By SCOTT THOMPSON
The annual Sundance Film Festival has become one of the biggest stages for independent filmmakers to screen their work. But over the past few years, the annual Slamdance Film Festival has increasingly elbowed its way into the independent spotlight, gaining international recognition as a truly independent venue.
Over 90 films, selected from more than 3,000 entries, will be shown during this year's festival. Film categories include everything from feature-length documentaries to animated shorts, which have helped carve out the independent spirit of Slamdance throughout its short history.
In 1995, a group of independent filmmakers started the Slamdance Film Festival under the motto "by filmmakers for filmmakers." And since its inception, the event has become a year-round organization that provides budding filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their talent.
"Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering independent films by first-time directors working with limited budgets," the festival's mission statement said.
The better-recognized Sundance Film Festival, some critics have said, has become too large, and the films featured there are no longer truly independent pieces, but rather higher-budget works that often have signed lucrative distribution deals before the film even opens.
"Slamdance is what Sundance once was," said BYU graduate Mark Finch Hedengren, whose film "Tolerance" will be featured at Slamdance this year.
Like Sundance, several past, first-time filmmakers that have danced at the festival have gone on to make it big since debuting at Slamdance. Directors, such as Christopher Nolan ("Memento" and "Batman Begins") and Jared Hess ("Napoleon Dynamite"), both launched their careers at the Slamdance Film Festival.
Slamdance offers more than a venue to artists seeking recognition in the entertainment industry. According to the festival's Web site, Slamdance has been hosting fireside chats since 1999, as a way for filmmakers to meet industry leaders in an informal atmosphere.
In addition to the main event, the Slamdance Film Festival hosts many parties, screenplay readings and other events celebrating the spirit of independent films. Screenings take place in Park City and Sugar House on Jan. 17-27. For show times and ticket information, visit www.slamdance.com.
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Copyright Brigham Young University 20 Jan 2006
