Jacob Thorley–Sundance: My One Study-Away

I never thought I would have an opportunity to attend the Sundance Film Festival at an age where I’d still be in school.  When the opportunity came up I was rather excited and did what I could to secure the funds.  Now that the trip is almost over, I look back on a great experience where much was learned and lots of fun was had.
Jacob Thorleyy at Sundance Film Festival
Jacob Thorley at Sundance Film Festival
Over approx. 8 days, I was able to watch 17 movies and 6 educational panels among other events, the majority of which were covered by the Adrenaline Pass.  It has been rather inspiring to see these movies (most of which I enjoyed quite a bit) and be able to hear directly from the people who made them.  With the exception of maybe 3 of the films I saw, they were followed by a Q&A with the director and other creators involved, be it actors, producers, composers, etc.  As an aspiring filmmaker, the information is not lost as these films were made on smaller budgets and seeing so many allows for great comparison on what you may or may not be able to accomplish.

The panels varied from discussing financing, marketing, production, ethics among other things.  There were so many of them that overlapped that it was impossible to see everything I wanted to, but it was nice knowing there was usually always something to do when not taking some much needed down time.  Some films were much better than others, but that’s the gamble you take watching any movie.  Here, however, the majority of these movies have not been seen anywhere else so there is little information and reviews on them, which I like.  There is a bit too much stock put into things like Rotten Tomatoes in my opinion and it was refreshing to attend world premiers of movies and witness them with virgin eyes.

Taylor Harrison, Tyler Cobaugh, Brenna Sherrill, Kaitylynn Smith, Ted Hovet, Bradley Englert, Dakota and Blake Bragdon, Dawn Hall, Ryan Duvall, Kaitlin Westbrook,Michael Nowlin, Caleb Peyman, Jacob Thorley, Wes Manakee, Tyler McDowell, Jayme Powell, Leah Railey, Coleman Martin taking a group photo in front of the Egyptian Theatre at Sundance
Jacob Thorley with classmates taking a group photo in front of the Egyptian Theatre at Sundance
The trip to Sundance was very informative and I had a lot of fun as well.  The best part was the freedom to create your own schedule and see/do what you wanted based on your schedule and your interests instead of everyone being required to see certain films and panels while here.  I’m glad I was able to attend the festival’s 30th year and I hope to return someday.

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