Sundance Film Festival 2013

 Park City has been invaded by independent filmmakers (and a few Hollywood celebrities) who have come to screen their movies at the Sundance Film Festival.  I was lucky enough to receive another invitation to have my students attend a free screening today.  (You can read about 2012 here and 2011 here).  This is probably the most ridiculous picture ever of my students posing in front of the theater!  First of all, it is extremely cold, not to mention it is raining, so they were not happy that I made them pose outside!  Second, I am missing more than half of my group because they were still on the bus!  By the time they got off the bus, this group had gone inside.  Finally, many of them are not looking at the camera!  I suspect they are looking at the students who are warm and dry on the bus!  Once we were all inside, we were able to watch The Summit, a documentary about an expedition to climb K2 in 2008 which resulted in the deaths of 11 climbers.  It is intense, to say the least, with absolutely stunning photography of the Himalayas.  Filmmakers used actual footage of the expedition, dramatic reenactments, and interviews with many of the climbers to tell the story behind the tragedy.  Some of the themes include why people feel the need to test themselves by climbing such a dangerous mountain (many people consider K2 to be technically more difficult than climbing Everest which is higher) and whether there is a moral responsibility to rescue fallen climbers when it could lead to further deaths.  I couldn't take my eyes off the screen and I literally jumped during a scene depicting an avalanche!  I also really enjoyed the music in this film.  Very edgy.  After the screening director/producer Nick Ryan had a Q&A with the students about making the film which was very interesting.  Apparently there are many differing accounts about what actually happened on the mountain.  My students seemed to really enjoy it but some of them mentioned that they had a hard time keeping all of the climbers straight, especially the ones who had actors portraying them during the reenactments.  I absolutely loved it!

 

Note:  Every year the students hope they catch a glimpse of a celebrity.  This year I was on the lookout for Dave Grohl...