Last week, the Sundance Film Festival announcement He will soon leave his house of four decades in Park City, Utah, to Boulder, Colorado. The intestinal reaction of many was “why did they leave?” Some close observers responded by focusing on the “policy“Angle to explain the jump to the state line – that it was all about “Leave the red state for a blue.”
But the passage from Utah to Colorado was not political. It was personal. A reasonable and rational choice to protect future participants and preserve the integrity of the festival against hostile state politicians. The closest, the Sundance Institute came to an explanation was only one line in the announcement press release Stressing “the welcoming environment of Boulder” and the alignment of the new location with the “ethics” of the film festival.
Translation: Utah has become an average state. While Utah leaders often All Some economic success, there is much more in life than money. Women do not succeed: Utah spent 10 years old down in a major Annual classification equality of girls and women. A schoolboy was target by a member of the Utah State School Board (and the Legislative Assembly I chose not to indict for this offense). Other children are now fear further attacks And shame. Partly in response, professionals have started to go out The state.
When they were asked to summarize the Utah legislative session last year, local journalists note It was distinctly “less friendly” towards people “on the sidelines” and that he distinguished himself for “the legislature wanting to do things has people rather than For people. “Utah was measured as one of America the rude States, perhaps because it does everything possible to manifest itself as being inevitable for women, LGBTQ + people and, strangely, the Californians. Governor Spencer Cox has said He “loved people to stay in California instead of coming as a refugee in Utah”. Shortly after him joke He “would love to build a wall around our state”. Not exactly hot (or all that funny).
A bit like the state senator who, after the announcement, immediately went to X proclaim::
“Sundance promotes porn
Sundance promotes alternative lifestyles
Sundance promotes anti-LDS themes
Sundance no longer enters Utah.
The new UTAH brand is, in a word, hatred.
For many, it goes against the common public image – a shredder, smiling Utahn, perhaps an adorable character of “The Book of Mormon”. The governor likes to proclaim the “way utah”, which local journalist defined as A place where “politics and the development of politicians are really beautiful and polite”. But like the smile of the seller of used cars, it can be a front. There is often much more in history and some are not so beautiful.
Complete disclosure: I lived in Utah by the way and because of military service) over the past decade. Our family called Park City for the past two years before Sundance announced. I followed from the epicenter of the decision, which is why the factors of the public competition often reflected those of our own private considerations. And, like Sundance, our family said goodbye to Utah. We recently decamped for Colorado.
It gives me no joy to write these words. Our family has chosen Utah once and greatly hoped that this is going on. There are a lot of wonderful and nice people there. For example, I was just at Salt Lake City airport and I spoke with a woman who had voluntary at the film festival in the past 22 years. It was clear that she was sad. I was sad for her and the large local community that supports the festival for so long and so well.
But there is no doubt that the departure of Sundance is the direct result of a public life which was deliberately polluted by the politicians of Utah, who used bad laws and intimidate the chairs to poison the atmosphere as much as the legendary smog inversion which often leaves Salt Lake City with some of the worst air in the United States
The Californians have beaten a way to Utah since John Ford made John Wayne a star with “Stagecoach” from 1939. Part of this artistic migration included Robert Redford, who bought and demonstrated what later became the Sundance Resort in the late 1960s. Redford also created the Sundance Institute, the organization that would grow and manage the festival movie.
The annual Trek in Sundance was not only an excuse for a ski getaway in the city of Park amusing (Just ask Gwyneth). It was the springboard of a filmmaker, to transform the coming as a prosecutor is there, that is to say, including Ryan Coogler, Steven Soderbergh, Ava Duvernay and the two Andersons (Wes and Paul Thomas). It is surprising that Park City – such a small place in such a small state (the whole population of Utah is smaller than that of the city of Los Angeles) was an excellent partner and had a big impact on California.
For UTAH, loss is a blow. Last year, the festival generated $ 132 million for the State, more than 1,700 jobs, nearly $ 70 million in UTAH wages and around 14 million dollars in state and local tax revenue. Beyond money, Park City will lose its HEFT as the annual axis on which the culture of the world film shot in January.
The more frightening part of the decision of Sundance is what she says about the times we live. It seems that we have entered America Third red fear. Of course, it presents particular problems and problems in our own era, but the net result is the same – a dedicated effort to cut sections of people entirely of participation in public and artistic life.
Although maybe no one in Utah maintains a Hollywood black list at the state level, they don't have to do so. Utah has created an environment so hostile to certain artists that they have reached another form of censorship. You don't need to ban people if they felt unwanted by fear.
The states that insist on drawing bright red lines between what is ideologically acceptable and unacceptable will be those where films are controlled by politicians and art is destroyed by Diktat. And when these lines are traced, everyone loses.
Ml Cavanaugh is the author of the next book “Best Scar Winds: How You Can't more than before.” @Mlcavanaugh
