No Film School writers, Alyssa Miller, GG Hawkins, and Ryan Koo discuss the opening weekend of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. We share why it has been so great to be back at Sundance in person. Also, we speak to a Powderkeg development executive about the future of indie films. In this episode, we talk about… The difficulty in choosing what to go to due to all the options Approaching your Sundance experience as if you are a character in a script Sharing our various objectives and goals for the festival Theories on the budget cuts Sundance has made The lack of distribution of the films at the festival Appreciating the happy energy of filmmakers at Sundance Powderkeg’s purpose for going to the festival How important it is to build relationships in this industry Staying true to your voice by not chasing mandates We also discuss the following Sundance films: Birth/rebirth In My Mother’s Skin Cassandro Claudio’s Song Chanshi Fantastic Machine Magazine Dreams Memorable Quotes “It’s so hard to watch a movie in the middle of your work day and feel like you’re actually at a festival.” [0:50] “Part of the filmmaker experience at Sundance is knowing where you sit in the pecking order.” [4:30] “Even if you have a film in the festival, it doesn’t mean you’re getting into the party.” [8:07] “The reality of Sundance is ditch or be ditched. And it’s gonna happen to you and you just have to accept it and go with the flow.” [8:19] “Be honest, be authentic and put yourself out there.” [35:05] Mentioned Adobe Alyssa Miller GG Hawkins Ryan Koo Powderkeg Find No Film School everywhere: On the Web https://nofilmschool.com/ Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/nofilmschool Twitter  https://twitter.com/nofilmschool YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nofilmschool Get your questions answered on the podcast by emailing editor@nofilmschool.com!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices