Posted on 01/15/2004 9:36:42 PM PST by fedupwithlibs
For the most part, Hollywood is bone-deep liberal. And the Sundance Film Festival -- all indie motivations aside -- is, essentially, a mountaintop suburb of Hollywood. What better ground for Democrats to work for campaign money and recruits than Sundance? And no more opportune time to stir hearts than a presidential election year when the incumbent is President Bush.
With that thinking in mind, the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean supporters and organizers of MoveOn.org have scheduled screenings and fund-raisers in Park City next week. To top it off, former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, are expected to be at an exhibition Saturday of photographs related to a documentary film.
The Gores' expected stroll at the Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery on Main Street might be the best chance for political junkies to go stargazing. MoveOn.org, the online political action committee, will screen the winners of the "Bush in 30 Seconds" competition on Jan. 21 at J.B. Mulligan's Club. And Utah for Dean volunteers will screen "Project DeanLight" television ads produced by local filmmakers at Park City Mountain Resort on Jan. 23, picking a winner to send on to the former Vermont governor.
But the big-ticket event is the Democratic National Committee's fledgling fund-raiser. For $1,000 a person -- filmmakers pay $250 -- the crowd at Easy Street Brasserie on Monday night will watch the worldwide premiere of "Let the Church Say Amen."
Lacking a Democrat in the White House, Utah Democratic Party Chairman Donald Dunn says, the national party is reaching out to less traditional groups at "more natural" venues to raise money for its 2004 presidential run. "Filmmakers are a progressive community," he said. "There's no question that there are a lot of people at Sundance who aren't naturally political, but have very strong feelings about where the country is going."
Politics and Sundance are not antithetical. The very nature of independent filmmaking -- without the funding or sanitizing influence of big studios -- is political. Sundance documentary films often skewer mainstream politics and touchy subjects. The American Foundation for AIDS Research has hosted benefit parties at Sundance before. And Gore attended screenings of a Planned Parenthood short film, "The Pursuit of Happiness," and "American Splendor" during the 2003 festival. But the sheer number of political events this year is notable.
Dunn figures the Sundance fund-raising party is a test. "This is an experiment for the Democratic National Committee to try to reach out to a new group of people and a younger group of people," Dunn said. "These are not the Stephen Spielbergs, who have made millions. They're just getting started. By getting them involved early, this is a way to get them hooked in."
Utah Film Commission Director Leigh von der Esch says the Sundance politicking could be modeled on Dean's successful, technology-based campaign for younger voters.
"It's an election year," she said. "Campaigns are using the Internet and the visual industry to tap into people who were not active in politics before. There's a certain demographic they're trying to reach."
But trying to capitalize on Sundance has its risks. The idea of the national party holding its hand out during the festival has raised the hackles of some Sundance observers.
Jeffrey Wells in his online industry column "Hollywood Elsewhere" encourages Sundance loyalists to picket outside the Easy Street Brasserie that night.
"Bring your own poster-board placards. Bring your anger and vocal chords. Bring your heart and convictions!" Wells wrote. "Make things as uncomfortable as possible for the corporate piggybackers who are in Park City to do nothing but make money and suck the blood out of a once-vibrant film festival. Go away, leeches (even if you're claiming to use your donation money to help fight George Bush). Find some other congregation to fleece!"
Let's get the robots programmed early.
Need some help.
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