Sundance Film Festival

Last night AJ, AMM and I went to the Sundance Film Festival up in Park City. This has been my fourth year attending the event. This year my ticket purchase time was not the best so we ended up getting our 8th choice. First you have to be selective of what you really can watch at Sundance since the films tend to be edgier (to put it mildly) and there is no rating on them so you have to go by clues in the synopsis if it will be “clean enough”. Then it is battle over finding a time that fits everyone’s schedule. In the end I was not disappointed in film of our choice “Kick in Iran.” This is the synopsis from Sundance Film Guide:

“Sarah Khoshjamal, a 20-year-old Taekwondo superstar, is the first female professional athlete from Iran to qualify for the Olympics. This skillful vérité portrait follows the unassuming Khoshjamal in the nine months leading up to the 2008 Beijing games. Living in an Islamic country, she is required to wear a hijab at all times and, unlike her fellow competitors around the world, cannot train with men; however, the power in her fighting resoundingly breaks down stereotypical barriers.”

A very interesting documentary that made for a good Q and A afterwards with the director and film staff (the perk of going to Sundance is to hear from the film makers). I just wish it had tighter editing, less random shots and not letting the camera linger too long after the person is finished talking.

Kudos to the Park City Sundance Shuttle system this year. They have worked out a lot their kinks and it ran smoothly with lots of volunteers helping to direct which bus to go on. Did you know they now charge $20 to park your car up there? Luckily in the outskirts they had a designated shuttle stop at an LDS church parking lot that was free. I wonder where we parked.

The only complaint I had was that it was snowing up in the canyons so I was driving probably too slow for everyone. I blame it on my growing up that when it snows you have snow days and you don’t drive in it. Plus Provo canyon can be pretty dangerous in the winter, I have seen the newspapers.

No celebrity sighting to report this year.