A second contingent of friends arrived today, including Karla, who sings so beautifully in my documentary, Letters from the Other Side, WHICH BY THE WAY IS PLAYING ONE MORE TIME, TOMORROW, FRIDAY, 6:00 P.M., at Treasure Mountain Inn, 255 Main St.! Karla came all the way from Mexico City today and had to go through Immigration at the Houston Airport ... when they asked her why she was coming to the U.S., she said she was going to Slamdance, to which the immigration agent replied, "Islamdance?, what's Islamdance?" Said agent then did a search in the computer and said to Karla, "Did you know that Islamdance is a movie about Al-Queda?" Eventually they worked it out that Karla was going to the film festival Slamdance, not the terrorist movie Islamdance ... and she arrived safely at my condo bearing tequila.

More of my peeps arrive in an hour or so ... more postering and passing out of postcards tomorrow, and then the last screening ... y'all left in Park City, please come!! Karla promises to sing en vivo during the Q&A!

Later ...

photos taken during the dance...

cameron and micki crashed out.

stephanie, me, my brother nate + sunny.

thecla niebel, the production designer on 'wild tigers' left behind some of her hair.
(always designing)

djuna bel as she acknowledges the importance of being seen at the dance.

(post) party time?

only two more days of the fest left for me...
then it's time to reeeelaaaaxxxxxx

to see 'wild tigers i have known' on the big screen here at sundance...

TONIGHT! 9:15 pm at the HOLIDAY in PARK CITY!
i will be there of course!

i feel like a club promoter with this particular blog.
but oh well.

should be a good crowd tonight...and we do have free 'wild tigers' posters
to give out...and there should be enough for everyone.

oh man, what a fest it's been...

Photo of austin contingent at Slamdance/Maryland Film Commission Brunch:
Heather Courtney, Spencer Parsons, Paul Gordon and the Maryland crab.

Since my screening, the past few days have been a blur of meetings, finally seeing some other films, doing some press interviews, going to some parties. In reading the other filmmaker blogs, I am identifying with some of their frenzied feelings -- hard to put into words in a blog the whole range of thoughts, emotions, anxieties, etc. that are pulsing through the mind and body now. But here’s a few quick thoughts:
After doing a few more press interviews, I no longer feel like I’m going to throw up at the thought of answering questions about my film … which by the way screens again this Friday, Jan. 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the Slamdance venue, Treasure Mountain Inn on Main Street for all y’all still in Park City!
I am needing to start the poster brigade again … it’s every person/film for him/herself out there when it comes to postering …so many posters, so little space, it’s brutal.
The party thing I haven’t quite gotten the hang of … been to a few, often wind up talking to the people I already know (I’m a little shy …), but have met some cool people. Went to a cool, laid back party at the Rooftop Films/ Shooting People condo the other night (cool people who do cool work, check them out). I am including a separate entry after this one (I can't figure out how to do both photos and writing at the same time) that has a photo of the Austin contingent at the Slamdance/Maryland Film Commission brunch the other day (it will be me, Spencer Parsons, Paul Gordon and the Maryland crab). Apparently, I missed a strong Austin contingent showing at the annual Slamdance sled-off yesterday … I heard they won the spectacle award … photos to follow on that as well ...
ALSO WANTED TO SAY THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL my peeps who wrote encouraging comments before my first screening ... it meant a lot!! it's nice to know I have such a great community (Austin, Texas) to go back to when I leave Park City!

Been up at PC for a few days now and it is f-ing cold up here. Tonight is the world premiere of Salvage, our horror film, and we are looking forward to seeing it on a big screen. It's totally sold out. We're still trying to track down tickets for our, uh, entourage. Got a lot of cast, crew, friends and family with us so here's hoping that it screens well or we won't be embarrassed to show our faces tomorrow morning at breakfast.

Doing lots of press, parties and photo shoots so we're getting a taste of the whole Sundance experience. Only thing missing is checking out some other films. Wondering how people in Hollywood manage to ever get any work done.

Whole experience has been kind of surreal...a month ago Josh was editing the movie in his underwear in Queens.

Just a quick note to say thank you for reading this. And for writing comments. We are super busy but it's nice to know you are out there...

Chao
Hasta pronto

The festival is so massive, it is beginning to feel like a solar system with several planets in rotation. There's planet Serious Film (and Filmmaker), planet Hang, planet Indie, planet Poser Indie, planet Hollywood, planet pre-Hollywood, planet Party, planet Industry, planet Media, planet Swag, planet Cheesy, planet Wannabe, planet Tourist and perhaps many more. They all feel like separate worlds orbiting the big sun, which is the festival itself.

Monday morning.
Long weekend. Frenzy activity, cocktails and parties everywhere, bags of presents and stuff (beauty products, caps and lots of sh....) for everyone, of course more for the actors if they walk to a store, get the bag and the photo op with the products of the store...more merchandising. Everybody that comes with a movie should have brought an extra suitcase.
Our screening on Saturday went amazingly well. The cinema was full and the audience had a great interaction with the movie, laughs and crys...life itself...perfect...
WE finish the Q (questions) and A (answers) with the audience. And the crew from Sundance Channel (they already in the second day of the shooting of "a day in a life") the crew took me the Sundance Institute and ski resort to the annual Sundance brunch with the filmmakers, an hour from Park City. I met Redford in 1999, he is a very nice and gentle person. Who looks at you straight in your eyes. The crew was shooting and we had a micro chat about the passing of time, children and his grandchildren.
The crew took me back to Park City and we keep the infernal pace of interviews and this time not so many photo shoots.
Call from agents and lawyers and more meetings and conversations but all good.
We had our intimate party that night to celebrate ourselves and to toast for the success of this trip.
There is interest from companies so we will see how the negotiations will turn out.
We hardly can keep the pace. Today more interviews and one more screening the last public one in Sundance.
See you tomorrow?
Or asap

Chao
Bolado

It's the third quarter of the Broncos - Steelers Championship game and the Broncos are getting spanked. Seems like a good time to post a blog.

American Hardcore had it's Salt Lake City screening last night (Sat. 7:30pm). It was great and was the first time that a genuine audience had seen the film. The screening felt great, they laughed in all the right places and the Q and A was great. Lots of real punks and music lovers.
Yesterday I got up early and went to the filmmaker brunch. After a dozen years of coming to Park City at festival time I finally got to meet Geoffrey Gilmore it was a warm genuine greeting anbd welcome. It burst my bubble that I have had for years that I would eternally get the evil eye becuase of my involvement with Slamdance. Not so it was great.
I decided to take the first bus back and not wait around to meet Mr Redford. We will leave at one kind gesture and greeting per day.
Went to the Sony BMG party got a gift bag of Sony CD's. I am very suspicious that they might be dumping all those VIRUS laden CD's that they had to call back, It would be the perfect place to get rid of them, No?
Now we got to work on our party with DOA and the Circle Jerks on Wednesday night at the Star Bar at 268 main street. Check the website for info. www.americanhardcorefilm.com

can i get by with such little sleep and so much free coffee.

the screening's have been going well -- had two (of two) sell out so far.
and i still haven't thrown up.

but i have been nervous. i've been unable to watch the film at the fest.
tons of the people who worked on it (and the people who have been supporting the film)
have come out to the fest to check it out, which has been rad --
and for pretty much all of them it's their first time seeing the film...

they seem to like it!

let's hope the film gets picked up...

haven't seen any other films.
though i heard the nick cave written 'the proposition'
is damn fine. and damn violent.

okay. all for now.

here's a picture of malcolm stumpf (who plays logan in the film)
the snow was new to him.

I`m not afraid of working 48 hours on a set, or flying with a schizofrenic pilot in a helicopter from the sixties over a stormy Atlantic Ocean or dealing with the egos of all the people in show business. I`m not even afraid of the fact in seventy years all the glaciers will melt . But I`m afraid of the 5 minutes they give you to introduce your film, there`s no way you can do it right: either you make jokes or you sound too pretentious or you talk about the weather ( too predictable in Park city) or you just make a fool of yourself. Everything is a reminder of the most pathetic fact: what a director really wants is to be loved. That`s why hell is full of people with really good intentions

OK....I agreed to blog...so

..I blog

Its saturday....had a chance to drink things in...literally and proverbally

It truly is an amazingly run festival....and the staff are absolutely awesome...always friendly...even when overwhelmed....

There really are two festivals at play....

The film festival itself.....and the annoying hot young stars and starlets festival...

The former being one of the most maginificent and glorious beasts.....the latter being really fun to watch

I wonder what Benji Maddens fave movie is at Sundance this year (hes so dreamy).....and i wonder what Paris thinks of The Trials of Darryl Hunt

Enquiring minds wanna know

Yesterday, we have our premiere. But before that happened. Our team (yes the same football team) wake up in the middle of night completely dry because of the weather. We were trying to breathe but there was no humidity in the air. So awake from early hours of the morning we have our "breakie" and start the day with the interviews.
The Sundance channel choose us to be one of the filmmakers to follow for a day. So "a day in the life of myself" start shooting at 9am in front of the Egyptian theater the place that we would have later our Premiere.
So they start follow me for the whole day. Which basically was Photo shoots and 1 or 2 interviews. We meet with Diego Luna and Alice Braga and start going from tent to tent, from a saloon to an old jail (yes as the far west in old westerns). All about images and few content. Images no words. I guess that's the way that the world is become since the internet, more graphics and images and few words. So we went and walk in the cold streets of Park City.
We have a great Premiere, sold out, full house and it went amazing. People love the movie, they laugh and clap, and cry and think. The team loved and I was happy director (for a while, you know directors are never complety happy or at least not for a long time). But I was happy to see that the "Solo Dios Sabe" works with real audience, people that pay tickets, wait in line, choose a film from a bunch and was there watching the movie.
So we finish euphorically and went to celebrate.
Fist our PARTY paid for by Heineken (ok gracias) with lost of beer, of course. Sushi (nice) and some liquor (gin and tonic). The whole football team was there and Gael Garcia and the great people from Canana (the company of Diego and Gael) and lots of people (half of them you do not know ) and from there another party (the ICM) and to end the night the Canana-Focus party. We arrive and as always you need to deal with the guy in black who is guarding the door. Saying, You do not know who I am. And of course, they do not know. But strangely enough. I said my name Carlos Bolado director of Solo Dios Sabe and they open the door for me and my friends (5 people, the other part of the team was still in the other party). You do it to get in. Once inside, Diego open another door (the VIP door) and ask How did you get in. Gael and Diego spent 15 min. outside their own party to get in. Pointing at the sign. You see that sign? That's our company! Of course Paris Hilton was there and some of this kind of people so you can imagine why was not easy to get in...
So we laugh and laugh and dance with the mexican band from Sinaloa that the guys from Canana brought in a bus from LA.

Was funny and lovely to dance (in the parties here, people just talk and talk and talk... so dance was Gooood.
Anyway. Early in the morning. I am going to my next screen at 9 am in the Egyptian.
See you tomorrow.
Chao
Adios por ahora...

I said I would write more about Park City if I survived my first screening .. well a few hours after the screening, I am still breathing, so I guess I survived. Still too soon for deep reflections, but here are some quick thoughts I had ... I wish the women in my film could have been there to get the recognition they deserve, and experience others watching their stories unfold on screen. But, it is nearly impossible to get a tourist visa to the U.S. if you're a Mexican without a lot of money ... in the middle of checking into it for the future, but for now I'll be sure to tell them everyone seemed to really like them.

For a moment last night I had a dream where I saw industry and distributors sitting in their seats staring at me in the theater. They were all punked out. Dylan Leiner wth Spikey hair, Bob and Harvey in leather jackets, Tracey Bing with nose rings. My gosh I was the only normal looking person there. They were more punk than me.

Now in reality if any of these people or industry peeps who have said they would be there for the AMERICAN HARDCORE world premiere actually come they definitley leave feeling a little punk, or a little dirty, or have even more attitude.

To go to Sundance from Barcelona you have to go to Madrid first then from madrid to NYC and from there to Salt Lake city, three flights in one day is more than a human being can tolerate without drugs. Like Alexis Arquette says in one great and obscure masterpiece called "Things I never told you" : "I'm not afraid of flying, I'm afraid of the airports". (OK, I was the director of that film who was not admitted in Sundance by the way, but the career of a director is full of rejection.... and more rejection, you got to learn). And all my suitcases have lost their wheels. I need urgently my friend Monika Mikkelsen and her impersonation of Penelope Cruz in Captain Corelli's mandoline!!
I hope she can come to Sundance...

In the Hollywood Reporter today, Anne Thompson looks at how blogs are changing the way people read about the Sundance Film Festival (including a plug for this very blog):

As blogs become more successful, they are challenging traditional media, and this year's Sundance marks a fascinating juncture...Sundance founder Robert Redford may lament all the buzz surrounding Sundance, but with all the blogs in attendance, that buzz will be louder than ever.

Finally tomorrow the public will see AMERICAN HARDCORE. 4 years of work all squeezed into a small theater at the Holiday theater at 3:15 pm. My first sundance screening. Shit, I think I'm nervous. But hell If there is at least 20 punks or punks at heart, or once upon at time punks there to horrify the stiffs and glorify the screen then the industry suits might just get it.

There's already been a lot of talk about the grocery store...maybe too much talk? Well, Brian Brooks reports for iPOP (on indieWIRE) with a shot that captures the scene at the local Albertsons in Park City...including a chance encounter with John Waters. Pictured here is a shot of a sign on the front sliding door of the store, with Albertsons and Budweiser joining forces to welcome Sundance attendees.
[Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE]

Primer dia. Comienza el frio.

Hola-Hello
This will be a spanglish blog. Sometimes it will be in english and sometimes in spanish. Todo depende del estado de animo. Del cansancio del dia y del estado mental.
Today -- first day of the festival. We were up till 3 am and waking up at 4 am. I drove to Oakland airport to drop my girlfriend and drive back to SFO airport to fly Delta (sponsor) to Salt Lake city. We arrive in a cold SLC. My second time here. First one in 1999. I did even know where I was. I fall in love immediately. And really enjoy the festival. Walking to my condo in Park city at 3 am in the morning, happy to be here and not feeling cold at all. But that was 7 years ago. Another story. NOW.....the city is bigger and the festival seems different. We will see the diferences through these ten days.
OK, this is my first blog, so you reader be patient. Sooooooooo....we arrive at the airport, went to try to get our beautiful rent house, thanks to the producers (gracias) but we were not able to get the place till 4 pm, so we went to the famous Festival House, we wait, register, wait, meet the people from the emails, Pablo Godoy was one of them, from the emails to the faces. Always strange to fit writing with faces. We meet Caroline Libresco, this great and nice person that loves our film, wrote a beautiful review and was pivotal to have this film here in Sundance.
We meet in the house. Big and warm. We are 11 people in this tour. A football team, with some reserves, good in this year of World Cup.
We went to the opening party, Sara the brasilian producer, Yissel the mexican producer, Alice Braga our beautiful actress and some friends and investors, so we get there, the food evaporates like body heat in this cold. They put on you a wrist band with 2 drinks that evaporate soon too.
There was a band, lots of people walking and watching, everybody looking, steaming, women holding their looks on you. Smiles and flirt. Our actor (and also one of our executive producers) Diego Luna called us to say hi and that he was here.
The party finished soon. There was a movie. We were tired and came here to get warm, it's really cold outside, beautiful to see this place dressed in white. All around you, the ugly architecture thankfully covered by the snow. It is very functional for this weather but not so much aesthetic involved.
We get back in the house. Is late. We have a beer. The brasilians are tired (jet lag), the mexicans ready for the action (already surfing the cold in wave of tequila), and the north-americans getting ready for more action.
And tomorrow is a long day. We will have a camera from Sundance Channel following us and lots of photo shoots and some interviews.

And ttataaaaaaatanannnnnnnnnn OUR WORLD PREMIERE, SOLO DIOS SABE will have its first test with the Audience....
OK, welcome everybody....we will see what to expect here...
chao
Carlos Bolado

indieWIRE has invited several filmmakers to blog about their experiences screening their films in Park City this year. Along with indieWIRE's daily coverage in Park City through January also check back here to get the latest. On board to blog with us so far are the following Sundance and Slamdance '06 filmmakers:

SUNDANCE '06

Cam Archer
narrative, "Wild Tigers I Have Known"

Steve Bognar
documentary, "A Lion in the House"

Carlos Bolado
narrative, "Solo Dios Sabe"

Isabel Coixet
narrative, "The Secret Life Of Words"

Joshua Crook and Jeffrey Crook
narrative, "Salvage"

Malcolm Ingram
documentary, "Small Town Gay Bar"

Paul Rachman
documentary, "American Hardcore"

Anne Sundberg and Ricki Stern
documentary, "The Trials of Darryl Hunt"

Jacques Thelemaque
narrative short, "Transaction"

SLAMDANCE '06

Heather Courtney
documentary, "Letters from the Other Side"

Arrived in one piece yesterday, greeted by a short but thorough blizzard (my editor Kyle Henry was nice enough to be the driver from Salt Lake City airport to Park City) ... what can I say about my first day ever at Park City? Hung up some posters, drank lots of Emergen Cs, tried not to lose it ... Also, since my film, LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE is about immigration, I got in good with the local Mexican restaruant with prime window space for my poster (check out La Casita y'all). My Spanish has come in handy in snowy Park City ... like all over the U.S., immigrants are the ones doing all the hard work here!
If I survive my premiere, I'll write all about it all tomorrow.

...there's a term for Sundance I havent heard before. On his blog today, Anthony Kaufman weighs in with the intriguing title: "Suckdance: Money, Deals and Talent-Hunting in Park City". He then goes on to summarize the latest coverage from a Variety special Sundance issue that he wrote for...

Hola, I`m isabel Coixet. this is the first time I`m going to Sundance and I`m excited, melancholic, anxious, paranoid, deliriously happy and fucking scared. In fact I`m thinking about NOT going. Yeah. I`ll stay in bed watching the Coast Ivory version of Big Brother eating Cherios and rice milk until I `ll puke. Wait, maybe it`s nice pucking in the snow. OK, I`ll go. It`s funny, you spend your life as a filmaker wanting to go to Sundance and then when the moment cames you just want to escape. I love making films, talking aboiut them is another story....

It's wednesday night here in small town Ohio, and our lights are burning. The plane leaves at 9am tomorrow and we've got to start packing sometime. It's all rushing by - so much going on, no time to process. But in about 36 hours, the film that Julia Reichert and I have been working on for the last eight years will have its world premiere in Park City.

My first blog. Ever. In my life. 46 years, to be precise. I feel nervous. Breathy. I felt this way before. At sixteen.

More errands on the first full day in Utah as we gear up for our Sundance which has started to kick into full gear (get the latest in the special Park City section). The word for Wednesday was "S-N-O-W", which is pictured here falling in front of the Egyptian Theater on Main. The current National Weather Service advisory forecasts a significant amount of snow over the next 24 hours leading up to the opening of the fest (and as many people make their way to Park City).
[Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE]

so. i'm on edge. anyone who's talked to me over the last few days could agree with that.

i woke-up this morning to find scratches on my body. self-inflicted, no doubt.
disturbing all the same.

and i guess i did it in my sleep. or should i say 'lack of sleep.'

i don't typically do this to myself. so i thought i'd post about it.

i leave for the festival tomorrow morning.
and only last night sent 'tigers' off to sundance via fedex.

i have no idea how other filmmaker's are dealing with their pre-sundance jitters,
maybe they've got more impressive scratching going on, or biting, or who knows what.

i will say that the new cat power album, 'the greatest,' and in particular the track, 'lived in bars,'
have/has provided a nice escape from my world of tigers and the inevitable big dance.

scratches (just some of em) below:

The indieWIRE crew arrived in Utah this afternoon, a few hours before the snow started to fall. Watching the news tonight...the weatherman is predicting between 1 - 2 feet of snow from the big winter storm heading our way; its all expected to fall between now and Sundance's opening night Thursday. Around town, things were quiet. We ran into a few publicists and a bunch of Slamdance folks participating in the traditional first-day-in-Park-City-ritual...stocking up at Albertsons.
[Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE]

Hi all PAUL RACHMAN checking in. Steve Blush and I are now in LA pre fest. We will be on Indie 103.1 FM (Indie 103) on Dicky Barrett's morning show in LA from 8am to 10am PCT. Dicky Barrett of the MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES is one of the key characters in AMERICAN HARDCORE as he grew up with Boston Hardcore. We will have some exclusive sound bytes from the film on air. Those not in LA can stream indie 103 at: http://www.indie1031.fm/listenlive.php
Other than that Steve and I are completely exhausted already from the preperation for Sundance. To the other directors here, Are you all feeling the same way?

oh my! tigers at sundance! hard to believe...

look forward to sharing my heartaches, tales of dehydration (altitude sickness, inevitable)

and all of the other things that happen to me during my trip to sundance.

'wild tigers i have known' will be my first feature at the dance...