How To Make The Perfect Sundance Film

That's right, by the time you finish reading this article you will be ready to dominate the Sundance scene.

Okay, not exactly. But Ted Hope (CEO of Fandor and author of Hope for Film) has shared his advice on how he got his films into Sundance.... all twenty-three of them. Not only that, but his films have won the Grand Jury prizes three times. That's the big kahuna of prizes at Sundance.

He even understands our modern short attention span and broke down his advice into 10 easy to follow steps. For extra measure, I've added pictures to extend your attention.

1. The protagonist

Center the story around an everyday person, someone the audience can identify with (not a wealthy or an evil type).

2. The plot

The protagonist needs to go through a serious arc, suffer hardship, and then come to some understanding that the audience didn’t expect.

3. Be bold

Show risk-taking in the filmmaking. Make it feel like it may all fall apart, but then save it at the last moment: People should say, “It’s bold.”

4. Be disciplined

If you can’t be bold, be disciplined. If it doesn’t fit the form, cut it out.

5. Own your aesthetic

Embrace, even flaunt, your aesthetic and the limits of your aesthetic. Don’t be ashamed of your limitations. Own your choices.

6. Engage bigger issues

The story has to be bigger than the movie itself and should deal with issues of either class conflict, gender conflict, sexual conflict, or other political issues. How do you comment on the world at large while still examining the minute and particular?

7. Cast

You need to cast a few stars or soon-to-be stars, so it should be an ensemble piece that covers generational conflict. You have the old-name actor you’re bringing back and the up-and-comer whom no one had seen yet, along with actors who can move from TV into feature films.

8. Shock value

It needs some moment of audacity, the kind of thing that people will talk about and that might even shock the uninitiated.

9. The right mix

Have a sense of humor about great tragedy— or find the tragedy in the hilarious. Embrace the cocktail; make it at least feel fresh.

10. Leave them wanting more

Shorter is better; 90 minutes is the new 120 (today, 80 is the new 90). No one ever says, "I wish it had been longer" when they leave the theater.

---

The following was an excerpt from Hope's new book, "Hope For Film: From the Frontline of the Independent Cinema Revolutions", also featured in a blog post on nofilmschool.com. I found this post particularly interesting and insightful, and hopefully you find it helpful too as you write your new Sundance film :)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is not your typical American Drama

 For a gender class my freshmen year I had to watch an American Musical drama called Hedwig and the Angry Inch, made in 2001. Now this film is definitely as confusing an strange as its title. The story is actually based off a German transgendered singer in a rock band. The main plot was about the German man, Hansel who loved another man but was not allowed to marry him because the law demanded they be a man a woman. So Hansel had a sex change surgery and her mother gave her her own name "Hedwig", along with her passport. The surgery was botched and left her with an "angry inch" of flesh between her legs, hence the title of the film.

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, they chose to flee to America. When they got there Luther left Hedwig. She dealt with this pain by forming a rock band. The dynamic of the band was pretty interesting. The bandmates would take turns making out with Hedwig, on stage and even behind close doors. It was all very strange and uncomfortable to watch, at least from my perspective.

        My favorite part of the movie, was how they incorporated the moving mythical, cartoon animations with in the musical scenes. The mythology that Hedwig believed in was very interesting on its own. She believed that when you are born, you are born a whole but at some point you are split in half and later in life you meet your other half. The rock songs that she sings are mostly about this myth and her longing of her other half. When she performs, there are many different cuts to these mythical drawings. 

        This film won the Best Director and Audience Awards at the Sundance Film Festival. The director was John Cameron Mitchell who also played the main role of Hedwig. Although I felt like the main storyline and very graphic songs were a little explicit, over all the after effects, bright color palette, flashbacks, and camera work were done very well. You definitely felt Hedwig's pain throughout the whole movie. 

Greatest Guerrilla Ever

A film all about Disney World, shot inside Disney World, without Disney's permission. 

This is "Escape From Tomorrow"

People shoot videos at Disney World all the time, often times documenting their vacations and the fun things they did in the park. There is no way Disney could ban recording devices from the park without a major backlash. But that being said, there are certain things that they don't want filmed, such as behind the scenes places or closed buildings. This doesn't stop people from trying to get footage, but Disney keeps a watchful eye to make sure they don't get very far.

A notable example of this is "Adam the Woo" (One of his videos is posted above), who has snooped around Disney with his camera so much, that they banned him from Disney World entirely.

So what would happen if somebody decided to shoot an entire movie there, without Disney finding out?
Well, one of this year's Sundance films did just that.

"Escape From Tomorrow" follows a father on vacation with his family at Disney World, and delves into the mental breakdown he has while in the park. The filmmakers got themselves under Disney's radar while shooting, using iPhones and handheld cameras as to not rouse suspicion. Whether or not Disney will try and keep this movie from bring distributed to wider audiences is unknown. Untill we find out, we have the trailer: