There’s Still Money to Be Made at Sundance — Or So Producers Hope

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Starting on Thursday and lasting for 11 days, the Sundance Film Festival will premiere 88 carefully chosen films from a record-breaking 16,000 submissions this year. This unique event has long been a launchpad for buzzworthy, attention-grabbing movies that often make waves in Park City and influence popular culture.

* The sharp-witted comedy-drama “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You,” starring Rose Byrne and featuring a cameo by Conan O’Brien? This is a remake of the novel adaptation-turned-Broadway musical-turned-Oscar-winning drama from 1985, “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” directed by Bill Condon. It also stars Jennifer Lopez.
* The documentary “Free Leonard Peltier” by director David France is set to premiere just days after President Biden actually freed the well-known Indigenous activist (who was convicted of killing two FBI agents and spent the last five decades behind bars). This film could become a hot topic of conversation at water coolers over the next twelve months if Sundance’s past is any indication.

* The biting comedy-drama “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You,” starring Rose Byrne and featuring a cameo by Conan O’Brien? This is a new adaptation of the novel that was turned into a Broadway musical and then an Oscar-winning drama in 1985 called “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” directed by Bill Condon. Jennifer Lopez also stars in this remake.
* The documentary “Free Leonard Peltier” by director David France is set to premiere just days after President Biden actually freed the well-known Indigenous activist (who was convicted of killing two FBI agents and spent the last five decades behind bars). If Sundance’s past is any indication, this film could become a popular topic of conversation at water coolers over the next twelve months.

* The witty comedy-drama “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You,” starring Rose Byrne and featuring a cameo by Conan O’Brien? This is a fresh take on the novel that was turned into a Broadway musical and then an Oscar-winning drama in 1985 called “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” directed by Bill Condon. The film also stars Jennifer Lopez.
* The documentary “Free Leonard Peltier” by director David France is set to premiere just days after President Biden actually freed the well-known Indigenous activist (who was convicted of killing two FBI agents and spent the last five decades behind bars). It’s possible that this film could become a hot topic at water coolers over the next twelve months if Sundance’s past is any indication.

This year’s Sundance Film Festival is facing unpredictable circumstances, with ongoing wildfires in L.A., a relocation from its long-standing location in Utah’s Wasatch mountains, and recent waves of corporate downsizing, plummeting media stocks, and rising joblessness in film projects. Despite this, the allure of Sundance as a launchpad for potential Oscar winners remains strong in Hollywood, following the success of CODA, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance before going on to win Best Picture at the 2022 Academy Awards. Jesse Eisenberg’s award-season contender A Real Pain (nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar this morning), as well as dark horse films like A Different Man (Best Makeup and Hairstyling nomination) and documentaries such as Sugarcane, Black Box Diaries, Porcelain War, and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, all had their beginnings at Sundance ’24.

In essence, Sundance serves as a significant indicator of the state of independent film, both artistically and financially. As Eugene Hernandez, the festival’s director and head of public programming, puts it, “It offers a glimpse, almost like looking into a crystal ball.” This glance allows us to foresee the trends in films that will be released later in the year. It is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the stories we’ve witnessed throughout the year and anticipate what lies ahead.

Even though the film industry has faced challenges due to two Hollywood strikes and the lingering effects of the pandemic, many independent producers remain optimistic about the future of indie cinema as they prepare for Sundance. Although the days of platforms like Amazon flooding the festival with vast amounts of cash to purchase entire slates of films may be over, industry insiders point out that there is a greater number of outlets acquiring independent movies for distribution, both through streaming and traditional theatrical means, than ever before in recent history. As Josh Peters, a former acquisitions director at Focus Features who is now a producer on this year’s film Ricky, puts it, “If you make a good movie today for a reasonable budget, I believe there are 10 places that can compete to buy that film.” Buyers are becoming more practical in their approach, and a group of financiers is emerging who are prepared to invest smaller amounts, allowing for an ecosystem of buyers to encourage artists to take risks, push themselves creatively, and focus on what’s important to them.

At the Toronto International Film Festival in September, producers Duncan Montgomery and Alex Orlovsky debuted and sold distribution rights for “The Last Showgirl” to Roadside Attractions. They then immediately arranged a speedy cinematic release along with an awards-eligible run in December. Currently in Park City with their film “Lurker”, which revolves around a young man who develops an obsession with a rising pop star portrayed by Archie Madekwe, Montgomery contrasts the optimistic atmosphere of Sundance to the hectic rush towards award season that usually follows a TIFF acquisition. “It seems like there’s a bit of momentum for independent films,” Montgomery says. “I can’t claim to know what buyers are thinking, but I’m hopeful that there’s a positive outlook. And there’s something about the new year: [Sundance’s] timing in the third week of January. There’s potential. There’s anticipation. Unlike those fall festivals where there’s a lot of stress.

As a film enthusiast, I can’t help but notice how the disruptions related to the 2023 strikes seem to have had an unexpected impact on the cinematic landscape. These disruptions, including production halts, postponed releases, and a scarcity of mainstream movies in theaters, appear to have paved the way for more independent films to make it to the big screen last year. This is particularly evident when we look at the acclaimed titles that continue to resonate in our cultural discourse, even up until the recent Oscar nomination announcements. Titles like Demi Moore’s chilling comeback film, The Substance, Gia Coppola’s thought-provoking work, The Last Showgirl, the controversial Trump biopic, The Apprentice, A Different Man, for which Sebastian Stan earned a Golden Globe this month, and the prison drama based on a true story, Sing Sing. Each of these films garnered significant attention at festivals such as Toronto, Cannes, and Sundance before reaching audiences.

Year after year since 1994, producers David Siegel and Scott McGehee have been submitting their films to festivals, with this year’s aim being the placement of their Gulf War-related comedy Atropia, starring Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Chloe Sevigny, and Channing Tatum. Over the years, they’ve noticed that Sundance’s endorsement has become more significant in terms of both promotion and public recognition. As McGehee puts it, “The audience has really changed, and they are increasingly interested in box office, film festivals, and reviews.” He adds, “Today, audiences seem to care about a film’s lineage – how it made its way to them – and distributors are keen on having such aspects to present to the audience.

Although the festival’s status as the premier event for independent cinema in North America is undeniable, the platform it provides for documentary films has become more complex due to the decreasing commercial viability of non-fiction films. Since the N95 era, attendance for documentary features at theaters has significantly dropped, while their popularity on streaming platforms has soared. However, this year, four out of five nominees for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar were from Sundance. According to Ryan Heller, Head of Film and Documentaries at Topic Studios (who will be attending Sundance with the documentaries “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” and “Folktales”), finding a balance between a distributor and suitable material is still possible. Heller explains that buyers are currently being very selective and knowledgeable about what works for them, rather than demanding multiple films. He states, “We’re not in a moment where a buyer is coming in saying, ‘I need five movies.’ It’s more, ‘If we see something we love, we’ll buy it.'” Looking back at last year’s Sundance, there is a strong argument that the right buyer for the right movie still aligns perfectly.

This week, long-time pass holder Kevin Iwashina arrives in Park City with his short film, Hoops, Hopes & Dreams, directed by Glenn Kaino. The movie explores an unusual political strategy employed by Martin Luther King Jr. and a star-studded group of ’60s civil rights activists. They leveraged pick-up basketball games to mobilize young voters and establish support networks for disadvantaged communities. When I ask Iwashina about the state of independent film, he clarifies: “Independent film isn’t a genre; it’s a financial model.

Moving forward, the filmmaker challenges the differences between traditional and independent films that he believes no longer resonate with Generation Z. “Currently, there’s a spectrum of cinema, a variety of quality,” Iwashina explains. “Sometimes that excellence might originate from an unconventional source such as Anora. And at other times, it may stem from established studios like those behind The Wild Robot.” Iwashina further adds, “In the eyes of many young people, A24 is not synonymous with indie films. They are simply movies. I believe we need to reconsider and avoid labeling this notion of indie as a separate category.

As a film enthusiast, I believe it’s time we move beyond labeling movies based on their creators’ identities. We’ve seen how this approach didn’t serve us well during the elections, and I think the same applies here. Let’s evaluate films for their content and merit instead.

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2025-01-24 03:54