“Are you getting more than this?” “Twinless,” festival director Eugene Hernandez said at the night’s premiere of “Twinless,” which was unveiled Thursday at Eccles, Park City’s largest venue. But the evening didn’t go off without a hitch. Shortly after Hernandez left the stage, a sizzle reel promoting the festival’s non-profit arm suffered audio problems. The moment was particularly unfortunate as the audio broke as the clip was introducing festival founder Robert Redford.
The house lights came on while the sound was tested for five minutes. The movie was quickly restarted, but the problem persisted throughout the show with ears of “nooooo!” From stressed-out audience members. Fortunately, neither the enthusiastically received film nor the dual performance from Dylan O’Brien as twin brothers hampered the film. Add to that Sundance’s tech and grounds staff (not the volunteers, who were as warm and welcoming as ever in Kenneth Cole’s genre), and it made for a subversive kick. Technical glitches aside, Twinless seemed overwhelmed by their big moments.
“There are many references to this movie, but almost none,” said James Sweeney, the film’s writer, director and star. “At one time, the best way I could describe it was ‘Ingrid Goes West’ meets ‘The Khaki Maker.'” Hernandez swoops in with a short breathing exercise.
There weren’t many moments for festival-goers to exhale during a packed opening day, filled with more than a dozen showcase acts. The flurry of activity seemed designed to show that the celebration of independent film is still going strong after nearly half a century, and there were plenty of memorable moments that made Sundance so iconic.
Marlee Matlin Did viewers raise their eyes when “Marlee Matlin: No Longer Alone” aired? John Lithgow and Olivia Colman star as father and daughter in “Gimba,” a poignant drama about a family that seemed to challenge the current MAGA moment with its sensitive portrait of LGBTQ+ life. And Red “Questlove” Thompson, who unveiled the Oscar-winning “Summer of Soul” during Sundance’s Covid Era Digital release, finally gets its Eccles premiere with “Sly Lives!” A raucous examination of the enduring legacy of the Sly and the Family Stone.
Throughout Park City, the mood was celebratory. However, there was an undercurrent of anxiety around the mountain resort. It was difficult to escape the feeling that both the festival, and the industry it highlights, are in a period of transition. For one thing, Sundance is preparing to move in 2027, perhaps to Cincinnati or Boulder. Even if it stays in Utah, its base of operations will shift to Salt Lake City, which is better equipped to handle crowds. At a pre-Festival press cocktail reception on Wednesday, Hernandez Coy played around with the Sundance landing spot. “I used to be a journalist, and of course, I know there’s at least one burning question that you probably want to ask me, or you asked me, and I’ll tell you the answer to that question,” he said. “The answer is no, not yet.”
There’s also the fact that the movie business, especially the independent part of it, doesn’t have the same energy that it did when Sundance reached its peak in the ’90s and early heyday. Streaming services, many of which have delivered Big Bucks to buy Sundance Films, have elevated the ways in which movies are experienced. That has left people more reluctant to go to cinemas, which is reflected in sharp declines in attendance – a change in behavior that has only accelerated during Covid. Studios are holding back on their spending, which could make it difficult for films that return to premiere at Sundance to get the kind of must-see support. Media companies may have sent fewer envoys. In fact, it seemed like there were fewer people on the main street and reservations at restaurants around the resort, while still hard to come by, were not impossible to get.
Audiences were still eager to embrace the inspiring, feel-good films that turned Sundance into a destination for cinephiles. During the premiere of “Marlee Matlin: No Longer Alone,” a revealing appearance revealing the Oscars’ life and career, Matlin appeared to feed off the energy and sign off with applause. Among the crowd were her husband, Kevin Grandalski, children, Sarah, Brandon, Tyler and Isabelle, and “Koda” co-star Troy Kotsur.
“I felt like it was time to tell my story and I knew I was going to tell it 200% in an authentic way,” Matlin said, motioning to director Shoshana Stern as they staged the show after the screening. Matlin added that she specifically requested a deaf person to direct the documentary and knew Stern was the person for the job.
“I wanted to make this movie for Marley and also for me and for the younger ones, for all the deaf kids out there,” Stern said through an ASL interpreter. “For them to have their own words to define the way they feel and know that it’s not what the world decided they should be.”
And at a festival that celebrates rebels, artists and icons, can there be anything more?
