For him, Sundance is now a fond memory

It’s been a couple of weeks in coming. But our Sundance correspondent, former Spokane resident Marshall Peterson, has been busy getting back into the reality of his own life. So it’s only now that I’m able to post the wrap of his visit to Sundance 2006:

Sundance 8: The End, Part I

Looking back, I can say that attending Sundance is like visiting the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, or better put, Hollywood/Universal Studios – if you’ve got the time, money, and desire, do it.

Go with some friends and turn it into a five day excuse to enjoy each other’s company, surrounded by film and music (and fans of both) from all over the world. You really can meet amazing filmmakers on the bus or standing in line, many of whom you’ll invite to Spokane or can visit in their foreign land in your future travels.

Some recommendations:
•Get lots of sleep beforehand.
•Use the Internet to research ahead of time.
•Familiarize yourself with maps of Park City .
•Find out what’s playing and where.
•Buy your tickets early (if you don’t use ’em, you can sell ’em).
•Don’t try to do everything, settle on two things a day (the rest is gravy).
•Dress warmly (in case you’re stuck outside in a line).
•Buy boxes of snack bars and stuff your pockets.

Don’t be under the misguided impression that you’ll be at the super-secret, gold-engraved-invitation-only, Robert Redford/Julia Roberts party – you won’t, so appreciate the parties that you do get into (you’ll meet folks you’d never come across in your regular social circles).

Attend at least one film from each of the other festivals. Huge crowds are a special part of Sundance, but they lose their “specialness” quickly. Why not check out some of the many high quality offerings at Slamdance or Park City Film Music Festival , where you’ll encounter much smaller (or no) crowds and great films.

Or see a film for free with the snowboarding, surfer crowd at X-Dance (dude!). Or, for the extremely adventurous, check out the low budget films of Tromadance (sure to surprise!).

Spend as little energy on celebrity watching as you can – if you’re gonna see someone famous, you’re gonna see someone famous, but to waste much time on it seems silly. If you see someone, don’t introduce yourself so that you can tell your friends that you met Ms. Famous Actress . These people have others sucking their energy everyday, why add to the count?