If the conversations at the opening night party are any indication of the festival landscape, it may well be that the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival proves that there’s still plenty of opportunities to sell a film. While in the midst of flowing absynthe (not to be confused with absinthe, illegal in most countries) and, for once, a decent DJ, I picked the brains of several who were at the fest in support of particular films. Spirits are high. Interest seemingly abounds. One woman exclaimed that she’d already sold three films just tonight. The trades are also reporting that several deals have been made – HBO just today picked up US television rights to “Burma VJ” ahead of it’s North American premier, which I’ll be seeing Sunday night. Also today, Sony Classics reportedly finalized a deal for North American rights for James Toback’s documentary “Tyson,” which originally premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and centers on none other than boxing heavyweight Mike Tyson.
Expectations are still tempered, but perhaps the economic downturn isn’t going to breath as strongly down the neck of the fest as most say it will. We’ll see how the rest of the week shapes up.
~ Gunther
