NYTimes.com
Sundance, under new leadership, is trying to tilt risky.
The programmers of the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday announced a schedule of competition films that at least in their view, reflect no particular current in independent cinema except one: the artier the better. “We really tried to hunker down and make some hard decisions,” said John Cooper, the festival’s new director. “We tried not to be wishy-washy about what is independent, which I know has been a criticism in the past. We weren’t going to be swayed by the marketability of a film.”
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But as independent film boomed over the last decade, the festival at times showed a willingness to give premiere slots as favors to studios or put too much emphasis on advance buzz from sales agents and scouts when making selections. Mr. Cooper, along with Sundance’s founder, Robert Redford, is trying to address such criticism and show that the festival is not rigid in its thinking.
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A swing toward art over commerce is perhaps inevitable given the market. Over the last two years studios have folded specialty divisions (Warner Independent, Paramount Vantage) or scaled them back drastically (Miramax). Outside the studio system, financing has become extremely difficult to obtain due to the credit crisis and recession.
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