Halogen producer Brian Conlon attended Sundance this year in an effort to spread the word about Halogen TV and to find potential new documentaries for our network. He offered this recap of the week filled with snow, crowds and great films:

Sundance HQ – Day 1

Sundance Headquarters is where it all begins.  First order of business is to get my credentials for the festival.  It really feels like you are in LA with all of the traffic.  Everyone is just getting in to town on day one, so finding a parking spot around head quarters takes about 20 minutes of driving around.  Park City, Utah, is a small town that really isn’t built to handle the masses.  But they do an excellent job of getting people around once the festival gets underway.  There are shuttles that run for most of the day and they transport you to all of the venues.  Credentials in hand…I am ready to take meetings and spread the word about Halogen.

Sundance Screen – Day 2

Day 2 starts very early for me as I have an 8:30 a.m. meeting.  The drive in to the festival takes awhile as traffic and weather are pretty crazy.  I believe they had a few feet of snow accumulation over the weekend.  At one point I saw dump trucks hauling away snow because it was piling up and not melting.  Most of my meetings are held at the Yarrow Hotel.  A lot of premieres are held here where cast and crew have their pictures taken in front of the Sundance Screen.  The place is crawling with fellow industry peeps and the atmosphere is amazing all weekend.  I continue taking meetings into the evening.

Sundance Waiting Tent – Day 3

This is just one of the heated waiting tents outside of a theater.  If you do not have tickets or a pass then you can show up day of and wait in line for tickets.  These tents are a great idea because the weather is cold and snowy with blistering winds.  Back to the Yarrow for meetings and finally I get a chance to see a film.  The film is called “A Small Act,” an inspirational documentary that details how one Kenyan student’s life was changed by a small donation from a stranger.  Trust me when I say that the sentence doesn’t do the film justice…..go see it when it comes out!  At the end of the film people stand and ask where/how they can make a donation.  It is a very empowering film.  Bill Gates is actually in attendance among other celebrities.

Egyptian – Day 4

As my trip nears to an end I take a stroll up and down Main Street.  I come across the famous Egyptian Theater where they kicked off the festival this year.  The Egyptian is probably the most famous of all theaters at Sundance.  As you can see, it is still snowing heavily.  All and all Sundance was a very productive and fun trip.  I met a lot of talented filmmakers and industry professionals.  Keep watching Halogen because I am sure you will see some of their work on air in the near future.