I have clients who own property in Park City which they rent throughout the year. Yesterday, the Sundance Film Festival began here in Utah and it runs through February 1st. This film festival has become so popular that if you don’t have your property rented during this time, there is a problem. Both last year and again this year I received phone calls about renting property in Midway or Heber, so the overflow out of Park City is becoming more apparent.
This festival started in Salt Lake City in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival and has become the premier film festival in the country.
Utah Governor Scott M. Matheson was joined by Utah native Sterling Van Wagenen (at the time working for Robert Redford), as well as members of the Utah Film Commission, to start this festival in 1978. The intent of the film festival was to highlight American made films and specifically film making in Utah.
The first year over 60 films were screened (I can’t find how many were submitted), compared to over 4,100 feature length films submitted this year of which 123 were selected to be screened.
In 1984 the Sundance Institute, which Sterling Van Wagenen managed, took over the management of the US Film Festival. The festival was renamed the Sundance Film Festival, in 1991.
The festival extended to foreign shores in April of 2012 with a festival in London, and has continued with April festivals in London since then.
Since its inauguration the festival has been an event championing the small filmmakers that typically work outside of Hollywood. This festival has long garnered substantial support from Hollywood and it has gathered a substantial following. The Sundance Film Festival is viewed by many as the Canne or Toranto Festival for small filmmakers.
The festival continues to grow and may hold some surprises for us this year. The search for distribution deals may heat up as executives from additional companies such as HBO, Showtime, Amazon, and Netflix, attend the festival. The power of the internet is also bringing in companies such as Hulu, Vimeo, YouTube, and many smaller companies. Digital distribution networks, even if they are small, give many filmmakers the opportunity to have their films viewed around the world.
I hope you enjoy your time in Utah whather you are skiing, attending a screening, or negotiating with Hollywood. If you want to check out a possible vacation home while you are here, give me a call, text, or email any time.
“John Ford always said that the best things that have ever happened in film, in American film, have happened by accident.” Jimmy Stewart
Brian Olsen, WWR
