The Top 25 Film Festivals for Documentaries, 2nd Edition - #1. Sundance

Previously: Introducing the Top 25 Festivals for Documentaries, 2nd Edition

1. Sundance Film Festival

Our take: The Cannes of documentary.  As this year proved, Oscar winners and nominees want their films to premiere in Park City.  It's a massive showcase for North American buyers and audiences - one of the few film festivals that means something outside of the insular indie film community.  People come here to see movies, not just attend parties and panels (although there is that too) and what plays at Sundance will soon play out at many (if not all) of the other festivals on this list.  Plus, the prevailing wisdom - often true - is that the documentaries at Sundance are far superior than the narrative slate, which leads to lots of press attention and key reviews that can, if good, boost a film's distribution chances.  Finally, Sundance takes care of its filmmakers: being invited into the Sundance family is a long-term relationship and can pay dividends over years.

The downside: Slots are limited, particularly when all those A-listers want in.  European buyers don't come (they find it too expensive and figure that filmmakers are looking for big theatrical deals, not smallish European TV ones).  The slate has - at least in past years - heavily focused on activist, campaign films and what we've come to call "bleeding heart" docs, some of which originate in Sundance's Documentary Fund.  Last year's Temple Theatre location felt like the doc ghetto, leading to many folks skipping screenings there.

Important recent premieres: THE COVE, MAN ON WIRE, TROUBLE THE WATER, THE ORDER OF MYTHS, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, BIG RIVER MAN, THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON), ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, EL GENERAL, ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED, SERGIO, NO IMPACT MAN

Our coverage of Sundance here.

Others:

Filmmaker:  "Incredibly organized and very fair as far as $1,000 dollar stipend, travel and ticketing to other films.  I would of course have liked more passes and more tickets for myself, my friends and film subjects, but I can say that at least the process was fair to all filmmakers (all of whom surely wanted more passes, too!)  Didn't get to meet other filmmakers as much as I would have liked, and since it was my first festival (I was such a virgin) I didn't really know how to navigate the industry.  I had a lawyer/rep but (they) turned out to be repping to many films and I think the festival was a missed opportunity in that regard for my film.  I wouldn't expect a festival to offer distribution advice, but considering how many other things they offered to filmmakers, some kind of guidance regarding how to handle/manage all the cold calls from reps would have been helpful.  That said, I don't think that Sundance (or any festival for that matter has a responsibility to do that.  But if any festival did, I'd hope it'd be Sundance since it's such a market.

Press opportunities were great, the scene was fucking ridiculous (and loads of fun), and the meet and greet event for filmmakers at the DGA before the festival was a perfect intro to the whole experience -- especially for a newbie like me.

As for organization, I appreciated that I had one point person who availed herself to me all the time. She answered the phone every time I called, even for questions as mundane as "where can I get a slice of pizza?"

Filmmaker:  The screenings were amazing, always full, even early in the morning. Amazing turn-out, and some good Q&A's. You could really feel the impact of the recession compared to the year before. They didn't pay for flight or accommodation, but give you a busary (500 dollars for short filmmakers), which doesn't go far in Park City. Hospitality is ok but not amazing. I don't think I saw our film co-ordinator again after I had checked in. Very busy, lots of parties, some great films. You definitely meet lots of industry, if you can get into the right parties/drinks. Good for meeting festival directors, American producers and tv. Good for prestige and potential of film."

Filmmaker:  "I loved it. Speaking to people before I found it got a mixed bag, people either love it or hate it. But I think it was one of the best (if not THE best) fest I've been to. There's an atmosphere there that you can't rival. Its exciting. I've never been to Toronto though so not sure how it compares to that.

Condo was expensive obviously, so the cost did add up somewhat. In terms of the experience there, I loved the atmosphere, all the parties being pretty welcoming, a great bunch of films. I like fests that have a mix of fiction + docs cause it gives you a breather from all the docs. So that's cool. Even queuing up super early to get tickets didn't bother me, somehow it feels like part of the experience there.

The icing on the cake was having ski-ing on the doorstep. What more could you ask for? Free booze, great ski-ing and a bunch of really good films! Sundance rocks!

Back to a more business level - I made a lot of good contacts, so as a filmmaker, it was a productive experience. I can't really think of anything more that could be improved, apart from free condos and paying for airtravel! I'm kinda besotted with Sundance though - haven't seen its darkside yet. I'm sure it sucks if you're having a bad time."

Filmmaker:  "very good.  supermarket.  jury taste tends to be "insider-ish". docs that succeed in sundance (for prizes) don't seem to make much $$.  a bit too "industry" for my taste."

Filmmaker:  "Sundance takes your movie to the next level. It's great to get into Sundance. I'm not sure what I can add that everyone else has not already said."

Filmmaker:  "Love the way it platforms docs - I think it deserves a great deal of credit for the doc resurgence over the last decade.  Essential for putting films on the map and helping them get distribution.  Still the most important fest but not quite as far ahead as a front runner.  Great to meet the entire indie community.  More like a convention than most other fests.  Exhausting and certainly not intimate.  Use to cover all expenses but not anymore.  Great for press."

Filmmaker:  "Won't go until they finally accept one of my films, which will probably be never."

Filmmaker: "for a few days it's a nice ego massage, then i was ready to leave. the skiing was nice. too much focus on the awards/coolness...not enough focus on the content in the films. and the narrative film selection is questionable. the festival's just gotten too big. nothing can withstand that much attention/hype."

Filmmaker:  "Too many films in competition in my mind."

Filmmaker:  "much more about filmmakers and less about industry b.s. as I was previously made to believe"

Filmmaker:  "obviously my favorite:) the best place to premiere a documentary, hands down. You can tell just by seeing docs listed first in the catalog."

Filmmaker:  "In America, Sundance is Madison Square Garden, Central Park, and Carnegie Hall all rolled into one.  It's the festival that everyone applies to and as such it sets the tempo for much of what comes after it throughout the year.  Whether your film gets in or not -- or if you are in the process of making your film -- you should do whatever possible to attend.  You'll love almost all of it (though you might hate a tiny little bit of it too -- hey, that's life), and you will come away changed forever.  If you do play your film there, keep this in mind: there is pixie dust in the crisp air up there in Park City, and if you do well there it's likely your film will do what every indie filmmaker aspires for their films to do -- find a large audience out in the "real world"."

Filmmaker:  "We had great fun at Sundance this year.  The festival is big and bad as ever with too many Hummers going up and down Main for my doc filmmaker sensibilities.  On the business front it was very quiet which surely is the whole point of this wintry circus?  So very, very quiet and will be terribly interesting to see if the situation picks up in Jan '10."

Industry:  "To me, it’s always been the most exciting screening week all year.  You have to be in the cinema.  You see five films a day, morning to night, you’re talking with your colleagues.  That’s the place where you look around and you see all the tastemakers of the American doc scene.   It’s also the most grueling week.  It’s the single most relevant event for American documentary.  The world competitions are still very much in the background.  It’s tough for a foreign filmmaker to come there, particularly for a foreign language film, but they’re working on it.  European buyers don’t want to come there because filmmakers are looking for a theatrical deal, they don’t want to make little deals with European broadcasters.  And it’s expensive.  For better or worse, it makes or breaks the documentary year for a lot of other festivals."

Industry:  "Love the festival.  Hard to get attention if you’re in one of the sidebars but word travels and if it’s good, people hear about it.  I like that they are always trying new things and with the new leadership, I have high hopes.  I believe they cover travel and lodging for filmmaker.  I know that filmmakers are treated very well during the festival."

Industry:  "I last went 2008. Honestly I felt like the festival was actually always happening somewhere else. I paid probably close to $10,000 all in. They treat the directors well, but documentary producers not so much. Some good parties, I got to see Dennis Quaid. Still, you can't beat the publicity. Nothing compares to being able to say that you played Sundance. Real people have actually heard of that festival."

Industry:  "there are things we all hate about Sundance: it's a mob, it's hard to get tickets; the doc pics this year were largely underwhelming, the programmers are in hiding.  But it is still the best place on the continent to buy or sell a doc or to get that critical buzz that sends a doc on to success in other festivals and theatrical runs."

Industry:  "essential stop for programmers, primarily for US films, but increasingly for world cinema as well. there are always things that can be improved - international programming still needs to be worked on - ie attracting better world cinema premieres and getting away from some of the celebrity driven excesses to focus on true independent productions."

Industry:  "Unmissable, even if the selection can often be questioned. Immensly valuable for breaking into the US market, most noticeably HBO..."

Industry:  "why they are programming films that we're at berlin last year is beyond me. seem to be opening the door for other fests to come and steal their doc thunder. too focused on the sundance doc fund bleeding heart stuff."

Industry:  "As at Cannes, I'm a small fish in the press pool here, but at least they've always given me access. I increasingly wonder if it's worth the cost to attend (especially with freelance rates generally so pathetic that it's hard to even break even if you're paying for your own travel), but I still can't image not starting my year with a trip to Park City."

Industry:  "If you can get in - hire a publicist - many films get lost in the shuffle so be careful."

Industry:  "Good: Docs are on equal, if not, superior footing to narratives and receive consistently solid attention. From the programming, programmers, various related activities on to the enthusiastic audiences, Docs are respected here. Excellent media presence but, tapered off noticeably in 2008. Press office wavers in efficiency but, is still among the most effective in the fest world. The competition for major media still weighs heavily toward celebrity "names" with the films practically an afterthought. The flavored, artificially sweetened waters at the press lounge -- yuch! Is it any wonder why they're free? Lack of places to eat after 11 p.m."

Industry:  "I haven’t been in a while, but looking forward to Trevor and Cooper taking charge. Good programming, really hectic and accommodations are expensive (wifi pending of course). And it does bug me that celebrity culture has invaded Park City (not entirely Sundance’s fault) – and it’s just overhauled with big city rudeness in a small town. However, still a very important fest – and whose programming we pay attention to."

Industry:  "I talked a lot of smack about Sundance before going, and now that I have attended for the past two years, I am proudly, publicly eating my words. Removing the annoying party/club scene that permeates Main Street, the festival is a well-run, solidly programmed, positive experience in every way. The best part is that last year, because of the economy it would seem, that frivolous and annoying aspect of Main St. didn't seem to even be there. I kept waiting for it to feel like the festival had started even when it had. And I LOVED how that felt. Who knows what will happen this year, but I look forward to seeing more good movies. Of course, the exorbitant costs of travel and especially housing are a problem, but with some ingenuity--and help from friends--the blow can be softened."

Industry:  "It has been overhyped for a while, so it will be interesting to see if new leadership can re-invigorate it. In talking to my European colleagues it’s interesting to hear how irrelevant Sundance is to them – two commissioning editors referred to it as “provincial”. I think people are realizing that deals don’t get made at Sundance for most films, the deals are made in advance."

Industry:  "The big dance. A place where a great doc can really shine. One is of course always fighting with many others to get attention, but this is still THE place to play."

Industry:  "We usually have a few films in the lineup.  We can’t skip it regardless.  The Industry credentials are too expensive- everything is too expensive and they don’t give filmmakers enough comps. We actually bought tickets for our own films last year to make sure we could get into the theater."

Industry:  "Sundance and Toronto are the best festivals to sell docs but the right slot is key"

Industry:  "WiFi that works? That would be lovely."

Industry:  "Expensive, non-user friendly, cliquey but still the festival to be at in terms of line up and stands alone as a tastemaker among festivals – what is the state of the doc scene and market and which films will be making waves over the coming year...acts as a good barometer of this and is place to be because of that.  Not a place to hang out and just enjoy films unless you have a “job” at the festival – selling a particular film or buying films.  It can often seem as if all the action is happening elsewhere (ie where you are not!) and while it does operate in several tiers you can still make it work for you and enjoy the unique mountain atmos to boot.  Town is definitely stretched to breaking points during busy periods – 2009 was a good year for attendees with numbers down and less frenetic pace. This year might be business as usual though."

Next: A tie at #2.