The ‘Anti-’ Festival Grows up

In 1985, there were 50 independent films made in the United States. In 1997, there were 800.

This striking tally is the starting point for “Independent’s Day,” a new documentary by Marina Zenovich about the two film festivals--Sundance and its unofficial offshoot, Slamdance--that are held every January in Park City, Utah. The hourlong film has a lot to say about the state of the independent film world and about the preeminence of Sundance, which one director calls “the Good Housekeeping seal of approval” for indies.

But if the 13,000 filmmakers, film critics, agents and “acquisitions people” who are descending upon the tiny Utah ski resort this week want to see Zenovich’s film, Sundance will leave them cold. Proving its own premise--that no one festival can accommodate the indie explosion--”Independent’s Day” is premiering at Slamdance.

In 1995, when Slamdance was born, it was the anti-Sundance festival. Created by a frustrated group of filmmakers whose work had been rejected by Sundance, the gathering was a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the bigger festival, said Slamdance executive director Peter Baxter. Robert Redford, Sundance’s founder, called Slamdance “parasitical,” and in the early days it was hard to argue with him.

But Slamdance--which kicks off its fourth festival today--is growing up. Buoyed by corporate sponsors and by a record 1,300 entries for just 31 slots in competition, the festival is going strong. And many say it serves a vital purpose that Sundance can’t accomplish alone: showcasing first-time filmmakers working with limited budgets. The younger, smaller and (according to Newsweek magazine) hipper festival is evolving, some say, into a happening in its own right, more a complement to Sundance than a rival.

“They started out not even in Park City three years ago with three or four kids in tennis sneakers handing out fliers. Now Slamdance has become an important festival unto itself,” said Jonathan Dana, a producer’s rep who works with filmmakers to promote their films at both festivals. “This is the year that Slamdance is going to have an identity of its own.”

Dana and others cite a couple of indicators. Slamdance has newly become a year-round organization, sponsoring a screenwriting competition in the summer, and organizers predict this will be the first year that the festival won’t go into debt.

This year brings the unveiling of the Slamdance Sparky, a dog-shaped statuette that will be awarded to winners (in previous years they got nondescript plaques). Festival veterans also note that while Sundance moved its headquarters this year off Main Street, long the festival’s symbolic hub, Slamdance is now anchored there for the second year in a row, at the Treasure Mountain Inn.

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The festival has had some recent successes. Earlier this month, “The Bible and Gun Club”--Daniel Harris’ comedy about five Orange County Bible salesmen in Las Vegas for their annual convention--received three nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards, the Oscars of the indie world. The film had won a Slamdance Grand Jury prize last year.

And Greg Mottola’s “Daytrippers,” which premiered at Slamdance in 1996 after being rejected by Sundance, went on to Cannes and was released last year by CFP. The film, which was produced by director and tireless Slamdance supporter Steven Soderbergh (“sex, lies, and videotape”), has grossed more than $2 million.

The real proof of Slamdance’s mettle, however, can be found in this year’s program. Among the 13 feature films in competition, there is “Six-String Samurai,” Jeffrey Falcon’s tale of a post-apocalyptic rocker trying to become the new King of Vegas, and “Caged,” Rand Alexander’s film about a man who spends Thanksgiving trapped in his stairwell. Neither film is the type usually financed by major movie studios.

There are a few recognizable names on the Slamdance roster, though none in competition. As part of a Music in Film evening--the only such event in Park City this year--”Cannibal! The Musical,” the 1994 film by Trey Parker and the team who has gone on to create the popular “South Park” animated television series, will be screened. And Arista Records will sponsor the Slamdance Soundtrack Sessions at which three composers (among them Shark, a member of the rock group the Wild Colonials) will discuss film scoring.

But unknown artists are Slamdance’s major draw, said Baxter, the festival director and co-founder.

“You’ve got filmmakers who come to Sundance who already have three-picture deals. They’ve got distributors in place. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But we’re about first-time filmmakers, undiscovered talent,” said Baxter, adding that a desire to better serve those talents has led Slamdance organizers to consider doing something that would completely set them apart from Sundance: moving out of Park City.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we can’t show any more films in Park City because of space. It’s frustrating,” he said. “We want to best support our new filmmakers, and we’re mulling over various ways of doing that, including a change of date and a change of location. But this year Park City was still the best place because all the industry is there.”

Myles Berkowitz is one of Slamdance’s undiscovered. He directs himself in “20 Dates,” a feature-length docucomedy about a man determined to find true love in 20 dates. Rejected by Sundance, the 36-year-old Los Angeles screenwriter was grateful--and, he says, a bit more comfortable--to be offered the chance to compete at Slamdance.

“Sundance has changed the film world for the better. They created an independent market. But the movies in Sundance now, I could not direct and star in,” he said, pointing to several films being screened at Sundance this year that have big-name actors and sizable budgets. Slamdance, he said, “filled a desperate gap that needed to be filled for first-time filmmakers like me. I always felt this was a Slamdance movie.”

Berkowitz added: “But do I want to be a part of Sundance in the future? Absolutely.”

Maureen Crowe, vice president of A&R;/soundtracks at Arista, characterizes the two festivals in much the same way. She thinks the venerable matriarch and the scrappy newcomer are not at odds but work in tandem.

“Sundance has become a little bit Park Avenue. Or Top 40, to use a music term,” she said, explaining that Slamdance seemed a better place to host this year’s music event. “Slamdance is a little bit more raw in spirit--more ‘street.’ . . . You can’t go straight to Top 40 without getting the street credibility. It’s not a second choice. It’s a necessary step.”

Christian Gore, who is writing a book titled “The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide,” is more blunt. Gore, who also publishes a weekly e-mail newsletter called Film Threat, says the key distinction between the festivals is that Slamdance is less affiliated with what he calls “the corporate indies.”

“I don’t consider Miramax an independent film company. They’re funded by Disney and are a studio independent like Fox Searchlight or Gramercy,” he said, noting that the opening film at Sundance this year--”Sliding Doors” starring Gwyneth Paltrow--had a budget of about $11 million and is being distributed by Miramax and Paramount Pictures. “What they’re calling independent films now are very low-budget studio pictures.”

To be sure, Gore says, among the 103 features to be screened at Sundance this year, many are “true” independent films--those funded and made independently, without kibitzing from development executives. But Gore admires Slamdance, where he serves as a judge this year, for screening such films exclusively. Besides, he says, Slamdance offers a mellower, more pleasant scene.

“Many of the Sundance-isms--the cell phones, the beepers, obnoxious Armani-suited people--are looked down upon at Slamdance. Unless they’re buying, of course,” he said. Slamdance, by contrast, “is the alternative set. We’re talking the coffeehouse crowd here. Except that perhaps they bathe.”