Three-ring Rob and his Sundance circus left town before I even had the chance to buy a ticket.
But all is not lost. Once again under the Sundance big top, a more provocative and innovative wave of film is right underneath our fingertips, within sight of our very retinas. So heat up some jiffy-pop, settle back into your wooden desk chair and use your high-speed Internet connection for something more enticing then the occasional Onion article or your increasing collection of porn JPEGs. The circus is back in town and you can find it at www.Sundanceonlinefilmfestival.com.
In its second year running the Sundance Online Film Festival is a legitimate competition/exhibition of exclusively Internet films. These made-for-your-computer-not-to-be-seen-in-Park-City films are typically short pieces, ranging from animated films to "Live Action" to a category called "New Forms," which are films made using new forms of digital technology.
What is most exciting about these films is not only their accessibility, but their digital innovativeness. They are obviously low budget, low-quality image films, but they take chances in ways that big-budget, studio-produced films cannot, broadening the digital canvas and opening the eyes of legitimate and independent directors to the potential of this new technology.
One offering, Guerrilla News Network: Crack the C.I.A. is a live action short set to the "ambient hip-hop loops" of D.J. Trek-e. This nine-minute expos‚ on the C.I.A.'s involvement in drug trafficking models an entire visual narrative around an original hip-hop score, creating a more cohesive and gripping short. This however, is not an idea original to them. Sexy Beast used the electronic group UNKLE to power its original soundtrack. Coincidentally both the short and Beast have been met with critical acclaim. Obviously they were well-received for more than just this, but these films are examples of what innovative directors do with the most mundane staples of the film industry. Ultimately, they both represent a form of soundtrack creation that is not typically used by commercial filmmakers. And their success is evidence of the potential in contracting ambient and electronic artists to produce original, tailored compositions for film.
This, however, is only one of the many innovative possibilities raised by -- but not new to -- this online film festival. Issues of free accessibility, cheap digital editing and equipment all pervade an ever-growing digital-film discourse that has invaded even mainstream filmmaking. And although this online film festival may now only inhabit the dilapidated pagoda adjacent to the freak show, one day it will become the main attraction.
