For auteurs and actors with films selected for Sundance, a festival premiere can be a life-changing event, complete with standing ovations, bidding wars and snow-drenched afterparties. Because this year’s fest went online again due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Park City hoopla slipped away.
But not completely.
Some filmmakers took matters into their own hands by mounting festival-inspired parties from New York to Los Angeles to celebrate the accomplishment of a Sundance premiere. “I think all of us were initially disappointed about Sundance’s in-person celebration getting canceled,” says Mija filmmaker Isabel Castro, making her festival debut with a documentary about an ambitious music manager who hustles to discover new talent after losing her biggest client. “But what we managed to pull off was something that reflected the spirit of Sundance while bringing it to a community that is close to all of our hearts.”
Castro was speaking of El Baile del Sol, an independent celebration sponsored by the Latinx House. Held Jan. 25 at L.A. venue 2020 Arts + Archive, it featured screenings of Castro’s Mija, Juan Pablo Gonzalez’s feature Dos Estaciones, April Maxey’s short Work, and Domenica and Constanza Castro’s short film We Are Here. [No relation to Isabel Castro.] There were tacos and tequila and surprise musical performances courtesy of the stars of Mija, Jacks and Doris.
“So many of us have worked for years, or for our entire lives, really, to get to this moment,” Castro continues, “It was such a beautiful, joyful, extraordinary event and it was so exciting to see our community celebrated and to honor these stories about the Latinx experience.”
Reid Davenport’s gathering was more intimate but still as festive. The I Didn’t See You There documentarian, who explores disability and perspective in his personal film, hosted close family in Brooklyn. “My mom, two sisters, brother-in-law and close friend came over to my apartment to celebrate,” he tells THR of the Jan. 24 premiere. “I was setting up for the Q&A in my office while they were watching and, at one point, I heard a commotion, but it turned out to just be the film. There was candy, popcorn, spirits and a lovely dinner out afterwards.”
The cast and creative team from the horror entry Speak No Evil had a packed schedule of celebrations in Denmark. Per photos from the festivities (seen below), they gathered for brunch and mimosas, went out for a group dinner and even went skiing (minus the snow). Writer-director Christian Tafdrup shared some of the images on Instagram, jokingly tagging Park City as a location.
Meanwhile, Alison Rich, an actress, writer and director, hosted close to 20 (cast, crew and friends) on a patio space in Highland Park to screen her short film Training Wheels. In it, she stars as Enid, a socially-inept woman who has never been in a romantic relationship. To prepare herself for someone she believes to be the one, she hires an escort from the Casanovas website.
Rich, who had a reminder to buy Sundance ensembles set in her calendar on the same day news broke about the switch to online, wore a Park City-ready puffer coat to the party to add some festival energy. And she also got to present the film with introductory comments. “This was a film pulled together during COVID and I wanted to thank my amazing support system, my producers, DP, cast and crew,” Rich tells THR of the special night. “It was an amazing night.”
Inclusive, too. She adds that a local premiere made it possible for her close friends and crew members to be included as many of them would not have been able to make the trek to Park City. Furthermore, she still got helpful feedback like she would have had it been shown to a larger festival audience in person.
“My close friends know what I’ve been through in my romantic life and they could see that I turned my struggle into a piece of art that I could be proud of,” she continues. “It was very affirming because there are some really sincere moments and I was concerned about the tone of the film and whether I would lose people at points. The audience stayed engaged and the line I was trying to tow worked out.”
Source: Hollywood
