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Sundance News 01/15/09: The Obamafication of Sundance

It was only a matter of time before some journalist tied Barack Obama to the outlook of this year’s fest. In the Toronto Sun, which says to “call it the Obamafication of Sundance,” festival director Geoff Gilmore is quoted as saying “A lot of the work seems to be putting us into another world — I don’t know if it’s escapist, but it is about fantasy and the future, and there’s animation we didn’t see in the past … Whether that’s a reflection of the times we live in, or just an aesthetic trend line of the moment, I don’t know.”
While the fest has been called “subdued” this year, some non-film nonsense will still be occurring this weekend as Ashton Kutcher and Digg co-founder Kevin Rose co-host an interactive online game show in Park City called 24 Hours of Sundance and viewable at Qik.com.
Two distributors actually looking to load up on a few films this year, in spite of the economy: Oscilloscope and IFC Films. Also at Variety: a list of the 19 films with buzz going in to the fest.
The Hollywood Reporter spotlights the growing trend not to use Sundance as a film market. They also highlight lower-profile buzz films to watch out for, including dramas Amreeka; Five Minutes of Heaven and Bronson and docs The Cove and The Carter, and predict acquisition for 10 films.
Stu Van Airsdale, at Defamer, meanwhile predicts bidding wars for five films: I Love You Phillip Moris; An Education; The Greatest; Cold Souls; and Bronson.