Since 1995, the Sundance and Slamdance film festivals started on the same days, in the same place, Park City, Utah. Two very different roommates under the same roof – the snowy mountains and the passion for independent film-making –   teasing or snubbing each other, albeit in a respectful way. The Slamdance Film Festival, starting on January 27, 2022, has often been dubbed Sundance’s ‘little step-brother,’ the naughty, wild one. And yet it has progressively grown up to finally be recognized as a force among independent filmmakers. That’s how it started, after all, when artistic director Peter Baxter joined forces with three other filmmakers to create an alternative festival after their films were rejected by Sundance.  Slamdance was born as a haven for the marginals and the ‘rejects.’

Slamdance has gained respect, with a strong presence orchestrated in its headquarters, the Treasure Mountain Inn at the top of Main Street, not far from the Egyptian Theatre, the prime hub of the Slamdance screenings and events. Today, in its virtual-only showing, just like Sundance, Slamdance founder Peter Baxter talked about this year’s programming, the festival’s evolution, and what made Slamdance a unique event in its own right for the kind of programming, the participation of its alumni filmmakers and the enduring of its original mission.

“We support self-governance among our filmmakers, so the filmmakers that are standouts at the festival are invited to come back and to program,” said British-born Baxter on the phone from his Los Angeles office. “And this really created a unique type of programming where artists themselves, who have been a part of Slamdance, continue to shape and find out its future. And because our focus is on supporting emerging filmmaking talent, that is something that we have not moved away from. And that today is still very attractive — artists themselves have shown that they can discover these great new filmmakers that go on to shape our cultural future.” 

The numbers are indeed impressive: this year alone over 250 alumni contributed to the programming of the festival, perpetuating that sense of an art collective that was seeded at the beginning when they got together to support each other’s films. “The great thing about Slamdance is that I am dealing with dissidents all the time,” Baxter said. “And we should, because we are not actually an institution.  We have been around a long time, but that doesn’t mean to say that our artists, our filmmakers, obey any rules. They don’t, which is great.”

The filmmaker-programmers have an equal vote in selecting the films for the festival. “It’s all done in a democratic way,” said Baxter. “The same artists truly decide which work they want to see at the festival. Artists need to express not just what they are making, but what others are making to help them support the future of cinema, the future of the moving image.”

This kind of programming can only lead to interesting and innovative ways to showcase new films. Last year a new section comprised of short films called ‘Unstoppable’ has now grown to include feature films and documentaries. Baxter explained its origins: “In the last few years we are talking about inclusion film-making and diversity. Slamdance has always tried to do this, paying more attention to the creators in the disabled community. And when we started looking at the representation and the misrepresentation in the entertainment industry of the disabled community, we were flawed. The figures are out there: there are about a billion people who live with a visible or an invisible disability today in the world, but only two percent of screen characters in the entertainment industry are represented as disabled. An incredible disparity. So, we started organizing and planning this two years ago, asking some who have disabilities to come and join our new ‘Unstoppable’ program.”

One of the two 2022 Slamdance opening night films is Straighten Up, Fly Right, by Kristen Abate and Steven Tanenbaum. “Kristen herself has a disability and she is the co-director and actor, giving an incredibly brave performance,” said Baxter. “It’s in Slamdance’s DNA to give a voice to talented creatives whose stories might not be discovered.”

“The other opening film is The Civil Dead by Clay Tatum,” said Baxter. “An incredibly well-written, really funny comedy, which we are really excited about showing.” This is in Slamdance’s ‘Anarchy’ program, a wild film-making ride saying goodbye to description and genre.

The persistent Covid pandemic has been a real blow to the festival as well as to the production landscape. “It’s really disappointing we can’t gather together in Park City,” said Baxter. “But in this misfortune, there’s also an opportunity to really envision what a festival can be, which for us is a decentralized approach to showcasing a festival online. Last year we experimented with a new platform, and we saw an increased audience for Slamdance all over the world. Our ‘All Access Pass’ costs just ten dollars, and if you are a student it’s only five dollars. It’s often very expensive to go to film festivals, to fly in and spend the money on accommodation. And if you are a young filmmaker, that’s an obstacle.

“This year we have actually launched our own dedicated channel, the Slamdance Channel, which you will able to access through Apple, Roku, and other apps as well. It will include mostly Slamdance films, but not exclusively, as we continue on our mission.”