Park City sightings #'s 12 and 13: Adam Sandler was spotted riding a
Slamdance shuttle down from the Silvermine, alone; and Hilary Swank briefly
manned the counter at a Main Street chocolate shop. She is a friend of the owner's,
and wanted to help out.

George
Wing

Opening
Night

Day
Two

Day
Three

Day
Four

Day
Five

Awards


Films


Contact
info