New challenges await the filmmakers at Sundance 2011

New challenges await the filmmakers at Sundance 2011

When the 2011 Sundance film festival opens on Thursday, makers of independent movies, distributors and fans all face a new reality after recent years in which investors fled the industry and companies closed.

While some players remain the same — The Weinstein Co. is still around, so are Fox Searchlight and Focus Features — there are several new companies playing the indie film game. And new technology is changing the way low-budget
movies reach audiences in theaters and in homes.

In a welcome plot twist at Sundance 2011, all that change has brought an excitement to the festival not seen for several years. The new players are bringing a more rational business perspective, and digital technological advances
are helping the low-budget movies that screen here reach wider audiences.

According to festival director John Cooper, this year’s selection of some 115 feature films playing Sundance generally reflects a desire among directors to look reality squarely in the face and build stories around how they fit
into that world.

"They are sticking more to the truth within themselves and the stories they have to tell," Cooper told Reuters.

"There are several films dealing with religion, faith and redemption, and we kind of can’t help but think it has something to do with the world we are living in."

Cooper, in his second year running the festival that is backed by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute for filmmaking, will open the event with four movies: one documentary and one narrative each from U.S. and international filmmakers.

U.S. feature film "Pariah" tells of a lesbian teenager who yearns to come out of the closet in her home neighborhood. U.S. documentary "Sing Your Song" looks at the life and social activism of singer Harry Belafonte.

Irish film "The Guard," which is described as "a clever, fresh character study" of a village cop, opens the world cinema section along with British documentary "Project Nim," from Oscar winner James Marsh.

Money will be on the minds of distributors and financiers looking to scoop up the next "The Kids Are All Right", paying small for a big box office hit. After about three tough years, experts say business is looking up, if conducted
sensibly.

The good news is that digital downloading and streaming of movies from websites like iTunes or Netflix has opened up new avenues to reach audiences and new ways to make money. The bad news is that making sizable profits from new
distribution remains five or more years away, the experts added.

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Posted by Ahmer Gul Khan on Nov 17 2011. Filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry