Each January, with the start of the Sundance Film Festival the scenic mountain ski resort of Park City, Utah is descended upon by filmmakers, critics, entertainment industry executives, celebrity seekers and movie fans.  What began as a modest festival intended to attract filmmakers to Utah and promote independent filmmaking, has morphed into a 10-day extravaganza of premieres, screenings, panels, lectures, parties and swag.

Come to Sundance well-rested.  There is too much fun to be had during the festival to bother with sleep.  As you walk along Park City’s Main Street, the festival’s sponsoring brands have showrooms, stages and pop-up cafés to entice and entertain festivalgoers.  It’s not uncommon to sit down for coffee next to a major film star being interviewed by a journalist or simply taking a rest between activities.  Parties are thrown for any and every reason: film premieres, studios, achievements, brands.  Amid all the festivities there are, of course, the movies themselves.

Independent films that would otherwise be swallowed up in the world of big-budget and big-studio entertainment, receive the spotlight during Sundance.  The festival gives unknown directors, writers and actors the opportunity to showcase their talents and do so in front of industry decision-makers. To even make it into the festival is in itself an achievement.  Of the 13,468 submissions in 2018, only 192 films were selected to screen – that’s less than 1%.  The importance of acceptance extends beyond the festival itself.  Sundance’s stamp of approval provides legitimacy to nameless filmmakers and creates the buzz necessary for their films to be acquired by distributors and played in front of audiences, which is of course the ultimate goal.

Attendance at the 2018 Sundance Festival reached a record 124,000 attendees, more than a 40% increase from the year before. If you plan on attending the festival in 2019, from hotel reservations to screening tickets, plan ahead!  Skip renting a car for the festival, as there is no public parking at the festival’s Park City locations.  It’s better to hire a car service or use the free shuttle that hits every theater and venue for the duration of the festival.

Festivalgoers headed to Sundance on private charters can use Salt Lake City International Airport (KSLC), which is about an hour’s drive from Park City.  Equidistant from Park City, domestic charters can also use South Valley Regional Airport (U42) to avoid commercial traffic.

Whether it’s the crisp mountain air, the high altitude, the anticipation of discovery or a combination of all three, the excitement during Sundance is palpable.   Talent can head to Park City in anonymity and return a star.  The festival has helped launch the careers of countless independent filmmakers, such as Quentin Tarantino, Edward Burns and Steven Soderbergh.  The films Garden State, Little Miss Sunshine and Napoleon Dynamite are among the break-out indies that grabbed the attention of a wider audience as a result of their success at Sundance. If you want to know which films are worth the trip to the theater, use Sundance as your guide.

So grab your puffy jacket and furry boots and get ready for a marathon of fun and mingling in the mountains!

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