To Sundance or not to Sundance?
One of the questions I often get when asked about how to become an actor is whether or not to go to Sundance, the big film festival that happens in Utah every January.
I’ve never gone.
I get invitations to parties and to roommate with people every year, but I’ve been to Salt Lake City other times of the year and the idea of a large portion of Los Angelenos descending upon that tiny town every year makes me hyperventilate from claustrophobia.
I mean, should the opportunity come when my schedule is free, then I might check it out, but I don’t personally think it will benefit most actors and there are better ways to network.
Sundance started as a way for the indie filmmaker to get the word out about his or her film, but it has gotten so big that it has become a celebrity stomping ground, complete with schwag tents and photo-ops if you are on the A-list.
What does that mean for the beginning or intermediate actor?
It means that you could probably meet some interesting or even powerful people at the event, and see a lot of great movies premiere and attend some awesome parties, but it won’t do much for your career.
As a filmmaker, the advice I’ve gotten regarding Sundance is that you should go if you have something screening, otherwise it’s kind of a waste of resources. A fun waste, but a waste.
My advice would be to seek out smaller film festivals. If you are from LA, go anywhere in the nation that has a film festival and you will find filmmakers from Los Angeles. YAY!
If you are not from L.A., go to the festivals that are local to you. The reason is that most festivals favor local filmmaking talents and encourage them to apply. This means that you will be networking with filmmakers in your area, which means you have a good chance of being cast in their next project (or at least auditioning.)
And don’t forget to go to the galas at these smaller festivals. Sure, you may have to pay a bit of an entrance fee, but it’s like an automatic set up for you to talk with people. Tables are shared typically (awesome!) and lots of mingling ensues. Congratulate the people that win awards and follow up after the event with an email. Ideally, you got to see their project during the festival. Tell them what you liked about their work and that you would like to get involved in their next project if there is an appropriate roll.
Finally, if you do go to Sundance, go to the workshops. Great place to meet people. And also waiting on lines for standby tickets for films. But really, you’ll meet people everywhere when you go. After all, it is Sundance and a majority of the industry people go just to chat it up with other industry people.
And as always, Have Fun!
