he 2018 Sundance Film Festival is now over and once again I had the privilege of covering the first weekend of the festival. The atmosphere was decidedly different this year; more reserved, less crowded, and decidedly quiet compared to years past. The buzz on the buses seemed a bit more hushed and the sidewalks, not empty, but certainly not feeling like Manhattan indicated that times in film are truly changing.
Perhaps the festival is turning a corner and going back to its roots of being less mainstream and truly embracing the independent thinker and filmmaker. Sundance always seems to take chances, always pushing ahead of the curve. After the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault accusations and the fallout from half of Hollywood’s men, there was a different feel to the fest and, from my vantage point, it was a positive one. During the opening day press conference, festival founder Robert Redford said, “I think the role for men right now is to listen.” But the festival does much more than that as he also told the audience that Sundance helps inspire unheard and underrepresented voices “...by supporting them aggressively and letting them know that their voices really do count.”
Women’s voices are one minority group in filmmaking, but this year, nearly 38% of the films screened at Sundance were directed by women. Sundance not only talked the talk, but they walked the walk. Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s opening night film “RBG,” which, for those of you who don’t know, stands for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our only female Supreme Court Justice, started the festival off on the right note. In the film, Justice Ginsburg quoted Sarah Grimke, abolitionist and suffragette supporter, “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” “RBG” eloquently tells the tale of Ginsburg’s life through photos, footage, and interviews with other Justices, family members, presidents, and leaders around the nation. Rarely do I watch a documentary that leaves me truly and humbly grateful, inspired and wanting more! “RBG” did just this and was certainly a top film from Sundance this year.
Other female-directed and/or written films came to Sundance via organizations such as Gamechanger Films. This organization supports female filmmakers and represented 3 films at the fest this year. “The Tale,” one of the top films from my list, is a story based on writer/director Jennifer Fox’s life as she dealt with the memories of being sexually assaulted as a young teen, “Nancy,” and “The Long Dumb Road,” found their way to Sundance as well.
Moderator Barbara Chai and Robert Redford During Sundance Panel Discussion. Photo by Pamela Powell
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