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PARK CITY - - People come from all over to compete in Utah's Sundance Film Festival. But, how often do locals snag a spot in the competition? In this year's contest, Utah was represented in a few films and by a few native filmmakers.
'Keep the Lights On' is a film directed by Deer Valley native, Ira Sachs. Sachs is a local director/screenwriter, and he helped to build the Yarrow Hotel in Park City with local partners. 'Keep the Lights On' is an emotional film about a gay couple that is competing in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. "This film has a certain freedom to it, and I think Sundance will be the place to share that," said Sachs in an interview with Sundance Film.
Another film using some local Utah talent is 'Smashed' starring lead actress, Mary Elizabeth Winstead who grew up in Salt Lake City. Competing in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, 'Smashed' tells the story of a young, married couple who grew together based on their mutual bond of music, laughter, and drinking. Their relationship undergoes some transition when Winstead's character decides to sober up.
Deseret News:
My favorites from 20 years at Sundance
As another 10-day Sundance party winds down, nostalgia comes floating my way — as it seems to do every year around this time — and I recall some of the films that played when I covered the film festival during its first two decades (to include the pre-"Sundance" years).'BOBBY YEAH' is a short film competing in the Shorts Program, International Animated category. Filmmaker, Robert Morgan, started working on the the film in Draper at his parent's house. The film is a an almost clay-mation animated movie telling the story of a Bobby Yeah, a thug that continually steals things. One day he gets into big trouble when he steals the favorite pet of some dangerous individuals.
Sam Rushforth, a local Utahn, stars in another Sundance Film, 'The Diatom.' Rushforth has been the Dean of Science and Health at Utah Valley University for the past 12 years. Along with his teaching career, he also has been an aquatic biologist studying diatoms for the last forty years. 'The Diatom' is competing in the New Frontier Short film category. It documents Rushforth as he studies the single celled organism that produces the majority of the earth's oxygen supply.
'The Family Nightmare' was written and directed by Dustin Guy Defa, a Salt Lake City native. The film takes place in Salt Lake City where it portrays a dysfunctional family in the mid-1990s dealing with alcohol, drugs and perversion.
The local talent in Utah definitely has shown through in this year's Sundance Film Festival. For more information about the filmmakers and actors, visit: http://www.sundance.org/festival/
