Every January for the past 15 years, I’ve packed my bags and headed to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival. That’s long enough to know that some of the best conversations happen in line, comfortable shoes are nonnegotiable, and the movie everyone is talking about by Friday may be the one no one had heard of on Wednesday.
I’ve spent much of my career working in and around film festivals, representing films and filmmakers, wrangling red carpets, and experiencing Sundance from just about every angle. Some years I’ve arrived with a perfectly mapped-out schedule; other years I’ve barely had time to see a movie. Either way, the energy has always been unlike anything else in the film world.
As founder and CEO of Denver- and Aspen-based agency Bloomerang PR, my career has taken me from New York to Denver to Los Angeles and, ultimately, back to Colorado for good. And now, the Sundance Film Festival is coming here, too.
With the festival building its new home in Boulder, an entirely new crowd of moviegoers is about to learn how to fest. I’m excited to see how Colorado puts its own stamp on this next chapter while
keeping the spontaneity, discovery, and slightly chaotic magic that have always made Sundance so special.
After 15 years, I’ve learned a few things. Here are my 10 rules for navigating Colorado’s new movie mecca.
1. At the movies, talk about the parties. At the parties, talk about the movies.
The festival runs on two parallel tracks: what’s happening onscreen and everything happening around it. Pay attention to both. Chat with the person next to you before the lights go down. You may find out where everyone’s headed later. At the party, ask what people have seen and loved. Some of my best festival recommendations have come from a stranger in line, a filmmaker at a party, or someone on a shuttle.
2. Save the snacks for after the credits.
A plea on behalf of everyone who has ever sat next to someone wrestling with a granola bar wrapper during the emotional climax of an independent film: Please don’t. Sundance audiences are famously engaged, and filmmakers are often in the room watching their work with a crowd for the first time. These are some of the quietest screenings you’ll ever experience, which means everyone can hear you. Eat before. Eat after. Just don’t be the person chomping through someone’s big festival moment.
3. Leave the heels at home.
I say this as someone who has spent a large portion of her career on red carpets: The Sundance Film Festival is not the place for stilettos. Nothing screams “first-timer” quite like trying to navigate an icy sidewalk in four-inch heels. January weather in Boulder will keep us guessing, so embrace the festival uniform: great coats, snow boots, layers, and hats. Comfortable shoes are nonnegotiable; a good coat is practically part of the dress code. You can absolutely look cute. Just look cute like you knew where you were going.
4. The waitlist can be worth the wait.
The festival waitlist is equal parts science, strategy, and faith. If you can crack the Disney FastPass system, you can crack this. Learn how ticketing and the waitlist work before you arrive, and don’t give up on a movie just because it looks sold out. Some of my favorite Sundance screenings have been the ones I wasn’t originally supposed to get into.
5. Rise and grind for morning-movie heaven.
Somewhere along the way, I became an 8 a.m. screening person, and I will defend the early-morning time slot forever. There’s nothing quite like walking through the cold with a hot coffee in hand, shaking off the night before, and getting in line with the true die-hards. By the time most people are starting their day, you’re walking out having already seen something incredible and feeling extremely smug about it. It’s one of my favorite festival rituals.
6. Make a plan. Then get ready to ditch it.
Do I coordinate schedules with everyone I know who’s attending and create an overly ambitious master plan for everything I want to see and do? Absolutely. Does that plan ever fully come to fruition? Absolutely not. Something will run late. Someone will text about a movie you suddenly have to see. You’ll get invited somewhere unexpected. A film no one was talking about yesterday will become the must-see of the festival. Have a strategy for your must-sees, but leave some white space. Spontaneity gets rewarded.
7. I met my new best fest friend on a shuttle. You can, too.
I’ve made friends in lines, on sidewalks, and, yes, on festival transportation. There’s something oddly bonding about squeezing onto a shuttle with filmmakers, journalists, locals, and people who have absolutely no idea where they’re going. In Boulder, embrace the same spirit and leave the car behind whenever you can. You’ll skip the parking headache, and at Sundance, you never know who might take the seat next to you.
8. Remember: It’s more than a film festival.
Obviously, see movies. Lots of them. But don’t spend the entire festival running from one dark theater to another. Make time for panels, live music, dinners, brand activations, and everything happening around the films. And now that Sundance is in Boulder, take advantage of the new backdrop: book a MICHELIN-recognized restaurant, see a little of the city, and, yes, occasionally look up at the Flatirons. Some of the best festival moments happen when you’re not sitting in a theater.
9. Be the person who discovers it first.
This is the magic Sundance has been pulling off for decades: you see a film before almost anyone else, then watch it become the one everyone is talking about months later. Maybe it gets acquired. Maybe its unknown star becomes famous. Maybe a year later it wins an Oscar. And you get to say, “I saw it at Sundance.” So take a chance on the movie without the celebrity. See the documentary about something you know nothing about. Pick one because the description sounds weird. The best part of the festival isn’t seeing what everyone already knows is good. It’s being there when they find out.
10. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
The movies! The parties! The celebs! The free drinks! Suddenly, the person you’ve been dying to meet is standing three feet away. I get it. I’ve also watched people go absolutely feral on night one and disappear by day three. A film festival is an endurance sport. Eat meals. Drink water. Sleep occasionally. You cannot attend every party you’re invited to. Pace yourself, or the festival will humble you quickly.
For more of the print-exclusive Sundance feature story, download the digital magazine or pick up a copy from select local King Soopers, Safeway, Tattered Cover, or Barnes & Noble locations.
