Hannah Canter, from Louisville, Kentucky flew into Salt Lake with two friends last year to attend the festival. The appeal, she says, was mostly the films. “I’ve always liked movies, but I’ve never been able to see a lot of independent films in Louisville.”
She and her friends researched what to do at Sundance before they came, Canter says, but some of the best things they did were impromptu decisions. “The first night we were in Park City, we saw something on Twitter about free panels at the Samsung Lounge. We assumed there would be a long line for it, but there wasn’t. They asked us our names so we thought there was a list, but there wasn’t. We walked right in. And there was an open bar!”
She and her friends saw six movies in three days, but she warns not watch too many at once—soak in the town and the vibe. “One day we did three movies and that was too much. But two in a day, one in the morning, one in the evening, with time to explore during the day, was perfect.”
The trio explored Park City between films. “We had a lot of fun hanging out at the different resorts and pretending we belonged there,” Canter says. “At one place we took Jesse Metcalf’s table when he was done and two tables back from us was Gabrielle Union. It was surreal. That doesn’t happen in Kentucky.”
Most anticipated movie: To the Bone
3 Tips for Seizing Sundance
- Don’t despair
“We didn’t have a lot of luck in the ticket lottery. But getting same-day tickets was pretty easy and the wait-list for movies we didn’t have tickets for was a good solution, too.” - Come down the hill for movies.
“We had a lot of fun at the Salt Lake shows. Actors came to panels at those shows, too.” - Expand your horizons.
“We went to panels about movies we didn’t even see because it was still interesting. I’m seeing those movies as they are available now.”
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written by: Christie Marcy
