This past January the Hawkeye staff attended the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The festival has been held annually for 40 years in Park City, Utah. Sundance Film Festival features films from independent film makers and provides a platform for them to share their stories. Among the films are short films lasting a duration of 20-30 minutes and longer films lasting at least an hour or more.
This year’s Hawkeye staff watched over a dozen films. Typically, the movies that are presented at Sundance are films that have not been released yet, but as it was the 40th anniversary of the festival, they featured films that had originally found their start at Sundance many years ago and had gone on to win awards. These films included “Pariah” and the Oscar award winner film “The Times of Harvey Milk.”
“The Times of Harvey Milk” was an overall favorite among the group. The film was first played at the Sundance Film Festival back in 1985. The film won the Special Jury prize and was also awarded the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The documentary followed the actions of Harvey Milk, who at the time was running as the first openly gay politician in San Fransico.
After watching “The Times of Harvey Milk”, the director of the film Rob Epstein stuck around for a Q&A with the audience. “I really liked how we were able to ask the director questions afterward, it made the film feel more personal” stated Ana Slawbowski, a Hawkeye staff member and 20-year-old Cybersecurity major at HCC. “The festival as a whole, opened my eyes to topics that are not often talked about, there was a lot of exposure to new perspectives for me,” she added.
The second award winning film rescreened was “Pariah”. It is a film about a lesbian teen who struggles with coming out. The director did an excellent job at developing the characters throughout the film. The plot was interesting, and they did a great job with their cinematography and the angst teens feel coming of age.
Many of the films shed light on topics surrounding social movements and hardships that minority groups face that have been relevant throughout history and still are today. Many found the short films to be their favorites. One student interviewed added, “My favorite short was “Pathological”. The short film is about a woman who is a pathological liar to gain attention. However, every lie she told would come true.”
Students also had the opportunity to attend the premiere of “Look into My Eyes”. The film is an A24 documentary about the personal lives of psychics based in New York city during the pandemic. The documentary dives deeper into the more intimate and emotional side of being a psychic and explores what it is that drives them into this profession.
Most of the films were watched in the historic Egyptian theatre located on Main Street in downtown Park city. There were also viewings presented at the Ray theatre and all around Park City.
Every second the trip wasn’t all business though and in between watching movies the students spent time exploring downtown, taking in the views, and even snowtubing. “My favorite parts about the trip were going to the premiere and going snowtubing” stated Maiko Stager, Hawkeye staff member. The students spent one day snowtubing, for most of them it was a first. They went to the infamous Woodward Plaza, known for being the place that many people train for the winter Olympics.
This year’s trip to the Sunset Film Festival was one to remember for the Hawkeye staff. They watched an abundance of films, met directors, attended premieres, enjoyed Park City’s scenery, indulged in fun snow activities, and got to know each other better and bond as a group. Overall, the trip was unforgettable and when asked if they would be returning to next year’s festival the entire group said, “we definitely hope so!”