Perhaps one of the most popular and well known film festivals around is the Sundance Film Festival.  Every year it brings together a diverse crowd to the various places in which it takes place.  This year it’s taking place in Utah between Park City and Salt Lake City from January 17 ‘til January 25. 

International House of Indie

No matter where it takes place, the Sundance Film Festival is always jam packed with hipsters and indie movie lovers and aficionados.  A few major movies have become commercial hits after scoring points and winning awards at the Sundance. Movies such as Napoleon Dynamite and Little Miss Sunshine have helped increase the fuzz over this festival, making it one of the most sought after and prestigious of the national and international film festivals in the world.

De todo un poco

As the festival becomes more popular and attracts major directors and Hollywood A-list celebrities, sometimes the critics and cinema connoisseurs might find this a bit threatening to the festival’s credibility.  Even though independent films are still the main focus, now they have included a special category in which big-budget movies are Premiered. 

Latinos Representing

Slowly but steadily, Latinos are turning heads their way.  This year seems to be a good year for Latinos in the movie business.  A clear example of that can be seen in “Sleep Dealer”- a movie co-produced by Mexican and American directors. In “Sleep Dealer” directed by Alex Rivera, the movie is set in a near future marked by airtight international borders, militarized corporate warriors, and an underground class of node workers who plug their nervous systems into a global computer network that commodifies memory. Burning with visual energy and originality, Sleep Dealer is a fascinating and prescient work of science fiction that is as politically engaged as enjoyable to watch. Think “The Matrix” meets “The Science of Sleep”.  Among the cast you’ll find Luis Fernando Peña (from De La Calle and Amar Te Duele), Leonor Varela, Jacob Vegas, and other familiar faces.

Sundance en español

The foreign cinema category has increased its number of entries from Spanish-speaking countries.  For this year’s festival you will find the Mexican selection- “Párpados Azules”, “Máncora”- a collaboration movie between Spain and Peru, and “Perro Come Perro”- from Colombia.

“Párpados Azules” was directed by Ernesto Contreras, who was able to gather a superb cast: Cecilia Suárez, Enrique Arreola, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Tiaré Scanda, and Luisa Huertas.  In his remarkable feature-film debut, Ernesto Contreras gently explores solitude and the quest for love in Mexico. Set in a modern Mexican megalopolis, a world filled with pale shades of blue, the film showcases Contreras’s steady direction and Cecilia Suárez and Enrique Arreola’s wonderful performances, which lend a quiet inertia to the film as they seek love and connectedness.

“Máncora”, directed by Ricardo de Montreuil is a road movie, a love story and a spiritual odyssey all rolled into one. Ricardo de Montreuil’s richly atmospheric Máncora is that rare film so sensual that not only do you watch it, but you also feel it. Máncora is a dazzling second feature by de Montreuil and a remarkable vehicle for his amazing young actors—Elsa Pataky, Jason Day, and Enrique Murciano. The intense, almost-physical force of the film’s visuals creates a truly transforming experience. Indeed the magic of the film’s imagery, music, and location provides a passionate journey into a world rarely seen in film, and shows off the immense talents of an exciting new cinematic voice.

Directed by Carlos Moreno, “Perro Come Perro” is set in the Colombian crime world.  Carlos Moreno’s smartly scripted debut feature depicts a brutal universe where gangsters are as vicious as rabid street dogs and voodoo reigns as the supreme form of punishment, doling out karmic fate to its thuggish denizens. Energetic direction, beautiful lensing, and fantastic performances led by Marlon Moreno and Oscar Borda bring this gripping thriller to life. 

…and it’s just the beginning

2008 has just started and within a couple of weeks it has delivered many delightful news, great music albums and unforgettable movies.  The Sundance Film Festival is nothing but the best way to see what 2008 has in store for all the movie aficionados.  And even though the rest of the world is a few months away from watching some of the festival movies, there’s nothing left to do but wait for them to hit the local theaters.