The hottest topic of conversation leading up to this year’s Sundance Film Festival? That virtually no one is actually going to this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Over the past couple of weeks, what started as a whisper has steadily grown into a ear-splitting groan, and with the Festival beginning tomorrow, it’s become a meme that’s too pervasive to ignore. I had heard either directly or via reliable second-hand testimony that a number of familiar faces (including a celebrity photographer, the film critic for a very high-profile weekly magazine, and a publicist representing a major distributor) were all skipping the festival this year; on the indie/freelance journalist end, reporter Anthony Kaufman took to his blog to detail the five reasons he’s decided not to head out to Utah.
Once the “Sundance: it’s gonna be a ghost town!” chatter had certifiably reached fever pitch, I went looking for Sundance regulars who would go on the record about why they’re skipping the festival this year, and what they plan to do instead. Always the skeptic, I had initially wondered if the Sundance Ghost Town Meme was a fiction invented by publicists and sold to the media in order to cover for what many expect to be a down year for sales. But when it came down to it, 5 out 6 of the people who were willing to talk to me at length and on the record about their planned Sundance absence were at least part-time journalists. Now, I wonder: is there even going to be any media left for publicists to sell fictions to?
In my conversations with five journalists about their Sundance dealbreakers, a number of common threads emerged. I break them down after the jump. If you’ve got your own not going to Sundance story, do let us know in the comments.
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One of my favorite movies of 2005 is now available on DVD. I became so enamored with 51 Birch Street after I saw it at SXSW 2005, that Spout hosted a grassroots screening to a packed theater near my house.
51 Birch Street is a little documentary made by Doug Block about his parents. He’s the kid in the family who makes movies, and–much like me–he’s volunteered to cover all family events. Then his mom dies and he keeps his camera with him as a way to make conversation with his old man. His camera winds up seeing more than he ever expected, capturing what looks like a tea cup filled to the brim with tornado. It’s a small story of your average American family having average problems that quake with cataclysmic force when the truth rises. It’s a pitch perfect telling of how–no matter where you are–family is a black hole always pulling you back to the core.
There’s a lot of excitement around the Spout offices today, as we watch the tickets sell for our first community film-watching event, tonight. We’ll be watching 51 Birch Street, a documentary by Doug Block about his parents’ marriage and the general mystery we call “family.” After the screening, we’ll host an online Q & A time with the director, then we’ll get as many people as possible to head over to our favorite local joint, The Cottage Bar, for some beer and continued discussion. (After tonight we’ll continue the discussion in a conversation group on spout.com)
The fact that we’re handing out drink discounts for the Cottage should help get a crowd to participate in the follow up. But from what I’ve heard about the film, I think people will feel compelled to be together and have opportunities to talk about the issues the film presents. That’s ultimately what’s exciting to me about this event, and about film festivals and any community film watching experience, really: the possibility to connect with others and parts of ourselves in new ways, around ideas sparked by films. And that’s why we’re testing this event–to find out how we can help individuals anywhere put together an event like this. We’ll let you know how it goes.
At SXSW this last March I saw Doug Block’s documentary 51 Birch Street. I immediately wanted to show it to my family and friends. It’s just one of those films that’s complete only when you have somebody to talk about it with. The filmmaker, Doug Block, was gracious enough to let us to host a sneak preview screening here in Michigan before it opens later in New York, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Boston.
Over the last several weeks I’ve been showing the film around to friends–by now I’ve probably watched 51 Birch Street half a dozen times. But I love showing it. I may know what happens next, but every time it ends I get to connect with people on a deeper level than what typically happens in everyday conversation. The film addresses the two most fundamental relationships we have: the one with our parents and the one with our wife/husband. What I’ve found is 51 Birch Street scratches an itch we all have, because, let’s face it, some part of our consciousness is always preoccupied with these relationships. It feels good to talk about them every once in a while.
There’s also something I’ve been thinking about around the idea of watching films in crowds. Snakes on a Plane was a blast because I saw it with a bunch of people willing to waste two hours on guaranteed good trash. 51 Birch Street isn’t as rowdy, but it’s also a film that gets better depending on who you watch it with. Although it’s airing on HBO next year, part of the reason we’re hosting this Spout event is I really want to bring it to a theater where people can watch it together, then walk across the street to the local watering hole and dig into some good conversation with each other. At Spout, we’ve always talked about bringing this type of experience to people. I think 51 Birch Street is the perfect film to start with, and there’ll be more to come. Join the 51 Birch Street Group for updates.
51 Birch Street will be showing at 8:00 Thursday, September 28th.
UICA Theater
41 Sheldon Boulevard SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
