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In 2006, Flavorpill covered the Sundance Film Festival firsthand, dispatching daily video and blog posts from Park City. Relive some of the highlights here.

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Interview

Somebodies Director and Star

We'd been trying to land a sit-down all week with Hadji, but the young writer/director/star of the Southern comedy Somedbodies was a much sought-after commodity. Finally, on the last full day of Sundance 2006, he filled us in on the hustle and bustle of launching your first feature while nursing the Sundance croup. Rest assured, his easy-peezy manner doesn't entirely cloak those bright eyes that don't miss a beat.

Exit Only #1

Around these parts, a lot of people talk about Sundance not being what it used to be. But no matter how much things have changed, the fact is that droves of true film aficionados still flock to Park City every year to get a first look at movies that may never see a wider release. Here, we chat with one such cineaste, Claire, as she exits screenings of Thin and TV Junkie. A true documentary lover and a smart lady, Claire talks about her thoughts on the films she's seen thus far and her jam-packed viewing schedule.

Director Maria Maggenti (Puccini for Beginners)

With an opening montage that lands on Lincoln Center Plaza, Puccini for Beginners quickly announces its milieu. For non-New Yorkers, that translates to "the realm of the acculturated Manhattanite" — the sort of people who use words like milieu. Actress Elizabeth Reaser plays Allegra, a little-known lesbian novelist whose girlfriend breaks up with her because she can't commit. On the rebound, Allegra, much to everyone's surprise, falls for a man, and then, unwittingly, for his girlfriend. And so the stage is set for this screwball comedy where intellectualism meets carnality, which, when you think about it, ain't a bad definition of opera.

In a Sundance year when melancholy or outright depressing films are a dime a dozen, Puccini's zany take on brainy New Yorkers and light-hearted lambaste of gender politics feels as airily refreshing as a glass of seltzer after so many cups of black coffee and regrets. We sat down with director Maria Maggenti (The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love) to talk about finding the perfect cast, how New York has changed, and why it took her seven years to make this three-act comedy.

Isabel Coixet (The Secret Life of Words)

Director Isabel Coixet premiered her new film, The Secret Life of Words — her second starring actress Sarah Polley — at Sundance last night. Wryly funny and very intense, the Spanish director talks with Flavorpill Sundance about her wanderlust and why she's obsessed with human suffering.

Director So Yong Kim (In Between Days)

As muted and doleful as the masterful In Between Days is, its director So Yong Kim proves an equally animated interview subject. Thank goodness! Flavorpill Sundance talked with her yesterday about her feature about two Korean teenagers, workshopping her next project at the Sundance lab, and — most importantly — where she found her sassy boots.

The Bullfrog

Flavorpill Sundance knows that no festival discussion is truly complete without an interview with the beloved Bullfrog. Yesterday the legendary amphibian told us how he became the festival's unofficial mascot.

Director Ian Inaba (American Blackout)

We've always dug the Guerrilla News Network, and GNN's own Ian Inaba premiered the final cut of his new documentary, American Blackout, here at Sundance this past Monday night. We met up with the very charming and articulate Ian at ye olde Starbucks Salon to discuss the problem of African American disenfranchisement and why cool soundtracks are good for connecting with the kids.

Snapshot

The Subject: Ian Goggins, Senior VP, Sales and Operations, Maple Pictures
Where: Yarrow Theatre #1

Why are you here, and from where?
I'm here from Toronto, looking to buy films.

Who paid your way?
My company, Maple.

What films are you most excited about?
I can't really say which films I'm professionally excited about, I guess. Personally, I'm excited about Glastonbury, the festival movie, as I'm a music guy. And, yes, the Beastie Boys doc, the Leonard Cohen doc, the Neil Young.

He's a Canadian, too.
Yes, he is.

Where'd you get your boots?
Australia. They're great.

Lastly, oh music guy, what's the last song you listened to on your iPod?
Feist. "Now at Last."

Team Stephanie Daley

Flavorpill Sundance was part of the press machine indeed when we interviewed Stephanie Daley director Hilary Brougher and actors Amber Tamblyn and Timothy Hutton at the W Las Vegas Lounge. We were hustled in and out so fast that there was barely time to genuflect at Brougher's feet for making 1997's excellent Sticky Fingers of Time — let alone tell Hutton that I once dated a real cad just because he resembled him. Uh, maybe that's for the best.

Snapshot

The Subject: Lois Dino, associate director of programming, Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, New York
Where: On line for a Wordplay screening

What brings you here?
I'm part of the Sundance Institute Art House Project. I'm representing one of 14 art houses that are here to establish Sundance programming at our venues.

Who paid for you to come here?
The festival. I'm very fancy.

Where'd you get your sassy clog boots?
eBay. Is that awful? I love eBay.

No, that's not awful. That's savvy. And do you have an iPod?
I don't. But I'm researching how to buy one for my daughter on eBay!

Thin director Lauren Greenfield and producer R.J. Cutler

In the very heart of Swag Central, Village at the Lift, the Flavorpill Sundance team got a chance to talk with two key members of the Thin team. Given the gravity of this tremendous documentary about eating disorders, we weren't sure what to expect, but Greenfield and Cutler turned out to be gracious, charming, and extremely accessible — a clue to how they achieved such intimacy with their typically private subjects. As the very pregnant Greenfield said: "We know what it's like to be on the other side of the camera."

Snapshot

The Subject: Daiki Chiba, radio commentator for Tokyo's J-Wave
Where: Festival Headquarters, after Daiki interviewed me. Tres new media!

Why are you here?
I'm here from Japan for my radio show to explain what the festival is and to interview publicists and distributors. We are really about describing the business side. I'm here to meet the people, not see the movies so much.

Who paid for you to come here?
My producer paid for me to come here, my company. I came here three days ago and am suffering because it is so cold. All I have is this blazer. So I've seen only a few films because it is so hard for me to get in, even with my pass, and I keep having to wait in the cold in the lines.

What film are you most excited about?
Lucky Number Slevin, which is kind of like a Reservoir Dogs thing. I saw it last night and, oh, it was pretty amazing. Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu were there, very nice and cool, very kind. Not stereotypical stars at all.

Where'd you get your boots?
In LA, like eight years ago. Combat boots. I really like them.

What's the last song you played on your iPod?
"All I Want for Chistmas," from the Love Actually soundtrack. The singer's name is Olivia Olson [blushes fiercely]. God, that's embarrassing!

Salvage actress Lauren Currie Lewis

We sat down with Lauren Currie Lewis, the star of the new slasher flick Salvage, set to premiere at midnight tonight, at the Starbucks Salon. Some highights: what it's like to be a Brooklyn girl in the middle-of-nowhere Ohio, her nightmares about blocking, and how to relive your own murder.

Director Larry Clark

Flavorpill Sundance got a chance to talk with director Larry Clark (Kids, Bully) about his new film, Wassup Rockers, which opens Slamdance, and his piece in Sundance's Destricted. Especially given that Clark had been giving interviews for hours already, he was patient and supercool. Check it out.

Snapshot

The Subject: Kathleen Sullivan, the Chicago-based aunt and godmother of the director of Wordplay
Where: Main Street

Why are you here?
I'm here to support my nephew, Patrick Creadon, the director of Wordplay. Right now, I'm passing out pencils for the movie here on Main Street, while Will Shortz does a booksigning inside.

Who paid for you to come here?
I paid my own way! We have tons of family and friends coming into town and Will has been very patient with all of us.

What film are you most excited about (aside from Wordplay)?
The one about the DA and the death row inmate... Forgiven.

Where'd you get your boots?
K-Mart... or maybe Payless. They're very reliable.

What's the last song you played on your iPod?
I don't have an iPod, but I've been listening to a lot of Adam Ant, and I also love Diana Krall. I would have loved to have been a jazz singer, but I don't have the voice.

Do Your Homework

No matter if you're about to hit the ground in Park City or following the madness from afar, it's good to be prepared. In the run-up to the festival, indieWire is publishing sixty interviews with filmmakers. Q&As with So Yong Kim (In Between Days) and Juan Carlos Rulfo (In the Pit) were just added. If that's still not enough, the Reeler has profiles of New York City films and filmmakers at the 2006 festival, including Flannel Pajamas' Jeff Lipsky and Paul Rachman and Steven Blush of American Hardcore. Collect them all!

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