Director of Programming James McNally is attending this year’s Sundance Film Festival from January 19th to 31st.
Festival Day 3
Got a little bit more sleep since I didn’t have to be in the office until 10am, and it was a fairly quiet morning in the Film Office since the vast majority of teams have already checked in. From now on, our office hours are mainly for handling questions and special requests. At 1:30 we all went back out to Temple for Shorts Program 4. This lineup featured Peace in the Valley, a short doc from Mike Palmieri and Donal Mosher, who have become a couple of my favourite filmmakers with their creative approach to documentary storytelling. Their feature docs October Country and Off Label are well worth seeking out, and this latest one is available to see online through a new digital journalism initiative called Field of Vision, backed by Laura Poitras, Charlotte Cook, and AJ Schnack. Among the attendees was director Kevin Smith, who wandered in late in his usual outfit of trenchcoat and backwards baseball cap.
Back to the office where I covered for Kevin until closing time at 6pm. He’d given me the night off to see my first film with my friend Jackie. We were very excited by the title The Greasy Strangler and, at least for me, the film did not disappoint. Very very funny, and very very dumb. A sort of over-the-top horror film that might have more in common with Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (or especially Bobcat Goldthwait’s Shakes the Clown), it won’t be for everyone. Actually it won’t be for most people at all. But for those who enjoy ridiculous humour that goes on just a beat too long, it will surely become a cult classic.
After the screening let out around 10:45pm, we headed from the Yarrow Theatre downtown to try to get into the afterparty. We’d only heard about it a few hours earlier, and weren’t able to RSVP in time, but we had a ridiculous idea of trying to pass Jackie off as Keira Knightley and talk our way in. She does bear a remarkable resemblance.
But it was snowing and the lineup wasn’t moving fast, and we lost our nerve a bit, and by just after midnight, we were ready to call it a night. There will be other parties, hopefully. And other movies, too. As the festival cools off just a bit after the weekend, I’ll get more chances to see films. I’ve been so busy I haven’t even really looked at more than the day in front of me.