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Carole Mikita Reporting The festival's focus moves here to the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center this evening with the premiere of "Away from Her" starring Julie Christy and Olympia Dukakis.
But you don't have to have a recognizable name to get top billing at Sundance. Such is the case for a short film created at a Utah university.
Film audio: "My name is Wolfgang Von Kellerman. In my youth, I was one of Germany's greatest pilots."
A World War I flying ace searches for a worthy opponent...
Kohl Glass, screenwriter/director, "Der Ostwind": "I felt like a story about a German, like an aristocrat who is very noble and chivalrous would be good."
Titled "Der Ostwind", this short film is already dubbed better than good... it has become a dream come true for BYU graduate, Kohl Glass. First, making this movie, with a focus on his favorite subject, flying...and then the best thing that can happen to a young, independent filmmaker.
Kohl Glass: "For the rest of my life, i'll be able to say i had a film in Sundance. It's very prestigious, it's kind of a seal of approval."
Glass and his partner, Rob Au used some live action with computer-generated or animated images, but it took three years to create the eleven minute film and they had a lot of help, as in a crew of 60.
Kohl Glass: "We would get students to come on board and be on the crew and then they would graduate; or they would get hired and stuff and so we went through a lot of students."
Now, Glass says, he's ready to move up to the full-length features. But hopes to tell the kinds of stories that make audiences think, just like the German pilot who discovers the true meaning of honor.
"Der Ostwind" premiers tonight at the Sundance Film Festival at midnight, along with five other shorts... they also have screenings through next Saturday. You can also see them on iTunes and on the Sundance website.
