Though I have lots more to say about the Notorious B.I.G. and the two albums that put him on the map as a hip-hop icon, I have neglected Damn The Man's film buff side as of late, and would be woefully remiss if I did not give a nod to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah that has only two more days to go, unfortunately. If you want to keep up with the films and film news that is coming out of the festival this year, head on over to the official website or Flavorwire's daily blog of the fest.
The Sundance Film Festival was kind of a mythical destination for me as a budding film buff in the 90's, a kind of indie-movie Avalon where only life-changing works of art emerged from its snowcapped mountains. In hindsight, this is still true, and a recent article from Variety about Sundance's milestones over the years prompted me to feature seminal 90's Sundance films that affected not only mine, but so many other budding filmmakers lives at the time. I will start with director Kevin Smith's 1994 film "Clerks," a 90's staple film of the slacker set, namely, me and my stoned friends.
As it turns out, Sundance began life the year I was born (1978--you do the math!) as the Utah/US Film Festival based in Salt Lake City, and came into its current prominence after Robert Redford's Sundance Institute took over management of the fest and moved it to Park City in the mid-80's. Sundance continues to be a great launching pad for filmmakers (a fellow grad of the film school that I attended, his film won the World Cinema Audience Award in 2008 and subsequently went on to become the first Academy Award entry for nomination from his home country of Jordan) and is a classic 90's film institution like no other. It truly paved the way for independent film to positively change mainstream American cinema. Please enjoy the upcoming retrospective on some great films!
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