The Sundance Film Festival opened last night, with fascinating documentaries exploring the American economic crisis. One example is the documentary “The Queen of Versailles,” which shows how self-made former billionaire and timeshare mogul David Siegel and his wife Jackie cope with the financial downturn.
Director Laura Greenfield spoke to Reuters about the movie, explaining that:
“They do take on this everyman quality that ends up putting them nearer to us in terms of the overreaching of America and downsizing and getting back to core values.”
On the other hand, David Siegel has sued the filmmakers and Sundance for defamation so it’s not all going as smoothly as it may first appear.
All in all, there are over 100 movies showing in 10 days, giving filmgoers plenty of choice on what to watch, as well as lots of options for buyers. Bigger movies causing a buzz include “Red Hook Summer,” directed by Spike Lee, “Red Lights” which stars Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro, “Lay The Favorite” with Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and “Bachelorette” with Kirsten Dunst.
Sundance is also making an important step towards embracing distribution for filmmakers. The internet is becoming more and more vital for independent filmmakers to get their name out there and to have their work seen and appreciated by a wider and bigger audience. Robert Redford stated:
“It’s pretty obvious we are in a period of tremendous change. We embrace it.”
With The Sundance Film Festival embracing technology, the future is starting to look more promising for independents.
Source: Reuters