The Sundance Film Festival still celebrates independent cinema like no other event on earth, 30 years in. Robert Redford's creation is unlike any other entertainment smorgasbord in the U.S., primarily due to its unusual location.Each year in January, filmmakers, actors, production staff, journalists, and what feels like just about every other person on earth, descend upon Park City, UT, a little enclave north of Salt Lake City. It’s a cozy ski town, surrounded by resorts and mountains striped with ski runs — a lift even rises straight from the town’s center. It’s a seriously stark contrast to sunny, mild SoCal, where many of the attendees hail from.
While you can bump into celebrities — like Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe, who both attended this year — the festival honors the entire process of filmmaking, not just the famous faces or the finished product. Companies such as Dolby, Canon, and Samsung even have a presence, helping both budding and established creatives take advantage of the latest technologies, from stellar surround sound and audio mixing to embracing virtual reality.
Dolby brought us out to Sundance to check out the experience firsthand, and we can safely say there were some aspects of the festival we did not expect.
Here are six things you’d never know about Sundance Film Festival unless you’ve actually gone.
It Does In Fact Get Cold, Really Cold
While I knew Sundance took place in Utah, in the middle of January, I never quite tied the reality of the weather to that experience. For some reason, I always imagined that a bubble of sunshine and 70 degree pleasantness followed L.A. movie stars like a spotlight. This is false. It is snowy in Park City in the winter. It can snow (it did), and conditions can range anywhere from highs in the 40s, to days in the 20s, or even lows near 0 degrees.
Fashion is practical. Puffy jackets, scarves, warm hats, snow-friendly boots, and layers are the must-have style elements you see everywhere.
The Main Theater Is A High School Auditorium
Park City isn’t equipped with some 24 stadium Century 21 theater complex, where all the movies are screened, in one consolidated place. Instead, movies are screened at a variety of locations across the city: At the public library, at hotels, at the Egyptian theater downtown, at a theater several miles outside Park City, and even at a high school auditorium.
In fact, that high school auditorium, the 2,000-seat Eccles Theater, is the primary screening location for this year’s biggest films. And it’s no ordinary lecture space: It’s outfitted with a state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos sound system, the only high school in the world (and the only theater in Park City) to be so equipped. This system is comprised of 67 speakers positioned around the sides of the space and on its ceiling, delivering a completely immersive sound experience, regardless of where you're sitting. You’d never guess all that was hidden in the auditorium when you’re standing outside looking at this high school.
Also, school classes were going on the first two days of the festival. While we were lined up outside, waiting to get in, or filing into the theater, kids were still in gym class.
Water Only Inside The Theaters
When I head to the movies, I usually load up on buttered popcorn and a Coca-Cola slushy. Not at Sundance. While there are snacks offered just outside the screening venues, you’re not allowed to bring them inside the theaters. It makes sense — crunchy, sticky foods can be disruptive to other viewers, and make a mess if people don’t clean up after themselves.
It’s Incredibly Low-Key
While there is a red carpet before most movie screenings, this is not the Oscars, or even Cannes. Actors, directors, and film staff are here to see the debut of their films, often for the first time, and see other brand new independent films. They’re not here as celebrities.
With that in mind, while I encountered a number of famous faces both in screenings and out-and-about, I saw very, very few selfies with celebrities happening. That’s not to say you don’t still gasp and chatter with excitement from afar — especially when Jon Hamm walks by. (Did he see my mental freak-out? And then me blowing my nose? Oh well, doesn't matter anyway.)
Before and after each movie debut, the directors place equal recognition on the below-the-liners who helped bring their films to life: costume designers, cinematographers, set designers, audio mixers, and more.
The City Is Not Equipped To Handle This Many People — But It Does Its Best
From the taxi and Uber drivers to coffee shop baristas and bartenders, one refrain echoed repeatedly: “Today’s my first day.” That’s right. Many of the drivers navigating the town’s icy, traffic-jammed streets had never even driven in Park City before, and had no idea where various notable festival locations and hotels were. (The bus drivers, however, were a major exception to this — they knew their shit, and were extremely friendly, too.)
Restaurants and coffee shops brought in as much help as they could get — one deli had a boy, who looked about 10, helping with hot chocolate — but still, lines for food and drink generally called for 20-plus minutes of waiting. For the most part, people on both sides of the equation are understanding, even if you’re literally stepping on other people’s toes.
The Cell Connection Is Terrible (And The Wi-Fi's Not Much Better)
Who would have thought that when 40,000 people descend on a small town tucked in the Rocky Mountains that the cell connection would choke? My plan was to Periscope, Snapchat, and Instagram my whole experience, but that idea often proved quite impractical. On top of not being able to share things, a congested cell network causes a second problem for your smartphone: A speedily draining battery. Like at any big festival, a battery pack and charging case can be your best friends.
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