Thousands of people will begin pouring into Park City this weekend for the annual Sundance Film Festival, which plays host to hundreds of celebrities and aspiring filmmakers from all over the world. They showcase their new independent films and compete for a variety of awards.

"Sundance is something different to do in Utah," said Randi Stowe, a senior studying international relations. "It's good variety for the students."

Stowe has been to the film festival before and is looking forward to taking her husband and two sisters for their first time.

Park City, a small ski-resort town near Salt Lake City, fills with celebrities for the 10 days of the film festival. A lot of students go to Sundance to see new films or just to see the celebrities, Stowe said.

"I'm looking forward to the movies the most," Stowe said. She said her husband is interested in the documentaries, but her sister is more interested in seeing Paris Hilton.

About 50,000 people attended the festival last year, reported Eva Rinaldi, associate director of operations, labs and community programs for Sundance. Though it's difficult to track an exact number, she said a lot of students who are interested in film make it up to the festival.

This year Sundance offered 200 discounted festival passes to students from 10 universities, including BYU. Rinaldi said even people without a pass or a ticket have a good chance at seeing several Sundance films.

Renaldi said anyone could join the wait list outside any venue two hours before the film they'd like to see and have a good chance at getting to see something they want. Single tickets are $15 if you purchase them at the box office in advance but $10 in cash if you are on the wait list.

For a full list of films, students can pick up the film guide, which is available free at any box office, or the film catalog, which can be purchased wherever Sundance merchandise is sold.

Stowe said she had to be careful when picking out films she might want to watch because the films are not rated.

Students going to the festival during any of the next 10 days will also want to consider what to wear and what to eat. Festival goers will have to park their cars a 20-minute walk away from Main Street in Park City.

"I remember how bitterly cold it was," said Andrew Frick, a senior humanities student with a film studies emphasis. Frick went to Sundance two years ago and is looking forward to going again this year.

Despite the cold, Frick described the atmosphere as exciting. He said a lot of people go to Sundance with their friends and forget about the weather.

According to Frick, if you don't have a prior reservation at a nice restaurant, the best places to eat are fast food joints or pizzerias that don't have long waiting lists.

He said there is a lot of good music and a lot of things to do even if you're not interested in seeing a film.

"It's supposed to be a film festival for new talent," Frick said. "It's turned into a Hollywood spectacle, but there are still films that are very satisfying, fresh and original."

Rinaldi said the best place to go for people only interested in the films is Salt Lake City, where most of the same films are screened. She said the lines are also a lot shorter.

"My suggestion would be to focus on the documentaries," Rinaldi said, "or the world films that they [students] might not get to see again." Renaldi suggested several films that might be of particular interest to students:

-"Adventures of Power" by Ari Gold is about a New Mexican mineworker who plays the air drums in his free time.

- Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning play, "A Raisin in the Sun," about a black, American family in south Chicago in the 1950s, is brought to screen by director Kenny Leon.

- For science fiction fans, there's "Sleep Dealer" by Alex Rivera, which is about a boy who dreams of plugging his nervous system into a global computer network.

- The director of the popular film about fast food, "Super Size Me," returns with another documentary, "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?"

Getting Tickets for the Festival

• Box offices at Park City's Gateway Center and Salt Lake City's Trolley Square release a number of tickets to that day's screening daily at 8 a.m.
• Patrons often have better chances of obtaining seats at the larger theaters, such as the Eccles Theatre, the Racquet Club Theatre, and the Library Center Theatre.
• Vouchers are distributed at theaters two hours prior to screenings. Patrons must return before screenings to purchase tickets according to number. Tickets are $10.
• For specific films, try one of the Festival's non-Park City venues, which include screenings in Ogden, Salt Lake, and the Sundance Resort.




Copyright Brigham Young University 16 Jan 2008