In December the Sundance Film Festival announced their line-up for 2010. I knew the mother of all film fest’s tickets would be expensive but my love of film soon had me browsing the festival passes ranging from $300-$3,000. Yea, right! I started thinking I could volunteer for the film fest to gain inside access and go for free, but the sign-up deadline had already passed. Then I noticed the individual tickets option. I clicked on it and what do you know? A lottery. Sundance is so popular you have to enter a lottery to get a chance to purchase a ticket. I said what the hell and entered in my info. About two weeks later I got the email saying I was able to purchase.
A friend of mine lives in Jackson, WY so it worked out perfectly because I was already planning to visit. Plus my friend wanted to go to Sundance so we were just a short road trip away from Park City, UT.
I flew out opening weekend of Sundance but was headed to Jackson first. My layover was in Salt Lake City and I was about to exit the plane when Bradley Cooper from “The Hangover” walks out of first class and starts talking with the guy that was sitting right next to me on the flight. It then dawned on me as to why my fellow passenger was reading scripts the whole flight. Anyways, I caught my connecting flight into Jackson and was soon in the town adorned by arcs made of deer antlers.
Jackson offered plenty of excitement for the next five days. One can’t complain when the reason for waking up early is to ski. 
I had never skied anything like this. Even Jackson Hole Mountain Resort reminded me of that. They have a sign before you get on the tram that says, “Safety Message: Our Mountain Is Like Nothing You Have Ever Skied Before.” 
That wasn’t the most affirming message to read right before you step on a hunk of metal that takes you up to the top at 10,450 vertical ft. Best part of skiing Jackson Hole is the waffles on the top of the mountain. There is a little lodge that sells the golden brown good stuff and it shouldn’t be missed.
After a long day of skiing I recommend buying a growler. A growler is a huge beer mug that holds the equivalent of about six beers. You get it filled up at the local breweries and liquor stores. I recommend splitting one with a friend. It’s a local tradition and only costs $7. In fact the first growler refill station was in Jackson. Snake River Brewery is a microbrewery that is generous with its growler refills.
Jackson was awesome but it was time to hit the road for Sundance. The Grand Teton mountain is absolutely gorgeous. If you are passing through Jackson on a road trip try and do so during the day to see the beautiful scenery.
Being in Sundance for closing weekend was like a dream. I work in indie film because I love it and being surrounded by the cream of the crop was so inspiring.
We saw seven films while we were there. The flicks were:
GASLAND (U.S.)
My Perestroika (Russia)
Temptation of St. Tony (Estonia)
Southern District (Bolivia)
Me Too (Spain)
Douchebag (U.S.)
Shock Doctrine (U.S.)
“My Perestroika” we actually weren’t supposed to see. We were supposed to see “Pepperminta” (Switzerland-Austria) but a mix up in venues led us to learn about growing up in Russia during the cold war. I'm actually glad the mix up happened because it was an excellent film. The Director of “Southern District” took me by surprise when he unbuttoned his shirt before the screening to reveal the t-shirt of my alma mater. It was pure coincidence! “Me Too” of course made me miss Spain, especially Andalucia. The Producer of “Temptation of St. Tony” told us that after seeing this we have seen 50% of Estonia’s films for 2010. Apparently they usually only make two a year.
We stayed at a hotel in Salt Lake City to avoid Sundance’s hotel prices. The best find in Salt Lake City was Mrs. Backer’s pastry shop. We had been driving past the place every morning on our way to Sundance and it looked so inviting. We finally went in there to see the place colored in pastels with glass cases full of chocolate cake, fresh donuts, a variety of cookies, and perfectly frosted cupcakes. The owner was there that day so I asked her to tell me about the place. To my surprise this place would be perfect for a short documentary film!
Rene, the owner, told me that Mrs. Backer’s had been open since 1941 and is now owned by the third generation of family who originally started it. The “Backers” can be traced back more than 700 years. She said they still have the old German recipes and use the wooden cookie presses that were brought over from Germany when the Backers immigrated to America.
Outside of the shop I asked some customers what they thought about the doughnuts. One of the guys happened to be from Portland, Oregon home of the famous Voodoo Doughnut. I had heard of the place on the Travel Channel. He took a bite from his doughnut and said that Mrs. Backers topped Voodoo!
A lot was packed in that week. Looking back to December, with me sitting in front of my laptop clicking the submit button for Sundance’s ticket lottery, I can’t help but think "Doesn’t hurt to try!"
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