Aviators and a Camera Home of Aviator-wearing Photographer Kirsten Alana

Flying into Salt Lake City, I felt a sense of excitement seeing the mountains in the distance. Whatever happened during Sundance Film Festival, I knew that being in the mountains was going to be rewarding in its own sense. Being raised in Vermont, I certainly have a weakness for all things high elevation.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The physical views of Utah were beautiful. Sundance Film Festival was incredible. I never did get to meet Robert Redford. I did meet a handful of other celebrities. I definitely recommend Sundance to other travelers …

I think I summed up the experience best in my last post for Expedia.com

“The Sundance Film Festival is so much more than just a place one goes to see a few movies and hopefully spot a few celebrities [if that's your thing]. My few days in Park City, Utah first and foremost convinced me of the natural beauty present in Utah that I really had no pre-conceived notions of. Not only was my visit to Park City my first time at Sundance, it was my first time in Utah. I’d gladly return to both, and that’s not something I often say about any United States locale since I am the type overly-preoccupied with international destinations. (Paris, you’re still my first love.)

Sundance founder, Robert Redford – said,

“How would it have been if I’d had a mentor when I started, someone within the industry to help me find my voice? This is what I am trying to do here, my way of giving back to an industry that’s been really good to me.”.

That spirit is still found as a thread throughout all of Park City during Sundance even though the Sundance Film Festival itself has changed somewhat over the years. Corporate advertising is now as common as LA women in tottering 5 inch heels but the spirit of much of what corporate interests do, does seem to be that of helping people. Whether it is helping them by providing a place to escape the cold and warm up or providing information for making the most of the festival there’s an air of helpfulness at Sundance I haven’t experienced at other industry festivals (and I’ve been to my fair share). Locals give of their time freely to help visitors out. There are reporters helping other reporters, screenwriters and producers sitting at Java Cow mentoring other, younger screenwriters and producers and even celebrities with enough manners not to be a diva about basic social interaction [Seth Rogen, thank you, you know what you did].

Maybe I am over-romanticizing an industry event thats core goal is to sell. Movies. Talent. Commodities of the film industry. I guess that’s my right as the person who reported about it in this instance. It is, honestly, the feeling I am left with now that my plane has left Utah and I am back in jaded New York City.

Would I recommend Sundance to a traveler who has no tangible connection to the film industry? Yes! Really. Go for the movies, sure. Plan early and plan wisely and it might be the most fun you will ever have watching more than one movie in one week. However, don’t go just for the movies. Don’t believe that Sundance is only about movies. For instance, if you love to ski, snowboard or generally spend time on the slopes – this is the time to visit Park City. So many people make downtown their focus during Sundance that the slopes are less crowded than normal. If you’re a music lover, the ASCAP Music Cafe really does make major artists more accessible than at other venues. I listened to A Fine Frenzy and was so close to Alison that I felt as if she might have been in my living room. If I owned a mansion that could accommodate three families, that is. Seriously, it was perhaps one of the best concert experiences I’ve had. It didn’t last long enough but it was so memorable. (If I had stayed longer in Park City, I would have been able to have the same experience again with David Gray. That is, before I got kicked out for rushing the stage and trying to kiss him.) If you like food, the restaurants in Park City are worth the trip to Utah on their own. Why not come during Sundance when you might just find yourself sitting next to Malin Akerman [as I did] while enjoying that amazing meal! And as I’ve stated, Utah is simply so physically beautiful in the Park City area. Next time I return, I’ll be renting a car so I can drive up into the mountains to capture landscape photographs. My only regret in this trip is that I wasn’t driving myself and knew that every cab driver I had would have kicked out if I’d asked them to stop the vehicle every time I wanted to take another Ansel-Adams-esque wide shot. Sigh. Not every trip can be perfect. This, was as close as it gets.”

Many thanks to Expedia for giving me the opportunity to attend Sundance Film Festival so I could share it with all of you. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey!”

Since my theme won’t currently allow me to embed the video I shot [working on fixing this] … check out the YouTube channel Expedia set up where I did a video diary style capture every day of my experience at Sundance Film Festival.
Now I want to go to Sundance London….

I don’t remember when it was that I developed a crush on Robert Redford but let’s just say I was probably inappropriately young. I grew up obsessed with movies and he was one of the many handsome stars I couldn’t help but swoon over. Naturally, I’ve followed his career with glee rarely missing a movie he makes. So when I was old enough to realize what Sundance really was and what it was about, of course I was interested. In the end, not just because Redford founded it but because it supports independent art and film. Two of my great loves …

So it is with a rather ridiculous amount of excitement that I am boarding a plane this Wednesday to cover the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah for Expedia. I’m checking off a bucket list item and attempting to brush away the butterflies that tell me I am not the kind of woman who can hang with celebrities as if it’s just any normal day in the life of. It’s ok – because Expedia can help anyone have incredible travel experiences and the point of my going to Park City is to show that. Sundance isn’t just for celebrities and neither is Park City during the festival.

That’s my theory anyway.

Since I have never been to Park City, Utah or Sundance Film Festival I’m enlisting your help. Expedia is getting me there. Can you help me get around, once I am there? What should I do? Where should I go? How would *YOU* do Sundance Film Festival?

I’ll be creating special content every day in the form of photographs, video and written stories. I’ll be experimenting with timelapse and I’ll be tweeting with the hashtag #SundanceTrip. Participate by giving me tips and bossing me around (even if you have never been, what would you do if you did go?) and if I do something you have suggested you’ll get a nod of thanks in one of our videos on Expedia’s YouTube channel.

I’m off to make a list of the movies I want to see and plan my wardrobe for maximum attractiveness to Robert Redford… (Ok, I kid about that last part. Sort of.)

All images courtesy Sundance Press Center. Thanks to Expedia for giving me the opportunity to visit Sundance. As always, editorial is my own despite trip sponsorship.

I woke up on the first day of 2012 in Berlin, pleasantly surprised to find my hearing had returned after being shattered from an evening of firecrackers and rock n’ roll during Silvester. The city was actually quiet and I made my way out into the gray drizzle on an art-finding and bratwurst-eating mission.

My first stop was a return to the Brandenburg Gate to again see the Beck’s Green Box Project and since I was able to get closer to the gate with no barriers, it was a better experience than it had been the night before.

I wandered by the Reichstag, and longed to know more German. There were monuments and memorials whose meaning I could guess – yet not confirm. There was history I tried to pull from the recesses of my college-educated and European-obsessed mind. As I wandered, I came upon evidence of the revelry of the previous evening and I felt my stomach rumble for bratwurst as I walked past a curry stand.
View full post »

I flew into Berlin at lunchtime on New Year’s Eve. Already the sound of firecrackers was echoing off concrete and glass buildings during my drive from Tegel to my hotel. A cold Beck’s Beer calmed my nerves and kept me from jumping every time the sound made me think of gunshots before revelry.

Then, while the light faded and night overtook the city, I hopped on the U-Bahn to the S and finally emerged onto the street a few blocks from Silvester. View full post »