SUNDANCE - A FESTIVAL VIRGIN'S GUIDE
Festival Structure
The astronomical growth experienced by the festival during the 1990s created a need to expand the number of films screened and introduce more effective ways of grouping them together for easy digestion by the audience. Today, no less than 10 separate sections make up the Sundance Film Festival program. These are the following:
Independent Feature Film Competition
Many consider this to be the main event at Sundance, and consequently, films in this program tend to get the lion's share of acquisitions and media attention. Within the Independent Feature Film Competition are two categories - one for dramatic features and one for documentaries - and around 16 films compete in each for a variety of awards. The Independent Feature Film Competition is restricted to independent American films.
American Spectrum
In an effort to address concerns that the festival's focus on American independent cinema was becoming diluted through an expanded program of international films, American Spectrum was added to the program in 1996. A non-competitive section, American Spectrum aims to survey the landscape of America's most promising new independent filmmakers and promote their work to a wider audience. American Spectrum includes both dramatic and documentary films, and the films are eligible for the Audience Awards.
Frontier
Since its early days as the Utah/US Film Festival, Sundance has provided a forum for experimental films that push the boundaries of cinema. Frontier is the banner under which such films now play in the festival program. Frontier is open to films of all types and lengths, from any country.
World Cinema
Although historically the Sundance Film Festival has celebrated the best of American independent film, international cinema now plays an increasingly prominent role in the event. From 2005 onwards, World Cinema will be a competitive event, championing international films with independent spirit for American audiences. As with the Independent Feature Film Competition, the World Cinema Competition is separated into two categories; one for dramatic films and one for documentaries. Approximately 28 films are selected (16 features and 12 documentaries), and a jury prize is awarded to the best film in each category. World Cinema is open to dramatic feature films made outside the United States.
Native Forum
The Native Forum is a dedicated festival program showcasing innovative and creative work from indigenous filmmakers around the world. The Native Forum is open to dramatic and documentary features and shorts.
Park City at Midnight
Perhaps the most notorious Sundance program, Park City at Midnight has long had a reputation for screening films guaranteed to provoke a reaction. Historically, tremendously diverse films that range across many genres and subject matters have occupied these screening slots. The "rags to riches" success story of The Blair Witch Project has its roots in the buzz generated from its midnight screenings during the 1999 festival, but the program has also served up over-the-top comedies, international hits, surreal drama, and animation for late-night audiences. As the festival itself suggests, Park City at Midnight is "a good place to find a new cult classic."
Premieres
This is a showcase program for new films from respected American and international directors. Films in the Premieres program usually have theatrical distribution in place, but are invited to take part in the festival on the basis of their compelling stories or innovative approaches.
Shorts
Short filmmaking has always been a proving ground for new talent and a test bed for groundbreaking approaches to storytelling. The Sundance Film Festival Shorts program recognises this talent and experimentation by bringing these films to a wider audience. Sundance shorts are either shown before a main feature or grouped together into feature-length programs. The Shorts program is open to films from all countries.
From the Sundance Collection
One of the Sundance Institute's major activities is the collection and preservation of independent films for future generations. The fruits of this labour are manifested in the Sundance Collection, housed in Los Angeles at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. During the festival, a selection of treasures from Sundance's archive are presented alongside the regular programs to give festivalgoers a chance to contrast the current landscape of independent filmmaking against a selection of important works from the past.
Special Screenings
Each year, the Sundance Film Festival also presents a program of special screenings. These range from retrospectives of influential filmmakers' work to groups of films from countries with low cinematic visibility, and to interesting films that evade classification in existing festival programs.
For the full run-down on the structure of the Sundance Film Festival, make sure you pick up a copy of Sundance - A Festival Virgin's Guide.