The Sundance Film Festival ended on Sunday after another successful event. At Sundance, independent films are screened, voted on and awarded. There are award categories for a colorful array of talents in the industry ranging from screenwriting to directing and even cinematography.
The festival is hosted by the Sundance Institute. The Institute is an organization that has been around for over 30 years and is dedicated to independent films and the stories they share.
Robert Redford, the Institute’s President and Founder, perfectly summarizes the Institute’s focus: “Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire and ultimately, connect us.” These words hang as a centerpiece on the Sundance website.
Because there were over 200 films in the festival this year, it makes it difficult to name even simply the award recipients. However, the point of the festival is rather unique.
Pay close attention to what Redford emphasizes: “Storytellers.” Storytellers can be anyone from anywhere, which opens this group up to practically anyone willing to share something.
Although Sundance may be over for this year, it is award season, nonetheless. Stories will continue to be told and heard, and those that have caught the attention of affinitive ears will be awarded.
This year, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon, 50/50, 500 Days of Summer) released his TV show creation at Sundance: “hitRECord.” HitRECord functions as an open-ended platform for creative minds to collaborate and contribute to story-telling industries. Filmmakers, musicians and really, “artists of any kind” as Gordon-Levitt suggests, can share their work with one another. Through hitRECord, “we form a community around the art that we make together,” Gordon-Levitt said.
The Grammys will announce the winners of another type of storytelling: music. Although the Grammys have been around for a little longer than Sundance (this will be the 56th annual show), both share the lasting common desire to present and continue torytelling.
The Grammy awards aired on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. CST on CBS.
Similar to Sundance, the Grammys awarded those artists who have struck a chord with their art form of music this year. The Recording Academy serves as the host and awarder, as it has lent its well-attuned ears to both rising and veteran artists throughout the year.
As winter warms into spring, the award season will continue. The Oscars are still to come this March.
For SMU, events hosted by Meadows are expected this spring, showcasing the Hilltop’s own creative students.
In addition to the essays, presentations and other work SMU students complete in the hopes of A-level rewards, events on and off campus are telling of the stories we all have to share.
