Kosovars come to my Sundance rescue

Sundance has put me in a bad mood. And not just because I sat through three downer movies on Saturday. The protocol is that if I want to go to a screening, I’m supposed to request a ticket. So I wanted to see the controversial horse-lover film, “Zoo” – based on an actual case that occurred in Enumclaw, Wash., in 2005. And I filled out the form Friday morning, aiming at an 8:30 p.m. showing.

I was told to come back Saturday morning, which I did. But, hey, no ticket. Come back later, I was told. They’re still processing things. So I did, catching the shuttle bus between press screenings at the Yarrow, but still no ticket. Finally, one of the volunteers explains: No tickets left.

Great. So I jam on to a crowded bus, shuffle back to the Yarrow and barely make it in time to see “The Good Life.” Depression city.

Then I got a phone call. It was from my Kosovar friend, Blerim Gjoci, and his two filmmaking pals. They’re here to make a documentary film about the nature of independent moviemaking, and I decided to help them get a start.

So we met at their hotel, at Prospector Square, then took the shuttle to Main Street, where we walked up and down, looking at all the Sundance types, not to mention the freaks. Though our friend from San Diego had seen celebs all day long – John Cusack, Teri Hatcher, Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga – we saw nobody.

But we had a good meal, met a cute waitress from Brazil, working her summer vacation where she could hit the ski slopes of Park City, and had a few laughs.

I left feeling a whole lot better. The movies I’m seeing may depress the hell out of me, but the country these guys are from is in bad shape for real. Yet here they are, striving to create art. It’s hard not to feel inspired.