The Sundance Film Festival, the largest Independent Film Festival in the US, begins January 22nd in its annual location of Utah. The Festival will showcase films that will astonish, devastate, and inspire.

One of the most anticipated films of the festival, Swiss Army Man starring Daniel Radcliffe and established Indie actor, Paul Dano, received diverse reactions.

According to one viewer, Amirose Eisenbach (@Amirosie) “Swiss Army Man: completely nuts, hilarious, unique & bizarre. Dano & Radcliffe were great & clearly had so much fun w this madness #Sundance”

Swiss Army Man is the story of a man (Dano), marooned on a seemingly uninhabited island, who befriends a farting corpse (Radcliffe), received the infamous award of “most walk out.”  With a stream of the audience members filing out the theater during the film’s duration, it is still receiving generally favorable reviews according to film review website “Rotten Tomatoes.”

While some films struggle to retain their audience, others flourished with unexpected praise. The Birth of a Nation starring Armie Hammer and directed by, written, produced, and starring Nate Parker, is the autobiographical adaption of the story of Nat Turner, a slave, who led the slave rebellions of Virginia in 1831.

“12 Years a Slave astutely mapped out both the ruthless economic machinery of American slavery and the complicity of white Christians who used the Bible to cow their slaves into silence. Then The Birth of a Nation delves even further into this unholy nexus of capitalism and religion, and Parker’s performance becomes a study in escalating outrage.” As stated by Justin Chang, Chief Film Critic at www.Variety.com, this film of little expectation electrified audiences.

Besides the fresh faces seen at Sundance this year,  Sundance veteran, Kevin Smith, film Yoga Hosers premieres.  The Sundance Film Festival,  what essentially kickstarted Smith’s career in 1994 with the debut of Clerks and three years later with his most commercially successful film Chasing Amy. This year Yoga Hosers starring Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Melody will be a nostalgic tribute to Smith’s earlier work.

The Sundance Film Festival, has been a haven for up and coming film artists and newbies to the industry for years.  Here at JTAHS, Mrs. Tite, teacher of Advanced Video 1,  has a few opinions regarding the film industry and techniques used.

When asked about editing/producing in regard to students videos, Mrs. Tite answered,“At school, with Youtube blocked, it is difficult and frustrating trying to teach students new things. The files, being too big to transfer on a flash drive can be difficult share with students.”

Some former students of Mrs. Tite are living out their dreams in the film industry, today.

According to Tite,  “There have been one or two students who were really good. One of my past students, currently works on a survivalist show Yukon Men as executive producer. He worked on major films series like The Hangover before also. Another one of my students is in Boston working in the film industry, too. I would tell my students “To do their best and never give up.”

With all great things comes change, and great changes are coming to the film industry. In the coming years, movie-goers will witness innovation, creativity, and progress.

When asked of the coming changes and trends in cinema and film technology, Tite stated “I have no clue, just as other things, it will be always changing. I’ve noticed in things like Photoshop, programs become better and easier to use.”

For the Lucky few, dreams really do come true. We see it everyday, whether it be in the film industry or any other aspect of life. Who knows what the future holds for the current students of JTAHS.