No doubt the tastiest of the alternative festivals set for Park City next week will be "ChefDance," featuring ten nights of celebrity chefs and wine makers serving nightly private dinners (by invitation only) at Harry O's on Main St. in Park City.

Rocco DiSpirito, last seen on the compelling reality TV show, "The Restaurant," will kick things off on Sundance's opening night, January 20th. Other chefs set to cook during the week include a number of LA's stars: Govind Armstrong from Table 8, Ben Ford from Ford?s Filling Station, Neal Fraser from Grace, Sam Marvin from Le Dome, Fred Iwasaki from Loggia & Chinois and private chef Akasha Richmond.

It began as a small documentary by two teenage filmmakers about guns, death and grief at a Brooklyn housing project. Then, in the midst of production, one of the teens saw his best friend die in a freak shooting on the project's rooftop. The shooter was a police officer. Tom Hays reports for A.P.

The 2005 Freedom Cinema Festival: Park City has announced the film program selction and live events lineup for this year. The Freedom Cinema Festival will be held concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, from January 25 to 30, 2005. This annual convergence of arts, media and commerce, Freedom Cinema Festival provides a unique forum for leading grassroots artists addressing socially and politically relevant issues of the day. The second annual flagship event features gripping and sometimes controversial films from around the world, including several national premieres, and the participation of award-winning filmmakers. Freedom Cinema Festival also includes live music events, panel discussions of activist media, stand-up comedy, graphic arts/cartooning and more. For more information, visit their website.

Ray-Ban, The Creative Coalition, and Hollywood Life announced that Kevin Bacon will be honored with the 2005 Ray-Ban Visionary Award. The Visionary Award will be presented on Sunday, January 23, 2005 in Park City, Utah. The event will be held at the Stein Eriksen Lodge from 7-10 p.m. and will conclude with a special musical performance by CAKE. Kevin Bacon will receive the award from actress Marisa Tomei and producer Danny Bigel, both of whom he worked with on "Loverboy," a film he directed that will premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. The host committee for the evening includes The Creative Coalition Co-Presidents Joe Pantoliano and Tony Goldwyn, Alec Baldwin, Danny Bigel, Blair Brown, Colin Callender, Ileana Douglas, Minnie Driver, Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Paxton, Sean Penn, Aidan Quinn, Tim Robbins, Meryl Streep and Marisa Tomei.

Elliott Sharp, who composed music for Jonathan Berman's Slamdance '05 doc "Commune", will perform at the festival's opening night party on Friday, January 21st. Berman's doc, in the words of a description, "gets the nitty-gritty on free love, utopian dreams, and the surprising endurance of a radical lifestyle."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, via Reuters, Dimension Films has paid just under $4 million for the Australian Sundance '05 film, "Wolf Creek." The deal is said to include rights in North America, Latin America (excluding Brazil), Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Benelux.

The world premiere, screening in the festival's World Cinema section and sold by William Morris Independent, is described by the filmmakers as:

A chilling, factually based story of three road-trippers in remote Australia who are plunged into danger when they accept help from a friendly local.

Tom Hays for the The Associated Press reports on "Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story."

It began as a small documentary by two teenage filmmakers about guns, death and grief at a Brooklyn housing project. Then, in the midst of production, one of the teens saw his best friend die in a freak shooting on the project's rooftop. The shooter was a police officer.

This dramatic boost has propelled Danny Howard and Terrence Fisher to the big time: "Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story" will compete next month at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in the short documentary category.