“I can see six or eight movies in a day. It can be exhausting or it can be exhilarating.” – Levi Elder
by Christie Marcy
Levi Elder uses a spreadsheet to choreograph his Sundance schedule. Seriously.
Elder, the programming director for Salt Lake Film Society, says he sees at least 40 Sundance screenings each year. βThatβs a conservative guess,β he says. βIn a really good year, when thereβs a lot of titles I want to seeβI can see six or eight movies in a day. It can be exhausting. Or it can be exhilarating.β
Elderβs job at the festival is to view films he would later like to put before SLFS patrons. But, how does he pick the movies worth his limited time at Sundance? βMostly by director, if I like the work theyβve done before. Or if I like someone in the cast,β Elder says.Β βIf I donβt know anybody in the castβwhat is it they say about there onlyΒ
being seven original stories? Iβm really looking for something I am not familiar with.β
And because heβs going from Salt Lake to Park City and back againΒ to see films, time is the premium commodity at Sundance, Elder says. βItβs a lot of standing in the cold, waiting by the bus stop to get to the next venueβeven people like me have to stand in line just like everyone else.β And once he gets to a venue heβs not guaranteed a seat. βI get a pass, but I still sometimes donβt get into the screenings.β Even after that, if the movieβs not something heβs interested in, heβll bail andΒ and head to the next theater on his spreadsheet.
Most anticipated movie: Brigsby Bear (filmed in Utah, including scenes at TheΒ Tower Theater)
Stay organized.
How to keep your dance card together
Novice movie-watchers fail to do their homework, Elder says, even if itβs simply reading the intel put out by festival organizers. βThey produce a lot of information about how to festival correctly. How to get tickets at the last minute, how to ride their shuttles, et cetera. But, no one ever reads it. If you really pay attention to what they’re trying to tell you, they make it easy. But if youβre just trying to wing it, it can be a nightmare. Don’t try to wing it. Do your research.β
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