HANGING OUT VIRTUALLY @ SUNDANCE (PART 2)

Last night was opening night at the festival. I wanted to take the festival for a spin before writing this post. In true Sundance fashion I stayed up unreasonably late processing the experience and scrolling through friends nostalgic pics of festivals past. The whole experience felt like a rebirth of sorts. It was fitting that film I chose was Questlove’s SUMMER OF SOUL (produced in part by David Dinerstein). A time machine into lost footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, the documentary serves as a magnifying glass into valuable forgotten memories and the importance of cinema (and those memories) for documenting our progress or stagnation as a human society. At first, the evening started off with a deep feeling of isolation. Grieving IRL Sundance burned more than I thought it would. Missing the energy of a crowd loading into a theater, the communal laughs, sighs, roars and applause. But with new festival director Tabitha Jackson and Robert Redford’s invocation earlier in the day (and again this morning) in essence describing films as akin to constellations in the dark sky and our viewing experience not only defined by “what we are looking at (but) where we are looking from” - Sundance Film Festival 2021 kicked off with a new cosmically connected perspective honoring our individualism as much as our communal experience. As the live components came to life - chats, intros, Q&A’s, the interactive social experience in New Frontier, Questlove’s live DJ set on Youtube and texts/phone calls with friends also attending - I started to find my 2021 festival wings. Just as with every Sundance - everyone needs to forge their own path - and the more curious you are - the more involved and engaged - the better the experience. 

Kudos Tabitha Jackson, Keri Putnam, Shari Frilot, Kim Yutani and the entire Sundance team on pulling off the nearly impossible. 

Wednesday I posted how to get tickets to this wholly unique edition, and it looks like tickets are being released daily for popular films so keep checking in. Perhaps I’ll catch you in the chat today at This is How It Ends, Strawberry Mansion or Mother Schmuckers.

And while the films and the filmmaking talent are at the heart of the festival, those who have attended IRL know that the spirit is in the serendipitous and inspiring interactions that happen in Q&As, panels, shuttle buses, events, lounges, eateries and waitlist lines. The festival has created a robust interactive offering to best recreate this experience. Starting with the need to figure out how to navigate it all just like in Park City . . . but this year I won’t have to rely on my trusty rental car and secret parking tricks in order to fire on all cylinders. I just need to bounce between browser tabs, my Apple TV, Oculus Quest, texts and phone calls - perhaps with some Zooms, Clubhouses and Gathers in the mix. 

So here are some tips on how to go beyond the movies . . .

• Register for free to get access to most of the non-screening programming for free!
• Hang out in the New Frontier Film Party. This year New Frontier has become the primary social spot. Open to any pass holders (including the $25 Explorer pass). You slip on an avatar either in your computer browser or headset and zoom around the space looking for friends, old or new, to chat with. Don’t be afraid to engage and lean into the awkwardness (just like at an IRL party when joining a conversation). You can also watch all the shorts, indie episodics and experience a bunch of the New Frontier selection. (Sundance tip . . . never make promises to meet at a time and place - let the festival take you where it will).  
• Festival Village. This is your “virtual mainstreet.” 15 years ago or so I programmed some of the first weeklong sponsored lounges with the likes of Starbucks and Delta Air Lines. We started hosting panels and media lounges by day and parties by night. Eventually all of Main Street became filled with activities to deepen your festival experience between movies (and feed you hors d'oeuvres and alcohol so you didnt have to deal with impossible to secure restaurant reservations). Panels cover the art and business of filmmaking, interactive conversations about the most pressing social issues of our times, celebrations of the movies and talent in the fest. This year is no different, just bring your own sustenance. Dig into the sponsored programs and artist lounge to see what chats you can attend. And remember there are also the festival programmed “talks and events.” It seems there is some overlap in these sections - some are pre-recorded, some live (YT and Zoom). Go with the flow . . . pop around . . . this is the festival way! (without worrying about lines, capacities and traffic jams)
• BTW I’m digging the Utah “wellness” vibes this year with moments of natural zen in the morning dailies with Tabitha and some yoga courtesy of the University of Utah. I was already dreaming of morning communal hikes replacing some of the overindulgent parties. . . who’s in for 2022? 
• Private gatherings. Yes there does seem to be a spattering of privately organized gatherings as there usually is and well, if you know you know (I stopped keeping track years ago). But this year they don’t feel nearly as FOMO inducing as the IRL experience. In fact if filmmakers are throwing their own virtual hang out (like Questlove did) - they very well likely will be inviting to join them during the Q&A (or keep your eye on twitter and other social). 

I will be dabbling in Clubhouse tonight at 11p PT if you’d like to join.