SUNDANCE CHIEF: INDIE FILMS NOW DISPLAYING DIGITAL WIZARDRY

Technology is changing the very nature of independent filmmaking, Sundance director John Cooper has told the New York Times. Unveiling this year’s lineup of 117 movies, including the 16 features that have been chosen for the grand jury and audience competitions, Cooper said that the films today “are of much higher quality” than they were in years past. “We think a lot of that is coming from technology, which has freed filmmakers from limitations, including financial ones. You can do special effects now,” Cooper said. “A lot of the films in our earlier years were based on limitations — the look and feel was gritty, the writing is what drove them. … Now we’re seeing a different kind of visual boldness.” The festival, which is presented annually in Park City, Utah, is due to run from Jan. 16 to Jan. 26.