This year was special for the Sundance Film Festival because it was the first year in two years since the Covid-19 pandemic that the festival took place in person. In addition to attending press lines and meeting some of my favorite celebrities like Debby Ryan and Anne Hathway, I had a great time celebrating films with friends for the short weekend I attended (Jan 21-22).
What I absolutely loved about the festival this year was the great selection of films, the different and exciting sponsor events, as well as the beauty of Park City that I had missed so much. It is only during this time of year that I get to find my perfect place with friends, parties, celebrities, mountains, and film in one!
I stopped by Audible to find out a breathtaking view of the Park City's mountains as well as colorful booths that actually matched my pink jacket. I had a custom Binnie made at the Shore Club. But most of all I had fun celebrating the festival with actors and directors at the LatinX House, as well as journalism colleagues at the Neo Lounge hosted by Ericka Nicole Malone and featuring live music with Angie Stone. I also attended a VIP party hosted by Funny or Die Entertainment at an amazing mountain resort. This year the Cannon studio didn't disappoint as well.
It was a warm, fun, and extraordinary experience I will not forget! See you next year Sundance!
This year's Sundance Film Festival held in-person at Park City, Utah, had a big comeback after two years of online presence due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a variety of great films to choose from and I chose the film "Shortcomings," which was an official selection of the U.S Dramatic Competition section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. This was also the first Sundance year for actor/director Randall Park. The film also received an emotional standing ovation from the audience.
Short synopsis:
Ben, a struggling filmmaker, lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend, Miko, who works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an art-house movie theater as his day job, Ben
spends his time obsessing over unavailable blond women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend, Alice, a queer grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices and begins to explore what he thinks he might want.
The cast:
Randall Park (Director/Producer), Adrian Tomine (Writer), Justin H. Min (Cast), Sherry Cola (Cast), Ally Maki (Cast), Debby Ryan (Cast), Tim Simons (Cast), Margot Hand (Producer), Hieu Ho
(Producer), Jennifer Berman (Producer), Howard Cohen (Producer), Eric d’Arbeloff (Producer), Michael Golamco (Producer), Michael Bloom (Producer), Ryan Heller (Producer), Ryan Paine (Producer), Lia Buman (Producer), Neil Shah (Producer), Max Silva (Producer), Gene Back (Composer), Robert Nassau (Editor), Santiago Gonzalez (Director of Photography), Ava Yuriko Hama (Costume Designer), Nicole Abellera (Casting Director), Bill Boes (Production Designer)
I was able to talk to a few of the cast members at the red carpet event held on Sunday, January 22 at the Eccles Theater.
Meeting Anne Hathway was one of my biggest highlights at this year's Sundance Film Festival. She was part of the cast for "Eileen" at this year's Sundance Film Festival - one of the most anticipated films this year.
Based on the book of the same name by literary powerhouse Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen follows a peculiar young woman whose dreary life stretches on toward unending misery. In frigid 1960s Boston, Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) shuffles between her father’s dingy, emotionally haunted home and the prison where she works alongside colleagues who have ostracized her. When an intoxicating woman (Anne Hathaway) joins the prison staff, Eileen is taken. Just when the possibility of a salvational friendship (or maybe more) takes hold and forms a singular glimmer in Eileen’s darkness, her newfound confidant entangles her in a shocking crime that alters all.
Cast:
Thomasin McKenzie (Cast), Anne Hathaway (Cast), Shea Whigham (Cast), Marin
Ireland (Cast), William Oldroyd (Director), Ottessa Moshfegh (Screenwriter), Luke Goebel (Screenwriter), Anthony Bregman (Producer), Peter Cron (Producer) and Ari Wegner (Director of Photography).
The "Eileen" red carpet premiere took place on Saturday, January 21, at the Eccles Theater during Sundance Film Festival. I was able to talk to some of the cast and this is what they had to say:
