“I’m at Sundance right now, and after seven years of covering the festival for various outlets, I’m still taken by surprise whenever I hear the public perception of the Sundance Film Festival, as it’s so alien to the reality of actually being here,” writes San Francisco Chronicle columnist/blogger James Rocchi.
“I asked a friend of mine, as a Rorschach test, to say the first thing she thought of when she heard the words ‘Sundance Film Festival,’ and her reply was as swift as it was blunt: ‘boring and pretentious.’ And yes, when you mention Sundance, most people do think of the sort of high-fiber, hyper-earnest movies that most moviegoers would rather die than see. And there are strong, sincere films up here at Sundance that might lead to that perception — wrenching dramas, hard-to-watch documentaries, and, yes, even earnest failures.
“But really, that perception’s not the total reality. Light movies also play Sundance; funny movies also play Sundance; gripping thrillers also play Sundance. Once made its North American debut up here; so did Napoleon Dynamite. So did 28 Days Later. And so did Narc.”