- compiled by Christy Karras and Celia R. Baker
Slamdance
The alternative festival runs Friday through Jan. 28. The
weeklong festival has expanded this year to include a second screening venue and
new box office at 608 Main St. in Park City, in addition to festival headquarters
at the Treasure Mountain Inn at the top of Main Street. The festival will expand
Salt Lake City screenings to the newly refurbished Murray Theatre as well as its
usual brew-pub theater, Brewvies. All ticket prices will be $10, except for
Utah residents, who pay $8.50 with proof of residency. Box offices will be
open at each theater from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting Friday. Slamdance will also
host video-game competitions, discussions and filmmaking workshops. For more information
and a schedule of events, go to http://www.slamdance.com.
The Freedom Cinema Festival
The festival runs Tuesday through Sunday and includes live music events, panel discussions, stand-up comedy and graphic arts as well as films with social and political themes from around the world. Guests for 2005 festival include BBC investigative journalist Greg Palast, cited by Michael Moore as a main source for his film "Fahrenheit 9/11"; Michael Franti, solo performer from Spearhead; John Trudell, poet/actor/activist; Danny Schechter "the news dissector"; and socially conscious hip-hop groups and comedians.
Freedom Cinema Festival will be headquartered on the second
floor of the Main Street Mall, 333 Main St., across the street from the Egyptian
Theater in Park City. The central location houses the box office, screenings,
bookstore, Fairtrade Cafe, music lounge and their offices. Call 800-503-5923 for
http://www.freedomcinemafestival.org for the schedule and tickets.
Queer Lounge
The lounge, open Friday through Jan. 29 just off Main Street at the Gateway Center, is a hospitality and event venue that hosts parties and discussion panels revolving around issues important to the gay and lesbian community. Now in its second year, the lounge bills itself as "a uniquely accessible environment for everyone - gay or straight." (Queer Lounge founder Ellen Huang estimates that about a third of people attending last year were straight.)
Queer Lounge has expanded to include a music series/concert lineup - including a live performance from Cake on Monday and a Scissor Sisters performance on Tuesday (both shows at Club Suede), parties for various films at the festivals and exclusive discussion panels.
Last year, the lounge became the venue for discussions about
the film "Latter Days," about a gay Mormon missionary, after Utah theaters refused
to show the film. Go to http://www.queerlounge.org
for information.
The Park City Film Music Festival
The independent film festival is in its second year, presenting film music competitions for both indie and studio-sponsored films. Director is Park City resident Leslie Harlow, a prominent classical musician in Utah. The festival runs Thursday through Jan. 30 and includes screenings of more than 50 films in Park City and Salt Lake City, plus seminars for composers, musicians, songwriters and groups.
Screenings will be at 333 Main St., Park City, and Dumke Recital Hall in Gardner Hall on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. The movie "Swing" will open the festival on Jan. 20. "Swing" features Jacqueline Bissett, Jonathan Winters, Tom Skerritt and Barry Bostwick.
The full screening schedule and information about seminars will
be available at the festival Web site, http://www.parkcityfilm musicfestival.org.
Screening tickets are $10 per film or short film group; all-day passes
are $30. Tickets for the film screenings at Dumke Hall are $5 for students.
Film screenings in Park City are $5 for Summit County residents. Most days
include six or seven screenings per location.
SchmoozeDance Film Festival
SchmoozeDance is Jewish film festival at Park City's Jewish
temple, Temple Har Shalom, 1922 Prospector Ave. A selection of short films and
features will screen on Friday after worship service and reception. Kidzdance,
a series of children's films, will screen on Saturday after a Jewish Havdalah
candle-lighting ceremony. For more information, go to http://www.jewishfilm.com/schmoozedance2005.html.
X-Dance Film Festival
X-Dance runs Friday through Jan. 25, screening high-adrenaline films about mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing, skiing, skating and other sports. All screenings, on the second floor at the mall at 333 Main St. in Park City, are free and open to the public, as is the Absolut Tiki Lounge there. The festival opens Friday with a party and screenings from 4-10 p.m. and continues through Monday with screenings from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. After each film, audience members can participate in discussions with the directors and athletes.
Two panels for filmmakers will address how to get sponsorship
and new software technologies, and the festival closes with an awards ceremony
and party at Harry O's. For information and a screening schedule, go to http://www.xdance.com.
TromaDance Film Festival
Featuring films from the vaults of "Toxic Avenger" creator Lloyd Kaufman, TromaDance returns to Park City and Salt Lake City Jan. 24-27, starting with a "best of" screening of campy gore and sex in films like "Redneck Zombies" and "Surf Nazis Must Die" at Library Square in Salt Lake City on Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. TromaDance will hold screenings on Tuesday at Brewvies Cinema and Pub in Salt Lake City from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and screenings at Mother Urban's Ratskeller, 625 Main St. in Park City, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, along with the closing night party.
Kaufman, fighting a 30-year battle against what he calls the
"devil-worshipping conglomerates" making and distributing most films these days,
has a small but rabid following that includes some of the biggest names in mainstream
film. The festival will include some "secret screenings" of films that might offend
mainstream audiences. The exact times and locations of these screenings won't
be announced until the festival begins. For information, go to
http://www.troma.com.
