Greetings from Park City. It is now my fifth day at Sundance. I am having the best year ever. The commercial/glam side of the Festival seems a little more toned down this year. Perhaps I just feel more focused and don't notice the Paris Hilton types on the streets. Moviefone gets the award for the most street presence. They have people in red Moviefone branded ski suits walking Main Street in droves. Their goal seems to capture peoples' e-mail addresses. I heard that in a press conference, Catherine Keener was asked about her feelings on the celebrity swag phenomenon. She said that free pair of jeans or new phone comes with a price, as the companies are using their faces and names to promote their product. I would definitely not turn down a pair of free fabulous jeans. :) I heard someone at US Weekly had pondered what the world would be like if the celebs took the product but announced they were donating to charity... What a great thought. One cannot blame co's for wanting to be associated with the cult of celebrity.

I haven't caught a lot of films yet but I have seen a few really amazing documentaries. Since I work for a Festival scouting for films, I'll keep those to myself.
My first non-doc film, which is part of the Frontier progam - the strand that shows more experimental and challenging films, was PINE FLAT by Sharon Lockhart. The film was just that - challenging. It was not for the hich octane, Red Bull charged spectator. The film, which lasts over two hours, presents a series of locked down landscape shots of children at play. It moves at a languid pace, creating a meditative experience for the viewer. It reminded me of films by James Benning.
Today is a day full of parties and meetings - including indieWire/SF Film Society, Discovery Docs, Writers Guild and ThinkFilm/Netflix party for the Beastie Boys doc.