Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is looking for an alternative venue to temporarily replace the Park City Racquet Club — which will be undergoing renovations and be unavailable for the 2011 festival.

Sundance officials recently met with Park City's City Council, The Park Record reported Friday, and concluded that the 602-seat Racquet Club won't be usable next year. The club's gymnasium is not being touched by the renovation effort, but construction surrounding the building will preclude Sundance from setting up the usual tents and other facilities needed to make the gym work as a theater.

That's bad news for festivalgoers, since the Racquet Club is the second-biggest venue at the festival. Only the Eccles Center Theatre seats more people.

"It's a problem because we'll lose slots for programming and tickets for locals and visitors alike," Sarah Pearce, Sundance's director of festival operations, told The Park Record. "For one year, we'll be OK."

Two movies that won raves at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival were big winners at Sunday's Academy Awards.

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," which won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance '09, received two Oscars — for Mo'Nique's supporting performance and for Geoffrey Fletcher's adapted screenplay.

"The Cove," the documentary about dolphin hunting that won the Audience Award last year, took the Oscar for Documentary Feature.

And "Logorama," which played in the opening-night shorts program at this year's Sundance, won the Oscar for animated short film.

The Sundance Institute has a new executive director.

Keri Putnam, whose resume includes being the president of production of Miramax Films and an executive VP at HBO Films, will start her new job in April, Sundance announced Wednesday night.

She replaces Kenneth Brecher, who was executive director for 14 years before stepping down last April.

As executive director of Robert Redford's arts institute, Putnam will oversee Sundance's many programs — the Sundance Film Festival, the labs for filmmakers, playwrights and composers, as well as international outreach work. She also will be the lead person for developing the institute's relationships with corporate and foundation sponsors. (In other words, she'll be doing a lot of fund-raising.)

Putnam was president of production at Miramax from 2006 to 2009, when the parent company, The Walt Disney Company, essentially shut down its boutique division's operations. During that tenure, Miramax put out such Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films as "No Country for Old Men," "The Queen," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Doubt" and "There Will Be Blood."

As important as Putnam's appointment was the way the Sundance Institute chose to announce it.

At about 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Wednesday, Sundance put out a message on its Facebook and Twitter pages: "Major announcement from Sundance Institute expected at 9 PM Pacific-Standard-Time tonight, stay tuned fans."

That message produced much anticipation and speculation on the Internet, and a trace of "What? That's it?" disappointment after the announcement was made.

But it was different — and a hopeful indicator of how Putnam might keep things fresh at Sundance.

Another title from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival has found a distributor: "Holy Rollers," director Kevin Asch's crime-and-drugs drama about a Hasidic teen (Jesse Eisenberg, pictured) getting involved in a smuggling ring, has been picked up by First Independent Pictures.

First Independent will distribute the film in the U.S. this summer, according to Daily Variety.

Last week, by the way, Sony Pictures Classics picked up U.S. and Latin American rights to the Australian gangster drama "Animal Kingdom," which won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema competition at Sundance.

Also, earlier this month, Red Flag Releasing — a new distributor launched by Paul Federbush and Laura Kim, former executives for the late and lamented Warner Independent Pictures — planted its flag by picking up the North American distribution rights to Reed Cowan's "8: The Mormon Proposition." That film details the role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (you know, the Mormons) in campaigning for anti-gay-rights legislation around the nation, including California's gay-marriage ban Prop. 8.

Several titles from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival are represented in today's Oscar nominations, as well as two 2010 Sundance films.

Here are the 2009 Sundance Film Festival titles with Oscar nominations:

"Burma VJ" - documentary feature.

"The Cove" - documentary feature.

"An Education" - Best Picture, actress (Carey Mulligan), adapted screenplay.

"In the Loop" - adapted screenplay.

"The Messenger" - original screenplay, supporting actor (Woody Harrelson).

"Miracle Fish" - short film (live-action).

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" - Best Picture, actress (Gabourey Sidibe), supporting actress (Mo'Nique), director (Lee Daniels), adapted screenplay, film editing.

And here are the 2010 Sundance Film Festival titles with Oscar nominations:

"A Prophet" - foreign-language film.

"Logorama" - short film (animated).

If you have your tickets for tonight's "Best of Fest" screenings, you probably wonder what you're going to see.

Wait no more. Here's tonight's schedule:

Park City is quiet this morning as the Sundance Film Festival, 2010 edition, is officially over. A few of our final stories:

* Awards wrap-up: http://www.sltrib.com/sundance/ci_14304013

* Our Sundance 2010 memories: http://www.sltrib.com/sundance/ci_14295838

But never fear, we use this blog, our twitter feed (@sundancelive) and the site ( www.sltrib.com/sundance ) to post Institute and Festival related news year-round. Stay tuned!

-- Kim McDaniel

Here is a press release about the results of X-Dance:

The 10th annual X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival was held January 21-26th in Salt Lake City, Utah. Action sports industry leaders, athletes, celebrities, enthusiasts, and filmmakers gathered to celebrate the culture, and view the world’s best action sports films. Audiences enjoyed Q&A’s with filmmakers and featured athletes, along with open-forum panels on cinematography, distribution and piracy issues that were streamed live on the internet. 33 features and nine short films screened over five days at X-Dance Headquarters (Off Broadway Theater on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake). Over 6000 people attended screenings, sponsor events, and the opening and closing party.

The festival’s opening party in conjunction with Outdoor Retailer featured Collective Soul, three other bands, street scene painters and several thousand people attending. After five days of screenings and private parties by VAS Entertainment and Red Bull, X-Dance 2010 culminated at Club Elevate where the awards ceremony was hosted by the ever-savvy Olympic snowboard commentator and Fuel TV’s “Daily Habit” producer/host Pat Parnell.  Award presenters included soul surfer Rob Machado, epic snowboarders Erin Comstock, Tina Basich, Mike Basich, and Tara Dakides, wakeboard maverick Parks Bonifay, extreme skiers Scot Schmidt and Jeremy Nobis, Mt. Everest’s Apa Sherpa, moto Hellion and star of “Mind of the Demon” Larry Linkogle, Oakland-based hip hop artists Del: tha Funkee Homosapien, A plus, and Bukue, A-list commercial director Chris Woods, the GM of VAS Entertainment Danny Grant and Hotelier Chris Minnes from 968 Green Hotel.  Every winner received a GoPro camera and chest mount for their outstanding work.

Icon Warren Miller was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by extreme skier Scot Schmidt who starred in over a dozen Warren Miller films and X-Dance Festival Director Brian Wimmer.  Following a retrospective of Miller’s 60-year career as a ski filmmaker, Miller, who took a spill skiing the week before the ceremony, sent his thanks on tape from his hospital bed in good spirits, and promised to attend X-Dance 2011. The X-Dance Warren Miller Lifetime Achievement Award has been named in Miller’s honor.

“Best Film” honors went to “Mount St. Elias,” the spectacular story of ski alpinist Axel Naglich’s attempt to climb and then complete the longest ski descent ever from the peak of Alaska’s “Mount St. Elias” had audiences spellbound with its gorgeous cinematography, gripping story, and tension-filled journey. It also won “Best Adventure Film” presented by Apa Sherpa, outfitted in full Nepalese regalia, who stirred the audience with his pleas to “clean up the mountains and take care of Mother Earth.”

“The Drifter,” a brilliant film by Taylor Steele, follows surfer Rob Machado to the far reaches of Indonesia on a soul-searching journey.  The visually-stunning, moody and philosophical film mesmerized audiences. The film won “Best Soundtrack;” Steele took “Best Director; and star of “The Drifter,” Rob Machado, was honored with “Athlete of the Year.” Machado exhibited his genuine humility and laid back cool at the event and X-Dance was honored to have him there.

“Parks Bonifay Documentary” won “Best Biography” for its comprehensive and compelling tale of wakeboard master Parks Bonifay who set his first world record waterskiing at age six months.  Bonifay’s colorful history and passion electrified the film and Bonifay’s enthusiastic presence enriched the overall vibe of the festival.

In 2007, X-DANCE launched their SAVE OUR PLAYGROUNDS campaign to spread the GREEN word. This year, X-Dance had three “environmentally-conscious” films competing for the Ambassador of Green Award. Props to “African Revolutions Tour,” “Generations,” and “Last Paradise” for their important messages.  Winner “Last Paradise,” directed by Kiwi Clive Neeson, traces 45 years of extreme sports pioneers and hidden paradises, calling for action to save the last natural gems around the globe.

Newcomer to X-Dance, Nick Waggoner, won the VAS Emerging Director Award and “Best Cinematography” for his artful and mesmerizing film “Signatures” that pays homage to the beauty of winter and riding in Hokkaido, Japan. This Zen journey inspires reflection and thought with its stunning images and smart narrative.

“Sea of Darkness” won “Best Documentary” for its modern day pirate tale about the Indies Trader ship and the men who sailed it, like legendary captain Martin Daly, who attended the festival.  The compelling intense journey spotlights smugglers, adventure and the discovery of remote Indo surf spots along the way.

“Best Editing” went to “Fiberglass and Megapixels,” for its well cut film about the North Shore’s winter surfing scene and the photographers and cinematographers who compete for the perfect shot.

“Best Short Film” props went to “Second Nature,” a highly entertaining and uber creative film that follows Noah Sakamoto and Patrick Rizzo and J.M Duran as they fly down the mountain roads of the High Sierras on skateboards at crazy speeds in blue suits.

Hip hoppers Del: tha Funkee Homosapien, A plus, Opio
(all formerly from the Hieroglyphics) and emcee Bukue One rocked the house while DJ Mike Helm performed a killer set mixing video and audio.

I saw two films today at the Rose Wagner Center in Salt Lake City: "Skateland" at 12:30 p.m. and then "Nowhere Boy" at 3:30 p.m. Some advice: before going to see two consecutive shows, do not drink a quart of orange juice beforehand, even if it is Sunday morning.

I'd tell you all albout the Q and A's, but no one from the films had stayed in town for the final weekend. That's OK, though. I really had to go to the bathroom.

-- David Burger

I just got back from Salt Lake City's Tower Theater screening of "The Shock Doctrine," a documentary with the viewpoint that the conservative, let-the-free-market-regulate-itself economic philosophy of Milton Friedman has led the world into the economic crises we now face. I found it more interesting than our TV critic Vince Horiuchi did, although I agree with him in that it could be very dry at points. It definitely isn't escapism.

One problem that I have, though, with documentaries like this, is that there is a very definitive, holier-than-thou world view without oppoing view points being considered. It is much like Michael Moore's docs of Rush Limbaugh's radio commentary: entertaining, yes, but what is the other side of the story.

The film tonight had a very liberal political view, and my wife, a journalist, said she would have liked to see the counterpoint to some of the claims made by the film. She is a good journalist, and has been well-trained to seek both sides of the story when reporting on issues. I responded that perhaps we should watch FOX News tomorrow.

-- David Burger