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(AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
Carole Mikita reporting
Even the stars braved the cold temperatures in Park City for the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival.
It's the 24th annual Sundance Film Festival, and festival founder Robert Redford said it's growing in size, which means there are more films. It's also growing in popularity, which means more star gazing and gifting and parties, which may or may not be so good. But it is the premiere of the festival celebrating independent filmmakers. This is what Sundance is all about.
The film is titled "In Bruges," the medieval Flemish city where two hit men go to take a vacation after messing up a job. The stars, Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell, enjoyed their first visit here. Farrell feels the film is perfect for Sundance.
"It's great. It's great to be here. It really is lovely. And it seems like the right place, in regard to being a platform for Martin's work, being an independent spirit. And Martin's very much his own man, marches to the beat of his own drum," he said.
He's talking about award-winning playwright, now director-screenwriter, Martin McDonagh. It's his first feature film, and it's the festival's premiere. I asked him about the support.
"Yeah, but they've been brilliant. Jeff and Bob were fantastic. It seems like their kind of film, too. I think it is a Sundance kind of film; it has that sensibility. I'm really happy to be here. I hope people like it," he said.
The film is already drawing buzz here; so is the Hollywood writer's strike. I asked Redford about distributors buying more films this year.
"I suspect you're right, but I think what's going to be interesting for the media is to look at it from that standpoint and see who's coming. This place is already jammed. It's gonna be a pretty packed festival. I think there's going to be a lot of people looking to buy, which is good for the filmmakers," he said.
For now, it's all about screening the films for an audience.
Brendan Glesson said, "To come here with something you feel really good about is really a double whammy. I don't think people will be disappointed."
They'll discover if being independent pays off.
Screening of the film "In Bruges" continues tomorrow and Sunday and next Saturday. Tomorrow night's premiere is in Salt Lake City. It's called "Great Buck Howard." It stars Tom Hanks, John Malkovich and Emily Blunt. We'll have that story coming up for you on Eyewitness News.
