Originally posted at the Chronicle-Tribune online. By Andrew Neel.

Taylor University senior Angie Lindahl talks to Cherien Dabis, director of the independent film Amreeka after the Sundance Film Festival’s showing of the movie Monday in Park City, Utah.

Film festival a place to learn

Taylor professor turns Sundance into term course
By Andrew Neel
Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009 1:09 AM EST

PARK CITY, UTAH — Every year more than 40,000 directors, producers, actors and aspiring filmmakers descend on the town of Park City, Utah, for the annual Sundance Film Festival. The past two years, a group of students and professors from Taylor University have been part of that crowd.

Sundance is known as a haven for independent films and filmmakers, and Taylor media communication professor Kathy Bruner has turned the Sundance experience into a January term course titled Seminar on Independent Film. Sunday, a group of 10 students joined the professor and her husband on the trip to Park City, Utah, where the class was scheduled to watch more than a dozen films over the course of this week. Bruner said the goal is for students to think critically about the films, particularly the role faith plays in the story. 

“I think it’s a unique opportunity to focus on film content,” she said. “We do a lot on campus with film production, but this is an opportunity for reflection.”

These films cover a wide range of genres and topics, from Amreeka, a film following a Palestinian woman’s immigration to the U.S., to Don’t Let Me Drown, which tells the story of a teenage romance in post-9/11 Brooklyn. The students have also been able to see several high-profile screenings, such as Taking Chance, a military drama starring Kevin Bacon, and Passing Strange, a Spike Lee-directed documentary of a Broadway musical about a musician’s search for meaning.

Taylor junior Josh Kennedy said watching the festival’s films through an analytical lens has been an exciting approach to viewing media.

“I wanted to experience a real-world application of what we’re learning in the classroom and to see other people utilizing what I’m learning,” Kennedy said. “I think my biggest goal would be to … see deeper into the heart of the film — to see what makes it tick.”

The festival is also a networking opportunity for the group of aspiring filmmakers, as established producers and directors walk the same streets as the students. Junior Sarah Lu said she hopes to learn more about the industry while at the festival.

“I’m just absolutely blown over by the fact that I’m here,” Lu said. “I really came to Sundance in hopes of gaining a better understanding of where I’m at in film — and where my niche is.”

Bruner said she is grateful that Taylor can participate in the festival, both for the real-industry experience and the provoking discussions that can take place.

“It’s just a great pressure-cooker environment for incredible conversation,” she said. “When you try and teach media in a cornfield in Indiana, there are some natural barriers. You’ve got to go where things are happening.”