Judgment Day for Indie Film Starts Today at Sundance
Plus: My conversation with the fest’s Eugene Hernandez
To celebrate the final Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, I’ll be sending daily dispatches from the snow-covered mountains now through Sunday. Reach out to me if you’re on the ground: richard@theankler.com.
This is the most important Sundance Film Festival ever. All you have to do is look at this morning’s Oscar nominations, and it tells a story I’ll explain below about what connects this little mountain fest to the broader movie ecosystem.
But first, some plugs.
If you’re in Park City, I’ve got some events coming up where I’d love to see you.
Earlier today, I moderated a panel at the Impact Lounge in Prospector Square titled “The View Over the Horizon: Future Film Coalition.” We discussed the current state of the film and media industry, creators, brands and the funding and distribution ecosystem. Goals, hopes and vision — exactly what we need now. (Also today: Ankler executive editor Alison Brower led an Impact Lounge panel — “Not Waiting: Creating Ecosystems” — about how to build innovative, artist-first new studio models.)
If you missed me there: On Saturday, I’ll be co-hosting the very first FilmStack meet-up here at Sundance, thanks to the generous support of our friends at Substack. Here’s the info:
Come join us for a hot chocolate toast to a new day for NonDē, the movement Ted Hope has championed, focused on filmmaker ownership of indie films separate from the studio structures of yore. Just note your RSVP right here.
And then on Monday, I’ll be moderating another panel thrown by the folks at Hard Reset Media.
If you’d like to join, please RSVP here.
Now, onto the show.
