Sundance Memories (AND our Own Film Festival Premiere!)
Sundance Memories
In 1992, I ended up at the Sundance Film Festival. I had been in Utah for a couple of years and was then living in my fifth place there — a basement apartment shared with three roommates that had a red carpet on which I spilled an entire bottle of black ink while making art. My roommates and I attended our university’s International Cinema weekly for a double-feature, catching anything from the Bicycle Thief to Jean de Florette.
It was January, and about five or six friends and I decided to drive to Park City to see if we could get tickets to Sundance. When we arrived, we randomly bought tickets for films that looked good that still had seats (I don’t think you can just drop in these days) and then returned to do it again over the next couple days.
We saw Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth, Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio, and his Edward II, Johnny Suede starring a very young Brad Pitt, Jumpin’ at the Boneyard with Tim Roth, The Living End, and a few others I can’t remember now. Had I realized, I might have tuned into Reservoir Dogs, Gas, Food, Lodging and Poison Ivy (or maybe I did see that last one there). Ju Dou I enjoyed later in the year at the International Cinema. I even met Jim Jarmusch at some point during the festival and he signed my sketchbook.
It was one of the best experiences — seeing new art films in a energetic town full of artistic vision with other like-minded people. Since then, I’ve attended other film festivals, sometimes as an immersive all day experience, and other times just one or two films, and either way, it has always felt inspiring. There is something about the liminal space of a festival setting that somehow feels both exhilarating and galvanizing.
Our Film Festival Premiere!
Our film Werewolf Serenade premiers at the 10th annual Alexander Valley Film Festival —AVFest — on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Longboard Vineyards, located at 5 Fitch Street, Healdsburg, California. Please join us! You can buy tickets for our show here or a festival pass here. Werewolf Serenade is a smart, romantic comedy with a dash of the supernatural, so prepare to be entertained!
I’m looking forward to attending AVFest, and to be in the festival environment as a filmmaker this time. If you are in the Healdsburg area on May 4, I’d love to see you there!