By Tiffany Bird
Hollywood celebrities are packing their bags and boarding their private jets only to arrive in Park City for this year?s Sundance Film Festival.
The festival is one of the world?s most prestigious film festivals. It was founded by Robert Redford. Since then, the festival has been known to enliven Park City for independent movie buffs and celebrities.
?We approach the festival with a very broad idea of what independent film is, and work to create a platform that presents the full spectrum of independent cinema ? from higher profile films that screen in Competition and in Premieres to the more edgy, experimental films in Frontier and in Midnights,? said Geoffrey Gilmore, director of the Sundance Film Festival, in a press release. ?This festival always is about filmmakers trying to do new things with the medium and helping to push independent film forward aesthetically and artistically.?
This year the festival will have a new category for the best international narrative and documentary films. The competition was placed in hope of supporting creative dialogue between divergent cultures and encouraging independent filmmakers around the globe.
Among the celebrities and well-known producers, BYU alumni are making their debut at the festival.
Aaron Ruell, an actor who played Kip in ?Napoleon Dynamite? and a BYU alumnus, will be showing two short dramatic films he directed titled, ?Everything?s Gone Green? and ?Mary.?
Another BYU alumnus, Greg Whitely, will be presenting ?New York Doll? in the category of documentary competition.
For a complete list of competition films visit www.sundance.org.
