Reporting from PARK CITY, Utah — It was just past midnight in Utah, and Kevin Smith was feeling nostalgic.
Dressed in his trademark oversized hockey jersey and backward ballcap, the raunch auteur took a stage at Sundance late Wednesday to introduce his new movie -- “Yoga Hosers,” a tween-centric Canadian satire filled with Nazis and sausages -- but soon found himself describing an earlier time.
Sundance Film Festival 2016: Full coverage | Photos of the scene
“Twenty-two years ago tomorrow we had our final screening of ‘Clerks’ here,” he told the crowd, launching into a profanity-strewn story involving a blood-stained contract, potato skins and Harvey Weinstein. “We were the second film ever to be sold [in Sundance history],” he continued, then quipped of his new critically panned work, “Magic happened to me once here. It ain’t gonna happen here tonight.”
Smith has hardly been the only personality at Sundance to evoke the good old days. The festival, which continues through Sunday, has this year seen a large number of old-timers, legends and veterans.
Known as a perpetual haven for the young and the upstart, Sundance is feeling a little...classic. Many of the filmmakers unveiling their films in 2016 first made their mark in these Utah mountains decades ago -- giving the festival either a reassuringly or awkwardly throwback feel, depending on your point of view.
Among the major names debuting new work include Todd Solondz (first Sundance feature: 1995), Whit Stillman (first Sundance feature: 1990), Kelly Reichardt (first Sundance feature: 1994), Kenneth Lonergan (first Sundance feature: 2000) and Steven Soderbergh (first Sundance feature: 1989). In an election cycle characterized by a Bush and a Clinton, these filmmakers are doing their best to make sure cinema has its own version of a wayback machine.
“Maybe it is that experience counts for something?” Stillman, who debuted a Jane Austen adaptation called “Love & Friendship,” said, when a reporter suggested the theory. But he went on to say he wasn’t so sure; sometimes a director’s best film, he said, is their first. (He did note dryly that “there do seem to be a lot” of contemporaries in Park City.)
There are, to be sure, also plenty of directors this year in their 20’s and 30’s, people at far earlier points in their career, bringing a youthful energy. But the oxygen in this high-altitude town has largely been taken up by the veterans. With the exception of Nate Parker, the first-time director of the Sundance smash “The Birth of a Nation,” arguably no upstart filmmakers has broken out among the narrative films. Ground has instead been ceded to the elders.
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Imogen Poots, from the film “Frank and Lola,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Imogen Poots poses for a portrait at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Imogen Poots and director Matthew Ross from the film “Frank and Lola” pose for an L.A. Times photo at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Louis Black and Karen Bernstein, filmmakers from the film “Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny,” in a portrait taken at the L.A. Times studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Chris Hegedus, left, Steven Wise and D.A. Pennebaker of the film “Unlocking the Cage” pose for a portrait in the L.A. Times studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Chris Hegedus, director of “Unlocking the Cage,” in a portrait at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Jon Shenk, left, subject Daisy Coleman and Bonni Cohen, director from the film “Audrie & Daisy,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Vincent Piazza from the film “Intervention.”
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Daisy Coleman, subject from the film “Audrie & Daisy.”
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Director Clea DuVall from the film “Intervention.”
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Michael Shannon from the films “Complete Unknown” and “Frank and Lola.”
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Melanie Lynskey from the film “Intervention.”
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Michael Shannon from the film “Complete Unknown.”
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Ben Schwartz from the film “Intervention.”
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Michael Shannon from the films “Complete Unknown” and “Frank and Lola.”
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Jason Ritter, left, Ben Schwartz, Natasha Lyonne, Vincent Piazza, Clea DuVall, director, Melanie Lynskey from the film “Intervention.”
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Ben Schwartz, left, and Jason Ritter from the film “Intervention.”
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Jason Ritter from the film “Intervention.”
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Aaron Brookner, director from the film “Uncle Howard.”
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Executive producer/narrator Katie Couric, right, and filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig from the film “Under The Gun.”
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Executive producer/narrator Katie Couric from the film “Under The Gun.”
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Michael Shannon from the films “Complete Unknown” and “Frank and Lola.”
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Amandla Stenberg from the film “As You Are.”
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Michael Chernus, left, Michael Shannon and director Joshua Marston from the film “Complete Unknown.”
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Michael Chernus, left, Michael Shannon and director Joshua Marston from the film “Complete Unknown.”
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Danfung Dennis, filmmaker, and Casey Brown, producer from the virtual reality experience “Condition One.”
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Ciro Guerra, writer-director from the film “Embrace of the Serpent.”
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Josh Fox, director from the film “How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change.”
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Christopher Waldorf, left, Chi Chi Mizrahi,, MikeQ, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, co-writer/subject, Sara Jordeno, writer-director, Gia Marie Love, Kenneth “Symba McQueen” Soler-Rios from the film “Kiki.”
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Kahane Cooperman, showrunner/executive producer from the film “The New Yorker Presents.”
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Frankie Shaw, director-writer stars in “Too Legit.”
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Dawn Porter, director from the film “Trapped.”
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Keith Fulton, director, Lou Pepe, director, Jennifer Coffield and A.J. Wright from the film “Bad Kids.”
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Lou Pepe, left, and Keith Fulton, directors from the film “Bad Kids.”
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Jennifer Coffield and A.J. Wright from the film “Bad Kids.”
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Michael Villar from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Mickey Keating, director from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Rebecca Hall from the film “Christine.”
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Tahir Jetter, director from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Alex Ross Perry from the movie “Joshy.”
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Jenny Slate from the movie “Joshy.”
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Thomas Middleditch from the movie “Joshy.”
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Nick Kroll, left, Brett Gelman, Thomas Middleditch, Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, Jenny Slate, Jeff Baena, director, and Lauren Weedman from the movie “Joshy.”
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Jeff Baena, director, from the movie “Joshy.”
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Paulina Garcia from the film “Little Men.”
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Diego Luna, director of “Mr. Pig.”
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Maya Rudolph, star of “Mr. Pig”
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Actors Danny Glover, from left, Maya Rudolph and “Mr. Pig” director Diego Luna.
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Writer-director Richard Tanne, from left, Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers, from “Southside With You.”
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Tika Sumpter from “Southside With You.”
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Actor Waleed Zuaiter from “The Free World.”
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Writer-director Jason Lew, from “The Free World.”
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Boyd Holbrook, from “The Free World.”
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Elisabeth Moss, from “The Free World.”
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Elisabeth Moss, from “The Free World.”
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Boyd Holbrook, from left, Octavia Spencer, writer-director Jason Lew, Elisabeth Moss and Waleed Zuaiter, from “The Free World.”
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Octavia Spencer, from “The Free World.”
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Octavia Spencer, from “The Free World.”
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Bobby Naderi, from “Under the Shadow.”
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Bobby Nader, from “Under The Shadow.”
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Jeff Daniels Phillips, right, and Richard Brake from the film “31.”
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Ashley Bell, left, Pat Healy, Mickey Keating, Michael Villar and James Landry Hébert from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Ashley Bell from the film “Carnage Park.”
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Rebecca Hall from the film “Christine.”
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Rebecca Hall and director Antonio Campos from the film “Christine.”
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Dylan Gelula from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Writer-director Kerem Sanga from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Brianna Hildebrand, left, Kerem Sanga, writer-director, Brianna Hildebrand, Dylan Gelula and Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Brianna Hildebrand, left, Kerem Sanga, writer-director, Brianna Hildebrand, Dylan Gelula and Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Brianna Hildebrand from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Mateo Arias from the film “First Girl I Loved.”
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Thomas Middleditch from the movie “Joshy.”
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Lauren Weedman from the movie “Joshy.”
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Brett Gelman from the movie “Joshy.”
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Adam Pally from the movie “Joshy.”
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Nick Kroll from the movie “Joshy.”
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Maya Rudolph from the film “Mr. Pig.”
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Maya Rudolph from the film “Mr. Pig.”
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Danny Glover from the film “Mr. Pig.”
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Haerry Kim from the film “Spa Night.”
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Haerry Kim, left, director Andrew Ahn and Joe Seo from the film “Spa Night.”
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Director Andrew Ahn from the film “Spa Night.”
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Joe Seo from the film “Spa Night.”
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Asif Kapadia, filmmaker from “Ali & Nino,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Alysia Reiner, left, and Sarah Megan Thomas from the film “Equity.”
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Alysia Reiner from the film “Equity.”
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Sarah Megan Thomas from the film “Equity.”
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Steven Caple Jr., writer and director for the film “The Land.”
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Jorge Lendeborg Jr. from the film “The Land.”
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Moises Arias from the film “The Land.”
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Rafi Gavron, left, Ezri Walker, Steven Caple Jr., Moises Arias and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. from the film “The Land.”
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Ezri Walker from the film “The Land.”
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Moises Arias from the film “The Land.”
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Yoshiki from the film “We are X.”
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Stephen Kijak, left, and Yoshiki from the film “We are X.”
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Co-directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg from the film “Weiner.”
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Penelope Ann Miller from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Armie Hammer from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Gabrielle Union from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Gabrielle Union, left, Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer, Nate Parker, director, Penelope Ann Miller and Jackie Earle Haley from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Nate Parker, director from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Jackie Earle Haley from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Aja Naomi King from the film “The Birth of A Nation.”
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Jessie Kahnweiler, star-director-producer, from the film “The Skinny.”
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Illeana Douglas, star-producer, left, Jill Soloway, executive producer, Rebecca Odes, executive producer, Jessie Kahnweiler, star-director-producer, and Andrea Sperling, producer, from the film “The Skinny.”
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Jill Soloway, executive producer from the film “The Skinny.”
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Jessie Kahnweiler from the film “The Skinny.”
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Rebecca Odes, executive producer from the film “The Skinny.”
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Illeana Douglas from the film “The Skinny.”
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Illeana Douglas from the film “The Skinny.”
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Andrea Sperling, producer from the film “The Skinny.”
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DeWanda Wise from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Jenna Williams, from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Alano Miller, left, DeWanda Wise, Tahir Jetter, Charles Brice and producers Julius Pryor IV and Marttise Hill from the film “How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.”
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Jennifer Ehle, from the film “Little Men.”
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Jennifer Ehle, left, Michael Barbieri, Mauricio Zacharias, Paulina Garcia, Ira Sachs, director, Theo Taplitz and Greg Kinnear, from the film “Little Men.”
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Greg Kinnear from the film “Little Men.”
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Michael Barbieri, left, and Theo Taplitz from the film “Little Men.”
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Director and co-writer Ira Sachs, left, and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias from the film “Little Men.”
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Ira Sachs, director/co-writer from the film, “Little Men.”
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Mary Stuart Masterson from the film “As You Are.”
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Miles Joris-Peyrafitte from the film “As You Are.”
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Amandla Stenberg from the film “As You Are.”
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Scott Cohen from the film “As You Are.”
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Owen Campbell from the film “As You Are.”
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Parker Sawyers from the film “Southside With You.”
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Tika Sumpter from the film “Southside With You.”
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Richard Tanne, writer-director from the film “Southside With You.”
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Jeff Feuerzig, director from the film “The JT Leroy Story.”
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Robert Jumper, left, director Tim Sutton, Anna Rose and Maica Armata from the film “Dark Night” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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Director Pieter-Jan De Pue from the film “The Land of the Enlightened.”
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Michal Huszcza, left, Michal Marczak, director, and Kris Baganski from the film “All These Sleepless Nights” get cozy.
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Abigail Spencer from the series “Rectify.”
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Director Robert Greene and actress Kate Lyn Sheil from the film “Kate Plays Christine.”
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Actress Kate Lyn Sheil from the film “Kate Plays Christine.”
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Executive Producer Jim McNiel from the film “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World.”
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Werner Herzog, director of the film “Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World.”
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Laura Albert from the film “The JT Leroy Story.”
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Jeff Feuerzig and subject Laura Albert from the film “The JT Leroy Story.”
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Jason Benjamin, director from the film “Suited.”
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Jenni Konner, producer, left, Jason Benjamin, director, and Lena Dunham, producer, from the film “Suited.”
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Jared Harris from the film “Certain Women.”
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Jared Harris from the film “Certain Women.”
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Q., director of the film “Brahman Naman.”
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Q., director of the film “Brahman Naman.”
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Naman Ramachandran, left, Q., and Shashank Arora with Werner Herzog.
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Tanmay Dhanania, left, Shashank Arora, Naman Ramachandran, Steve Barron, producer, Q., director, Sid Mallya, screenwriter, from the film “Brahman Naman.”
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Ralph Rodriguez, left, Brian “Sene” Marc, Morgan Saylor, Adrian Martinez, India Menuez, Justin Bartha, Elizabeth Wood, filmmaker, and Anthony Ramos from the film “White Girl.”
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Brian “Sene” Marc from the film “White Girl.”
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Morgan Saylor from the film “White Girl.”
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Anthony Ramos from the film “White Girl.”
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Adrian Martinez from the film “White Girl.”
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India Menuez from the film “White Girl.”
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Justin Bartha from the film “White Girl.”
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Elizabeth Wood from the film “White Girl.”
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Gavin Free for Lazer Team levitates.
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Anne Fontaine, director from the film “Agnus Dei.”
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Chloe Sevigny, left, Danny Perez and Natasha Lyonne from the film “Antibirth.”
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Chloe Sevigny from the film “Antibirth.”
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Chloe Sevigny from the film “Antibirth.”
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Natasha Lyonne from the film “Antibirth.”
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Rachel Grady, co-director from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Heidi Ewing, co-director, Norman Lear, Rachel Grady, co-director, from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Norman Lear from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Heidi Ewing, co-director from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Heidi Ewing, co-director from the film “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
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Kenneth Lonergan, director from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges, left, Kenneth Lonergan, director, and Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges, left, and Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges, left, and Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Lucas Hedges from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Casey Affleck from the film “Manchester by the Sea.”
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Writer-director Sian Heder from the film “Talullah.”
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John Benjamin Hickey, left, Allison Janney, Ellen Page, Sian Heder, writer-director, and Tammy Blanchard from the film “Talullah.”
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Ellen Page from the film “Talullah.”
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Director Roger Ross Williams from the film “Life Animated.”
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Allison Janney from the film “Talullah.”
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John Benjamin Hickey from the film “Talullah.”
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Tammy Blanchard from the film “Talullah.”
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Brooklyn Decker from the film “Lovesong.”
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Jena Malone from the film “Lovesong.”
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Jena Malone, left, and Riley Keough from the film “Lovesong.”
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Director Roger Ross Williams from the film “Life Animated.”
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Jonathan Freeman, left, Owen Suskind, Gilbert Gottfried and director Roger Ross Williams from the film “Life Animated.”
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John Krasinski from the film, “The Hollars,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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John Krasinski, left, Charlie Day, Margo Martindale, Sharlto Copley and Josh Groban from the film “The Hollars.”
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Josh Groban from the film, “The Hollars,” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. ( Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Sharlto Copley from the film, “The Hollars,” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Margo Martindale, from the film, “The Hollars,” in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. ( Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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John Krasinski from the film, “The Hollars,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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David Wheeler, left, Nicole Hockley, Mark Barden from the film “Newtown.”
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Kim Snyder, left, director, and Maria Cuomo Cole, producer, from the film “Newtown.”
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Nicole Hockley, David Wheeler, Maria Cuomo Cole, producer, Kim Snyder, director, and Mark Barden from the film “Newtown.”
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Todd Solondz, director of the film “Wiener-Dog,” poses for a portrait in the L.A. Times photo & video studio at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
( Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) That’s true in the case of Reichardt, who, 22 years after her piece of Florida-set minimalism “River of Grass” put her on the map, returned with “Certain Women,” a well-regarded tale of ladies in the Pacific Northwest based on the short stories of the author Maile Meloy. (Reichardt does receive a boost from that most 21st-century of actresses, Kristen Stewart.)
It’s also true for Solondz, whose bullied-child drama “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” when it premiered at Sundance in 1995, helped define the brutally human, blackly comic sensibility that characterized the 1990’s indie movement.
Solondz returns to the terrain of that film with his new movie, “Wiener-Dog,” which features the title character of “Dollhouse” all grown up. She is now played not by Heather Matarazzo but Greta Gerwig, and she spends her days in a vet’s office instead of being pushed into swimming pools. But she is just as lonely.
“It is a bit of an anomaly,” Solondz said of his very tangible if unlikely return to the past. “But it’s always fun to throw a curveball.”
And it’s true in for Lonergan, whose debut feature, “You Can Count On Me” won the dramatic jury prize and the top screenwriting prize at Sundance 16 years ago.
Directors who won’t give interviews are as rare at Sundance as a 70-degree day, but Lonergan’s publicist declined interview requests. Still, his movie, a New England-set coming-home story titled “Manchester by The Sea” was one of the biggest buzz titles here, drawing acclaim for its subtle emotion and human weight.
Even veteran directors known over their careers mainly for European festivals, such as Spike Lee and Werner Herzog, came to Park City this year to premiere new movies (a Michael Jackson documentary and a nonfiction film about technology, respectively).
Herzog showed that age does not necessarily mean a dulled edge. When asked about his feelings on arriving at Sundance (where he also debuted his doc “Grizzly Man” in 2005), the director instead gave an answer about how he might leave it.
“I had a dream for Sundance that scared the festival,” he said. “In my youth I was a ski jumper. My dream was to become a world champion for ski flying. And when you come into Park City there are two Olympic ramps. And i said ‘prepare the ramp for me so I can leave the Sundance Film Festival ballistically.’ Flying. I want to fly.”
No one is sure why so many wizened types are suddenly populating the landscape. Business factors may be one reason.
“I think there are just so many more ways to get your films made and out now,” said Trevor Groth, the festival’s director of programming. “There are directors who would have struggled to get their films out in an earlier era that don’t have that problem now.”
Certainly that was true for Stillman and Solondz, two old buddies from the New York indie scene. Solondz’s new film was financed by upstart Megan Ellison, who in the past few years has shaken up the cinema world by writing large checks to quirky auteurs.
And Stillman’s movie, which sees him reuniting with past collaborators Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale, was bought by Amazon, part of the streaming wave that has kept filmmakers solvent this festival. Ditto for Lonergan, whose movie also went to the Jeff Bezos-led company.
Meanwhile, Soderbergh, who helped canonize Sundance into the landmark festival that it is with “sex, lies and videotape” 26 years ago, is back with “The Girlfriend Experience.” In another sign of the times, it is a TV show, which he executive-produced based on his 2009 movie.
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The return of these filmmakers may also be the result of directors itching to get back in a game in a way they couldn’t at an earlier point, when the indie world was less developed.
“To make my movies I look at younger filmmakers -- mumblecore filmmakers and others -- and I learn from them,” said Stillman, who took 13 years off before returning to work more prolifically in 2011, and whose new film is a bit of a switch by going to a prior literary work. “They very much influenced this movie.”
Many of the directors admit it’s tough to maintain your fastball, particularly in an indie world that prizes the latest trends; indeed, many of the movies can have the feel of the directors’ old work even as they seek to update with a more modern aesthetic. Indie film also requires working fast and cheap, generally thought of as a younger director’s game.
The presence of so many veterans has also been held up by some naysayers as evidence of how the indie world has not given us as many notable new voices as it once did; many of those candidates, the lament goes, are now working in television.
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But the idea that filmmakers making robust work a quarter-century later also shows the springiness of a movement that was itself built on resilience. To these directors, a changing world or sensibility is just one more challenge to problem-solve and duct-tape your way out of.
So, too, is the appearance of polarizing reviews -- something many of these directors received earlier in their career, when viewers weren’t sure what to make of their bold work, and can continue to receive today.
Smith in particular this year has taken it on the chin with reviews for “Yoga Hosers” -- when a good notice finally came in, he said his reaction was “We got one!” citing a classic “Ghostbusters” line.
Solondz, who has also long taken his lumps thanks to his dark undertones, has drawn some backlash at this year’s festival too, particularly for “Wiener-Dog’s” grim ending. He said he has tried to maintain the same steady attitude he always has.
“For me [film] is much more of a creative instinctive project,” he said. “I leave it
to others to tell me how horrible a person I might be.”
Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT
