January 2020 Digest & Thoughts on Sundance

By Rebecca Green

At the 2019 Sundance Day One Press Conference, Robert Redford left the Press Conference early saying, “I think we’re at a point where I can move on to a different place, because the thing I’ve missed over the years is being able to spend time with the films and with the filmmakers and to see their work and be part of their community.” When reading this I thought to myself, if Robert Redford feels disconnected from the community, what does that say about the ecosystem we’ve created?

This year, Sundance decided to forgo the traditional Day One Press Conference all-together and instead put out a digital press kit. In this press kit, Sundance’s Executive Director Keri Putnam said about streaming platforms, 

“So when choices about what to watch are made for people by forces that aren't always visible and can't be controlled, not only do we miss out on challenging ideas and great art — it's dangerous. This is a moment that demands our participation — as audiences, as artists and as citizens. This is a critical time for each of us to question why things are the way they are. To ask whose voices are being marginalized and why. To notice whose perspectives we aren't seeing and why not. And to recognize that media has worth far beyond its market value or what it makes at the box office." 

Wait, wait wait a minute… Did she just say curation by algorithm is “dangerous” when the festival programmed 10 Netflix titles? So let me get this straight, as an artist, I need to question why certain voices are being marginalized, while Sundance gave a coveted slot to the Netflix Taylor Swift documentary MISS AMERICANA. Taylor Swift, who undoubtedly has one of the loudest megaphones in the world, and Netflix, a behemoth company who announced they will invest $17 billion in content this year, got a festival slot rather than someone from one of those marginalized communities in which Keri Putnam speaks. Why is the festival asking me to look inward when they aren’t themselves? 

Listen, I downloaded MISS AMERICANA to watch on my flight home. I have nothing against Taylor Swift or Netflix and wanted to see the film. And one could argue that some of the Netflix films at the festival were about marginalized communities, take CRIP CAMP for example, about the disabilities movement/revolution. However, when distributors over-value the Sundance brand recognition and under-value titles at festivals such as SXSW and Tribeca, each and every Sundance slot should go towards films that need distribution or at the very least, be a true discovery that needs a platform. We didn’t need Swifties descending on Park City to know that MISS AMERICANA was not one of these films. 

I have spoken to festival programmers at various festivals asking them why they program films with distribution when they know that distribution is what filmmakers are struggling with the most. The consensus is that while a film may have distribution, it still needs a platform to help launch it into the world. Take for example, Eliza Hitman’s new film that premiered at Sundance this year, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS. The film is about a pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania who travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy. It addresses a hot topic in a serious way and has no name actors in the film. While it premiered at Sundance with Focus Features already on board to distribute, one could argue that this is the type of film where the support of Sundance has an impact on whether or not people see the film. 

While I dream of a Sundance where no film premiering has distribution, I can get behind this logic. But Netflix is a powerhouse studio with global reach, do they really need Sundance to launch their films? Does Taylor Swift? And once the Taylor Swift fanfare died down, Disney-owned Hulu premiered its Original Documentary, HILARY, sucking the air out of the festival yet again. 

Maybe I’m being too harsh, too dramatic There have always been movie stars at Sundance, there are always flashy titles in the mix, and I know there were many films no one had ever heard of by new voices without distribution. However, something about this year made me feel that there isn’t a lot of room left for indie filmmakers on the fringe. That if you’re not already in the fold with one of the streamers or big agencies or you don’t have name talent attached to your film, it’s highly unlikely the festival is going to shine a spotlight on you. 

So while I agree with Keri Putnam that curation by algorithm is dangerous, I would turn to her and ask, ‘if that is true, then has Sundance lost its curation credibility?’ 


* As a side note, if you are reading and tracking IndieWire’s Sundance 2020 Deals: The Complete List of Festival Purchases So Far, know that many of the titles were financed by the distributor, which does not make it a “Sundance acquisition.” Do your homework to find out how a film was put together before throwing out comps from this list to potential investors.  

HOMEWORK

Effie Brown to Sundance Producers Brunch: Hollywood Is a Reflection of the World We Live in
Effie Brown delivered the keynote speech at the Sundance Film Festival’s Producers Brunch on Sunday, sharing some of the insights she’s accrued during her decades-long career as a film and television producer.

Sundance Film Festival 2020: Every Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu Movie/TV Series Premiere
Traditionally, Sundance has been a platform for small films looking for distribution, the festival has grown and grown and gotten bigger and bigger. These days, many of the films premiering at Sundance already have a home, and this year, a lot of those homes are streaming platforms.

Sundance Embraces Streaming, Even As It Weighs the Risks
Netflix premiered three titles on Sundance 2020 opening night, but the Sundance Institute calls algorithmic curation "dangerous."

Film Industry Faces Streaming Madness, Income Inequality, and More Big Challenges in 2020
If “Endgame” can make $2.8 billion, why would any studio ever want to take a gamble on something that might only make a modest few million at best? If Netflix continues to grow as a go-to distributor for original prestige titles that play for just a short time in limited release, what does that mean for moviegoing’s future?

U.S. Movie Admissions Plunge 4.6% in 2019 Amid Box Office Decline
U.S. movie admissions slid 4.6% last year to 1.24 billion, the second lowest admissions number during the current century, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) has reported.

Netflix Projected to Spend More Than $17 Billion on Content in 2020
The streamer will invest around $17.3 billion this year in content on a cash basis, according to a new forecast by Wall Street firm BMO Capital Markets. That’s up from around $15.3 billion in 2019. 

All Sundance 2019 Films Combined Grossed a Third of the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Opening Weekend
The 2019 titles grossed $125 million, down from more than $200 million in 2018. How much of the festival's future lies in streaming?

AMC Entertainment CFO Craig Ramsey On Stock Slump, 2020 Film Slate, Streaming Impact, More
Craig Ramsey, CFO of AMC Entertainment, addressed hot topics including the exhibitor’s flagging stock price and its outlook on the 2020 film slate, streaming and windows in an appearance at Citibank’s TMT West Conference.

Mission Driven: Interview with Alison Kozberg, Managing Director, Art House Convergence
The nation’s art houses, specialty distributors, and nonprofit cinemas will once again convene in Midway, Utah, for the latest edition of Art House Convergence (AHC). Boxoffice Pro spoke with Alison Kozberg, AHC’s managing director, to preview this year’s conference and discuss the most pressing issues affecting the art house community today. 

Palm Springs' Breaks Sundance Record for Biggest Sale Ever
Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs” has just broken the record for the biggest sale in the history of the Sundance Film Festival — by $0.69.

Netflix to Lay Off Employees as It Shifts Marketing Strategy
Sources say at least 15 people are expected to exit this week as the company moves to better advertise the service rather than its individual shows.

Emma Watts’ Disney Departure Shows That Studios Get Smaller as Movies Get Bigger
At Fox, she ran a studio within the studio. At the global conglomerate of Disney, there's no room for that.

HBO Max, Warner Bros. Unveil New Film Division for Streaming Service
Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max have formed a new film production label that will focus on releasing eight to 10 midbudget movies per year via the company's new streaming service, which is set to launch in May in the U.S.

NBC News Launches Documentary Studio for Streaming-Video Era
After closing down its long-running Peacock Productions non-fiction unit, NBC News is quickly getting back into the documentary business with NBC News Studios.

After a rough 2019, Hollywood’s talent agencies brace for more uncertainty
For recent film school graduates, joining the ranks of young deal-chasers was an entry point for those who wanted to get into show business yet preferred a steady income to the fragile existence of production assistants and budding writers. But 2019 may have been the year that shattered any illusion of stability in the talent representation field.

Netflix’s ‘The Goop Lab’ is branded content—and maybe the future of media
Gwenyth Paltrow’s company joins the New York Times, Vox Media, and BuzzFeed on a screen near you.

Time's Up Reveals Safety Guide for Entertainment Industry Employees
The three-part resource covers auditions and nude, intimate and simulated sex scenes and also details how to report sexual misconduct and harassment.

EXTRA CREDIT 

Joy Luck Club' Producer: Representation Has Improved But "Let's Not Wait Another 25 Years" (Guest Column)
As 'The  Farewell' racks up awards buzz, Janet Yang reflects on how far Hollywood has come in telling Asian  American stories.

What Is the Most Profitable Movie Ever?
'Avatar'? 'Blair Witch Project'? 'Star Wars'? The Hollywood Reporter crunches the numbers to see which film has earned the most hard cash.

My Hardest Day on the Set of 1917
The single-take WWI thriller required an army of collaborators, battling birds and clouds along the way.

NBCUniversal Unveils Peacock Launch Date, Pricing Tiers
Comcast’s NBCUniversal on Thursday afternoon is unveiling a plan for new streaming service Peacock that will keep customers tied to their cable subscriptions, a strategy that stands out among Disney and WarnerMedia’s full-fledged jump into the streaming era.

The Filmmaker Who Says M. Night Shyamalan Stole Her Movie
A lawsuit filed by Francesca Gregorini argues that the Apple TV+ series Servant shares eerie similarities with her 2013 film, The Truth About Emanuel.

The 2020 Oscars, By the Numbers
With 92 years’ worth of data at the ready, the annals of the Oscars make for a perfect source of facts and figures, statistics and trivia. Every year brings with it more opportunities for a “first time” or a “not since” or some other milestone.