Sundance 2010 was my ninth time to go to the film festival in the last ten years with the incomparable Seattle resident Joanna Price. We kept thinking it’s been a full decade, but then realized we took the year off after we graduated since we were both were in no position to take a vacation.

DAY ONE

Full day one started with a drive to Park City to wait in line for an 9am screening of the Animation Spotlight. Lots of really fantastic animation in here, including old fangs and Please Say Something.

Hoped on the shuttle to see a screening of Catfish at the Library Center Theatre. This was my favorite feature we saw, a documentary about a relationship on Facebook. I won’t say more to give away how the story turns but rest assured, it will keep you glued to the screen.

After that, we took refuge in the New Frontier space on Main to get out of the snow for just a bit. Loved Tracey Snelling’s Bordertown, which was part of the New Frontier Installation. The Earthwalk was pretty interesting too, using Google Earth and user interaction. By this time we were both so cold, tired and slightly uncomfortable. I wish we would have spent more time in here, but the draw to get back to the hotel for a while was so overwhelming.

DAY TWO

Our second full day brought us four screenings in SLC. One drama/love story (Obselidia), one shorts program (Shorts Program IV), one french drama/thriller (7 Days) and a documentary (Smash His Camera).

Obselidia, I was honestly a little disappointed in. I liked the concept and most of the movie, but it left me wanting a little more something. When you wait around in the freezing cold for about an hour and a half to try to get into a movie, you want something really amazing.

There were two shorts I liked a lot, a well acted comedy Can We Talk, and the quirky The Armoire.

7 Days, a drama/thriller about a man who seeks vengeance for the murder of his young daughter had just enough torture scenes to make me slightly queasy, but not enough to make me leave the theater.

Smash His Camera was another I wanted a little more from. The timeline of the narrative jumped around a little and it made you have to think for a moment what decade they were in, but it didn’t do this in a thoughtful way. It is the story of paparazzo photographer Ron Galella and has a lot of interesting bits in it. Overall though, it just made me feel sorry for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and a little bit for Ron Galella for being so oblivious.

sundance01