Best yet! and others

Well I have officially seen the best documentary of my life, and the best film of Sundance thus far. A film called “The Cove” about the merciless slaughter of thousands of dolphins on the coast of a Japanese town called Taiji. The film was edgy, prepared like a special ops investigation with a hodge-podge group of tech savvy superstars who devise a way to break into a hidden cove and expose a horrific animal rights travesty. The film was exciting, and threatening, and in the end, absolutely inspiring. It was horrific, and quite scary. The Taiji government was going out of their way to cover up the crime, and had prevented any outside news coverage of the slaughter for years. The films goal was to expose the slaughter, and put an end to it.
The crew sneaked into the heavily guarded cove under the cover of darkness and placed hidden HD cameras to cover the entire day. The hidden footage was unbelievable. The most raw and disturbing display of animal abuse I’d ever seen, we watched as a group of fisherman brutally killed thousands of dolphins with old fashion spears from a boat. One of the cameras was under water, and the shot of the water changing from clear blue to deep, dark, blood red is an image that will stick with me for a long, long time.
This film will make it out of Sundance, and be seen in the future. There is no way it can’t. It received five standing ovations, and is talked about more than any other picture.
I’ve never cared so much about flippin' dolphins.

I saw two other films yesterday. A UK picture named “Unmade Beds” and John from the Office’s directorial debut “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.” Both films were quality in their own right, but "Brief Interviews" sticks with me more. I still can’t decide if I liked it. The film was trying new things, and made huge statements about feminism, male dominance and corruption, and the impossibility of love. But I’m not quite sure what the things were it was saying. I like a film that sticks with me, and for that reason alone, “Interviews” was a success.
“Unmade Beds” was an indie-kids dream. It told the story of rich kids in England living thrift store junkie lives, and abusing love and relationships day and night. It was pretentious for sure, but I bought it. It was shot really well, and the story arch of the two main characters was unique and unexpected. Highlight of the film – the only thing any indie was seen eating was a bowl of cereal,for the whole film cheerios were their diet - that and they never drank water, only beer and hard liquor.
Party.

The films continue

Two more films experienced. Short Docs and the wonderful "Sin Nombre." The shorts performance for docs was a little disappointing, to be honest. I saw short Docs last year, and they were some of my best films. This year was not the same. Two of the short Docs were interesting, but as a whole, it did not leave me inspired. One of them, called “Utopia: Pt. 3” was about the biggest mall in the world. It is in China, and twice the size as the Mall of America. It was built in an area of China that is not connected to any freeways, and is a tiny, undeveloped town. Therefore, no one is going to the mall. In fact, there are only twelve shops open for business in the entire complex. The film was full of epic isolation shots – completely empty hallways, and vacant storefronts. It was eerie. Besides that, the Docs were a disappointment.

"Sin Nombre," on the other hand, was incredible. A film about immigration from Honduras all the way through Mexico and into the United States, "Sin Nombre" was every bit a real depiction of the struggle. Immigrants would travel on the tops of trains all the way across the Mexican countryside. The film was so real, and heavy. It was hard to watch. It was the prototypical Sundance film. "Sin Nombre" forced viewers to be real with a real situation. This is happening. Right now, its happening.
People are dying in the desert, falling off trains, being exploited
– and some actually make it to the States.
It’s hard to swallow.
The film really moved me.

$ 10,000 request

Dan Parris has an important meeting today, in his quest at Sundance to get funding for his film. He will sit down with the Priddy Brothers, who are producers connected with Christian filmmakers. Dan will show some of his collected footage, and his impressive trailer to the Producers, with hopes to land a 10,000-dollar grant from them, the final sum he needs to fund the trip to Africa. It’s the best opportunity he has had thus far to make the money happen, and he is confident that good things that good things can come from the meeting. Check out Dan’s ongoing Sundance Blog at Conversantlife.com to see daily video updates of his progress.

500 Days of Summer

Film Three – 500 Days of Summer.” Absolutely loved it. Everything about it worked, and worked well. Zoeey was incredible. The writing was sharp, and witty. The cinematography was beautiful, even the soundtrack was prime.
“Summer” was essentially a romantic comedy for dudes. It presented a relationship horror story that every guy could relate too. I found myself putting a girl from my own life in the female character position, and she fit the ups and downs, and ultimate depression of the relationship with eerie accuracy. All the guys I saw it with said the same thing happened with them. It was almost tough to watch, because it often felt so real. What was so memorable, and makes this film unique was that it had very playful and experimental bits throughout. There was a ridiculous dance number in the middle of the film, and countless quirky moments. But it all worked, and left me and my friends who’d seen it wanting to watch it again. Luckily, for everyone at home, this film was studio made and will play in limited release in July. You’ve got to see it. I mean, you just must.

Dan's Dream

Dan Parris, a Biola grad has big dreams. He wants to make a documentary about him and a friend who plan to go to Africa and live on a dollar a day. He is passionate, and believes in the story. He is here at Sundance, trying to raise 10,000 dollars to make it happen. Dan puts his cards all over the place and passionately seeks conversations with anyone and everyone. At the “Meet the Funders” which I attended, Dan may have made the connection he needed.
He gave his pitch, and after finishing, the woman at his table told him with a pointed finger to stay after and talk to him. This kind of thing didn’t happen at any other tables the whole day. He told woman afterwards what he needed, and she gave him three phone numbers of people she said would help him. It’s a huge breakthrough, and he is elated.
“I feel like sometimes when its crunch time, your mind starts going, you speak eloquently, and its not even you.,” Dan said after the experience was over. “My mouth was running separate from my mind.”
Dan felt like God was with him in the experience, and guided his words.
“Let yourself be passionate, people are attracted to it,” he said.
Dreams slowly realized in the snowy hills of Park City. Just another day at Sundance.

Meet the Funders

So I just left a round table meeting with representatives from PBS and Sundance, where I pitched my documentary about recovering sex offenders. It was the most real film situation I have ever experienced, and it was exhilarating. Josiah pitched the story as well, and both of us got very positive feedback. But just the experience of sitting around a table and hearing everyone’s brilliant story ideas was so inspiring. I have never felt more comfortable with speaking about myself and my projects in my life, and I love it.
I didn’t make a deal or anything, far from it really, but the experience alone inspires me to be a part of documentary filmmaking. I have always wondered what my place is in the film world; this seemed to show me a direction like I’d never seen before.
So it goes at Sundance.

Unexpected

Sundance is best experienced when you embrace the unexpected. The best-unexpected moment thus far - Damien Rice. I had no idea he would be here, but the music café on Main St. is known to bring in some big names. And this year, it certainly delivered.
As the sun went down and the air got significantly colder, (thank God I wore double wool socks) hundreds of people packed into a tent at the bottom of the Main St. hill. I sat outside for 45 cold minutes, not able to visibly catch the first few songs. But the line pushed in and I experienced Rice in all his glory. It was just him and his guitar, but he had little trouble filling the space with passion and intensity. He played mostly songs from his early record, (which I was happy about) and told funny anecdotes in between. It was charming.
But his closing song is what will stick with me for a long while. Beginning with a heartfelt rendition of his own Cold Water, Rice flowed into a cover of Hallelujah. He slowed it down and belted out the first three verses of the Buckley tune, in a moving fashion. It was inspirational and borderline spiritual, especially when the whole audience joined into the chorus of Hallelujah. I closed my eyes, in a beautiful unison of voices, and smiled. Unexpected, overjoyed.
So it goes at Sundance.

Second Sundance showing

Second film, "Adam." A beautiful narrative about a man with Asbergers disorder. It’s a love story, but sensitive to the condition. Maybe its indie cliché to have a mentally challenged main character, but this film pulled it off. There was smart humor, raw emotion, and relatable love. The credits rolled and I was left wanting more. The actor playing Adam (Hugh Dancey) was terribly believable, and honestly, cute. I bought it from his first second on screen.

Two successful films seen.

The next film is not until tomorrow night, "500 days of summer." Zoeey Deshcanel in a leading role... yeah. I’m not ... that excited ...
Lies lies lies.

The Buzz

There is this phenomenon called the Sundance Buzz. It’s a beautiful thing. See, because the bus system is used by everyone at the festival, including big wigs (Tarantino) and nobodies (me), talk of the best and worst films spreads like wildfire. No matter what you come wanting to see, you will know whether or not to look forward to seeing it pretty quick. The film you thought you’d hate, you’ll hear is a can’t miss, while the one you were pining for turns out a real fart. It can be very frustrating. Sometimes you are stuck with a film that plain sucks.

So far I haven’t heard of any loser tickets in my possession, but I hear there are a few that I can’t see that are supposedly life-changing.
So it goes in Sundance.

SUNDANCE BEGINS!

Park City, Utah. It's winter, finally. But the snow that sits has been here for a few weeks, nothing fresh on the floor. The air is warm, and the films are hot.
Honestly, I can't believe I'm here again. Its overwhelming, all the emotions. I just can't wait to see films.
First film down, “The Missing Person,” a modern film noir. A great main character carried the movie. The story left me with something but I’m not sure what just yet. I especially loved the emotion of a scene toward the end of the film that lacked dialogue, merely showing the main character struggling through his own twisted thoughts while listening to a dirty jazz sax solo. It was moving.

There are already great conversations on the bus and in line. I met a funder from Japan who got a big promotion for picking up Blair Witch Project for dirt cheap back in the day. She feels the heat now, looking for the next big break. Also met an intern for the Sundance Institute held a great conversation on the way to a film. She loved to hear about my interests and goals, and loved to talk film.
Ambitions long dormant for me come flooding back to the surface. So many projects, careers, lives, on the verge of being made or lost here. It's inspiration, it’s exciting and it's unpredictable.

So good to be back.