This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photos: Paul Trinh

Look again. The festival is here and is ready to begin, or so goes the motto of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. “Look again” is the declarative statement signifying those returning patrons, as well as longtime staff members and volunteers reuniting once again just for the thrill of seeking out freshly-made films.

Over at Sundance Headquarters, the bulk of the volunteers have all  just about checked-in with their assignments and shift schedules, plus getting weighed down with all the swag being given out. The press are also trudging their way to HQ with their own check-in, with bagfuls of press kits, schedules, and packets that are necessary for online and blog write-ups.

This year, I will witness firsthand the complete inner workings of the Press Office at Headquarters. Being that a press position finally opened up for Clips Report Associate, I will be immersed in the buzz and frenzy that usually permeates the cold mountain air in this Utah town of Park City.  My job function entails researching and logging Sundance coverage taken from the many press outlets that have written about the festival, i.e., The New York Times, Variety, BBC, USA Today, ScreenDaily.com, to name a few. These articles are then forwarded to my press coordinator for review. She then selects from these for a short-listed collection of articles to be sent out as an e-mail blast to members of the Sundance Institute. So when it is received as an email, it will be a daily snapshot of what’s occurring at the festival.

The official start of the festival starts tomorrow, but there’s still some pre-Sundance events to attend to. Exclusive perks given only to volunteers are the screenings that don’t require a ticket and the lavish Volunteer Welcome Party that is held every year in a cavernous, two-story ski lodge.

Categories: FilmTags: film, Sundance Film Festival