Slamdance Announces 2009 Festival Events

Lucy Sutton January 16th, 2009

Press Release

2009 marks the 15th anniversary of the Slamdance Film Festival, one of the few remaining movie showcases whose sole mission is to nurture, support and introduce truly independent works from first-time filmmakers. The Festival has always prided itself on the eclectic, exciting, something-for-everyone mix of people, parties and events that it brings together every year in Park City. The 2009 Festival will remain true to that tradition, providing unique professional and social outlets for filmmakers, industry executives, the media, and the general public.

As it does every year, Slamdance will run concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival. January 15-23. Slamdance and the box office will be headquartered and films will screen at the Treasure Mountain Inn, 255 Main Street, the Festival’s headquarters since 1998. For more information, a complete listing of films in the Festival or news on the Slamdance Underground Music vs. Film Tour, visit www.slamdance.com or call 323/466-1786.

“We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again,” said Drea Clark, Executive Director of the Festival. “Slamdance is like being in love with your best friend’s younger sister: naughty yet accessible. Industry and movie lovers alike can have a drink with us and be a part of our innocent flirtation!”

2009 PARTIES/EVENTS SCHEDULE

Thursday, January 15
Slamdance Housewarming Party
9:00 pm / Star Bar / 268 Main Street
- Presented in part by OurStage, with performances by PseudoSlang and The Woes and Opening Act Mackintosh Braun
- Housewarming Performers
The McMickle Brothers
Mackintosh Braun
The Woes
Pseudo Slang (Fat Beats Records)
DJs sets by Emcee Sick (Fat Beats Records) and DJ Street Jesus (Uprok Records, SLC)
- Open to Passholders and advanced tickets purchased online or at box office before noon the day of event ($25) (all entry per venue capacity)
- Two drink tickets (good for sponsored beverages) upon entry, 21+ only
- Complimentary beverages provided by: Dos Equis, Jagermeister, Michael Collins Whiskey, Hint Water, Monster Energy and POM Wonderful

Saturday, January 17 – Thursday, January 22
Happy Hour
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Happy Hour Sponsors include AJA Video Systems, Moving Pictures, Spout.com, and CurrentTV
- DJ set by Emcee Sick (Fat Beats Records) + members of The Woes
- Open to all Slamdance filmmakers and passholders. Hosted bar featuring Dos Equis, Jagermeister, Michael Collins Whiskey, Hint Water, Monster Energy and POM Wonderful. Performances by PseudoSlang and The Woes.

Sunday, January 18
Filmmaker Sled-Off & Hot Tub Social
3:00 pm / Treasure Mountain Inn Lobby / 255 Main Street
- All are welcome to attend! BYOS (Bring Your Own Sled)
The Sled-Off, a long-time Slamdance tradition, allows filmmakers to parallel the potentially cold, terrifying yet ultimately gratifying Park City experience by hurtling themselves down a mountain. Followed by hot tub colloquy with Slamdance Co-Founder-at-Large Dan Mirvish, East Coast Director Paul Rachman and surprise Slamdance alumni.

Tuesday, January 20
Presidential Inauguration Celebration
10:00 am / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Watch live coverage of President Obama’s Inauguration and find out the real story of how John McCain lost the election! Hosted by notorious pundit and former McCain adviser Martin Eisenstadt, who rose to fame as the self-admitted source of the Sarah Palin Africa story. Eisenstadt will also show clips of the controversial BBC documentary about himself, “The Last Republican,” and denounce The New York Times report that he is simply the fictional creation of Slamdance Co-Founder Dan Mirvish and Slamdance 2002 Grand Jury Winner Eitan Gorlin.

Tuesday, January 20
Film Commission Expo
2:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Check out the shooting and production possibilities in new, exciting locales!
- Participating commissions include the Mississippi Film Office, Montana Film Office, Nevada Film Office, and Film San Antonio. Supporting offices include Film Wisconsin, the Maryland Film Office, and the Michigan Film Office.

Friday, January 23
Slamdance Awards & Reception
9:00 pm / Main Screening Room / 255 Main Street
- Presentation of Awards and reception; open to 21+ Passholders only
Hosted bar and announcement of Grand Jury Awards, Audience Awards, Writing Awards, and Special Awards including Best Cinematography Award sponsored by Kodak, Dos Equis Most Interesting Film Award and Indieroad Streaming Festival Award.

2009 FIRESIDE CHATS & WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE

The Fireside tradition started at Slamdance ’99 as a way for filmmakers to meet with other filmmakers and industry figures in an informal setting. To date, more than 200 speakers have participated. The Chats feature festival directors, producers, executives, musicians, distributors, technology gurus, and other movers and shakers in indie filmmaking. Admission is free to all.

Friday, January 16
Fireside Chats: Filmmakers on Filmmaking
1:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Kodak
Learn from experienced and successful directors, producers, and DPs who have all made indie films on very limited budgets! Discussion includes getting your film made, various new film production and post-production technologies, and how to get your film noticed. Panel features noted cinematographer John Bailey, ASC, whose credits run from Incident at Loch Ness and Anniversary Party to As Good as It Gets and Silverado; Mr. Bailey will be speaking about independent filmmaking in today’s market. Mr. Bailey shot two films that are in competition in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and The Greatest.

Workshop: Unleashing The Full Power of HD Recording
2:00 pm / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Media Distributors
“Good, fast and inexpensive, pick two.” While the phrase is a bit of a paradox, today’s recording technologies are more than ever better suited to achieve all three objectives in your productions. As HD recording formats* are increasingly complex, powerful and numerous, this workshop will explore each technology in detail - ranging from film, tape and tapless. The program will arm you with all the features, technical aspects, pro’s and con’s- all the elements you’ll find invaluable planning your next project. Regardless if you are behind the lens or not, you’ll find this session highly informative. (Mix of lecture, Q & A, working demos, guest speakers.)
*Formats that will be covered include: 16 & 35mm film, Red®, HDCAM SR®, HDCAM®, D5, XDCAM®, DVCPRO®, EX, P2, HDV, DV

Saturday, January 17 – Wednesday, January 21
Demos
10:00 am and 2:00 pm / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Equipment and technological demonstrations, providing access and insight to relevant indie filmmaking tools
- Media Distributors (Jan. 17-Jan. 19, 2pm) will be showcasing two demos twice
- Panasonic (Jan. 21, 10am) will be offering a singular demo outing

Saturday, January 17
Fireside Chats: Optical Disc, Hard Disk Drive, Flash Memory - At the Forefront of Acquisition
12:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Media Distributors in conjunction with Sony
With each release of a new format for digital capture comes the requirement for removable media to store that content. The expectation for faster transfer speeds and higher storage capacities has challenged recording media manufacturers to develop technologies to meet these requirements, at viable price points. This panel discussion will focus on optical disc, flash (solid-state) memory, and hard disk drives including Professional Disc™, CompactFlash™, SxS PRO™ Memory Card, Hard Disk Drive, and as the enabling technologies used with XDCAM HD HDV, and XDCAM EX formats.

Workshop: From Set to Suite - Understanding Post-Production Workflow
2:00 pm / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Media Distributors
Many recording formats are available to filmmakers today, each one presenting its own advantages & hurdles when shooting and posting. This workshop will clarify the most important considerations and establish best practices for content management, editing, mastering and archive. See how the evolution of tape, disk, and flash storage technologies have simultaneously simplified and yet complicated moving raw footage to finished product. Budget considerations, revealing hidden costs, finding efficiencies - all central elements to production planning will be reviewed in this session. Recommended for anyone involved in production- whether operations, creative or technical disciplines. (Mix of lecture, Q & A, demos, guest speakers.)
Featuring Apple® and Apple Final Cut Pro® editing gear / software

Fireside Chats: “No budget? No film degree? No problem!”
3:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Focal Press
Anyone can tell a great visual story and get it out there in front of an audience… you just need a little help from the experts! Three Focal Press authors aim to inspire with practical advice on writing, producing, shooting, and financing your next film on a budget and without a fancy film degree.

Sunday, January 18
Fireside Chats: Alternative Distribution for Fun and Profit
1:00pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Indie Road
Explore the developments in online distribution for indie filmmakers, including building online communities and marketing with digital media, as well as discussion on distribution and exhibition of Indie films on mobile devices, wireless networks, and the internet.

Off the Record Screening: Pathogen
3:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
The subject of competition documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie, 12-year director Emily Hagins will be hosting an informal screening of her feature length zombie film Pathogen.

Monday, January 19
DIY Filmmaking Day sponsored by Spout.com

Brunch: DIY Day Kick-Off
10:00 am / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Spout.com
Do-It-Yourself Marketing and Distribution is a trend that’s continuing to shape the indie film community, and the day-long focus begins with a hosted brunch for pass-holders.

Fireside Chats: Do-It-Yourself Marketing and Distribution for Independents
1:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Spout.com
Learn how to use the alternative options available to filmmakers today for marketing and distributing your film without the backing of a major distributor and hear from experts who have successfully used the do-it-yourself method.

Tuesday, January 20
Fireside Chats: The Art, Craft and Business of Screenwriting
12:00pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by the Slamdance Screenplay Competition in conjunction with the Writers Guild of America, West
Topics include how to work and communicate with producers, executives, agents and managers; how to fully develop material; the Writers Guild’s protections and benefits for writers; the role of competitions and how past Slamdance competition winners got produced and screened as festival features.

Screenplay Reading “Goodman’s Garden” by Douglas K. Miller
1:30 pm / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Free admission; 13th Annual Slamdance Screenplay Competition 1st runner-up
Starting with a free screening of “Assassin Emeritus”, the Duke City Shoot Out Short Screenplay Official Selection

Film Commission Expo
2:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Check out the shooting and production possibilities in new, exciting locales! Participating commissions include the Mississippi Film Office, Montana Film Office, Nevada Film Office, and Film San Antonio. Supporting offices include Film Wisconsin, the Maryland Film Office, and the Michigan Film Office.

Wednesday, January 21
Workshop: New Production Technologies
10:00 am / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Panasonic
Learn about P2HD technology and workflow; understanding the technology just a little bit, will make you a more confident filmmaker. Panasonic will be sharing key ideas that will help the filmmaker manage their content from acquisition to final product and archive.

Fireside Chats: New Production Technologies
1:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Panasonic
Fall in love all over again with the latest technology for indie filmmaking. Spend time with HD gurus who have shot using different formats and equipment, including the HVX200. A discussion of managing budgets and workflow for indie filmmakers will be included in this panel.

Thursday, January 22
Workshop: Workflow Tutorial for Indie Filmmakers
10:00 am / Monster Arcade / 255 Main Street
- Sponsored by Red Giant Software

Fireside Chat and Special Reception: Insurance and Legal Hurdles When Delivering Your Film to a Distributor
1:00 pm / Technicolor Filmmaker Lounge / 255 Main Streetv- Sponsored by MindFusion Law, LLP and Momentous Insurance
Business, legal affairs, and insurance experts discuss the ins and outs of insurance issues specific to independent filmmaking. Topics include production insurance and other forms of insurance necessary for shoots as well as legal complications that filmmakers most often face. Followed by cocktail reception.

2009 SLAMDANCE JURY MEMBERS

The Slamdance Film Festival jury members for 2009 are:

Jeremy Coon is a native Texan who attended film school at BYU, where he met frequent collaborator Jared Hess. After producing/editing their award winning short PELUCA, Coon had his feature-length producing and editing debut NAPOLEON DYNAMITE premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Fox Searchlight. He followed with THE SASQUATCH GANG (producer and editor), winning the audience award at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival as well as Best Director and Best Actor (Justin Long) at the 2006 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival. Coon’s latest indie comedy AMERICAN FORK premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival and has currently played at over 20 film festivals around the world.

Gideon C. Kennedy has died in urban legend, been worshiped by a fraternal organization of which he was not a part, and had a single barrel scotch that he can’t afford named after him. Interested in exploring other such factual fictions, he writes and co-directs with filmmaker and editor Marcus Rosentrater through their independent production company, Climenole. Their last film DICK-GEORGE, TENN-TOM, a sardonic look at the rivalry between President Richard Nixon and Governor George Wallace, won two festival awards and played in over 30 cities in the Southeast. They are currently in the middle of editing a doc/narrative hybrid entitled CLANDESTINE.

Josh Koury is a documentary filmmaker living in Brooklyn, NY. His most recent and 2nd feature documentary, WE ARE WIZARDS opened theatrically on the fall of 2008. He is currently part of the film faculty at Pratt Institute in NYC. Previously, Josh worked as a programmer at the Hamptons International Film Festival and served as the Director of Programming and Co-Founder of the Brooklyn Underground Film Festival. Josh’s work has been recognized by a number of publications, including The New York Times, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Salon, and The New York Post.

Michael Lerman is a programmer for the Woodstock Film Festival as well as a frequent contributor to indieWIRE. Coming from a diverse film industry background, he has worn many hats including one as the co-director/co-producer/co-writer of the 2008 SXSW premiere NATURAL CAUSES and the co-founder of the production company Tiger Industry Films.

Dan Nuxoll has been working with New York’s Rooftop Films since its founding and became their full-time Program Director in 2002. In the 6 years since, he has helped Rooftop bring in more 2,500 submissions a year and Rooftop’s programming has received steadily increasing acclaim. Each summer, Rooftop screens hundreds of new independent films outdoors to huge crowds. He has also worked as a producer, composer and sound designer for film, including the wildly entertaining feature documentary, KISS MY SNAKE.

Kent Osborne wrote and starred in the 2000 Sundance Film Festival feature DROPPING OUT, directed by his brother Mark. He has starred in numerous shorts, including HERD, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, THE PIPE, as well as Joe Swanberg’s 2007 feature HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS. Kent has worked as a writer / storyboard director for “Phineas and Ferb,” “ Camp Lazlo,” “The Misadventures of Flapjack” and “SpongeBob Squarepants” — which earned him three Emmy nominations. He is also the author of the graphic novel “The Day is Today”.

David Redmon directed MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA, which was nominated for a Grand Jury Award at Sundance 2005 and went on to win 20 other festival awards before theatrical release. He co-directed KAMP KATRINA and INTIMIDAD with partner Ashley Sabin, and they are currently completing four more documentary projects: TWISTED, INVISIBLE GIRLFRIEND, DARLINGS and MS. PEARL THE MUSICAL.

Adam Roffman has been the Programming Director of the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston) since its inception in 2003. In 2001 Adam wrote, directed, and starred in the short THE TERROR OF THE INVISIBLE MAN, which was acquired by the Independent Film Channel. In 2007 Adam produced Alex Karpovsky’s feature WOODPECKER, which premiered at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival and is still on a successful festival run. In addition, Adam has spent much of the last ten years working in props and set decoration with filmmakers such as Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Martin Campbell, Ben Affleck, and Peter Hedges.

Ashley Sabin graduated from Pratt Institute with a degree in Art History, then co-directed her feature debut KAMP KATRINA, and follow-up INTIMIDAD with partner David Redmon; both films premiered at SXSW. Sabin and Redmon formed the distribution branch of Carnivalesque Films and are releasing MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA, ORPHANS, HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS: BOUND TO LOSE, MANHATTAN, KANSAS, LOW AND BEHOLD, KAMP KATRINA and INTIMIDAD.

Edward Stencel was the first Filmmaker Advisor at IFP Los Angeles, and served as a freelance Film Festival and Line Producer Consultant for Film Independent. He worked as the Executive Producer of FesTV for the Los Angeles Film Festival, and a producer/director for “Split Screen”, airing on Bravo and IFC. The founder and co-director of the Indy Film Showcase for four years, Stencel has also worked on films and programs for Paramount, Warner Bros, Fox and HBO and serves on the board of directors and as vice president of the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival.