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Posted January 27, 2010 to photo album "Sundance: Evolution of a Festival"
As park of Movie City: Park City, FilmInFocus’ Nick Dawson looks at ten years that have shaped the Sundance Film Festival.
1985: A New Partnership Fosters Fresh Talent
In 1985, the festival we now know as Sundance was still operating under the title of the US Film Festival, however this was the year in which it was taken over by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute. The Institute, which was founded in 1980 and began running its Sundance Institute Filmmakers/Directors Lab in 1981, had Sterling Van Wagenen as its Executive Director, so its fusion with the US Film Festival was an extremely intuitive decision. The partnership was mutually beneficial: Sundance gained greater prominence from the festival, while the fest now had the financial support to fulfill its burgeoning potential. And the 80 films on show in 1985 ably demonstrated the festival’s new direction. Joel and Ethan Coen’s neo-noir debut Blood Simple was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize. Jim Jarmusch’s breakthrough feature Stranger Than Paradise took a Special Jury Prize in the dramatic section. And Rob Epstein’s classic documentary The Times of Harvey Milk won a Special Jury Prize in the non-fiction section.
The World's End
We Steal Secrets
Closed Circuit
The Deep
The Place Beyond The Pines
Greetings from Tim Buckley
Admission
Promised Land
Anna Karenina
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Brokeback Mountain
Lost in Translation
Pride & Prejudice
The Pianist
Gosford Park