MUST l DO
THE SUNDANCE EXPERIENCE by Rebekah E. Henderson
S
undance is more than just a film festival founded by Robert Redford in Park City, Utah in 1985. It has grown into one of the world’s most prestigious events for independent filmmakers and it is an experience. Notably, Sundance 2020 featured the most diverse lineup of films in the festival’s history. A beautiful idealized version of what the film world could and should look like; a mosaic of stories told in new and innovative ways. For a person experiencing Sundance for the first time, this year’s festival was a rich, colorful gathering, full of promotional parties, free swag and a variety of programming designed to educate and inspire. If Rhyan LaMarr, a Chicago based filmmaker, had attended his first Sundance in the early 2000s he may have gone a long way on Main Street (the heart of the festival) without seeing another Black man. He may have felt out of place on his own, like he didn’t belong. If L.A.- based actress Chelsea Harris, who one hundred percent belongs in any room she graces, had decided to take her first trip to Sundance as a child, she wouldn’t have noticed how few female filmmakers were strolling down Main Street, because why would you notice something that wasn’t there? If a Jamaican-born, Los Angeles-based Animator
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Summer 2020 | www.CultursMag.com
Actress Raven Goodwin and her Husband And Rebekah.
Actor Folake Olowofoyek from CBS’ hit show “Bob Hearts Abishola.”
