‘A JOURNEY TO SUNDANCE’, “One Hell of a Journey”
'A JOURNEY TO SUNDANCE’ is about the spirit, dreams and struggles of independent filmmakers from all over the world, as well as my own struggles to finish this enormous undertaking.
After graduating from “THE LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL”, in 2003, where I studied directing, screenwriting, producing and editing, I set off on a journey to film ‘JOURNEY TO SUNDANCE’, my first feature documentary film about the Sundance Film Festival and independent filmmaking. This Documentary took a total of 13-years to fully complete. I was producer, director and host/interviewer in the film.
It was called “SUNDANCING” in the beginning. We went to Park City, Utah, for the first time January 2004, then 2005, 2006 and then 2007 and filmed stories, GOOD, BAD and EVERYTHING in-between. We changed the name to “JOURNEY TO SUNDANCE”, as well.
We initially planned to finished and release the film in 2014, as per the https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302010/ entry on IMDB, when I was invited to screen it at the ‘Alternative Light’ Exhibition in Monaco, as a Work-in-Progress screening.
To my surprise, the exhibit was dedicated to ROBERT REDFORD’s pencil sketches of "Nude Woman” he did in College in 1957.
As FATE would have it, my booth happened to be next to Sibylle Szaggars-Redford, his wife, who was there on Robert’s behalf. She was surprised that my film was about her husband and took a copy home.
About a month later, Greg, her assistant contacted me by email to tell me he watched the film with Redford’s and they all loved it!
2. If you've ever wondered how
projects make it from the
ambitious minds of up and
coming directors all the way to
Sundance screens, now's your
chance.
Julian Starks takes you
behind the scenes with indie
filmmakers as they pursue
national prestige.
3. Hollywood Filmmakers LLC,
led by Starks, announced the
release of its feature-length
title, “A Journey to
Sundance”.
Throughout its examination of
the world-renowned Sundance
Film Festival, you’ll find incisive
commentary on the many
challenges of independent
filmmaking.
4. You’ll follow a group of young,
enthusiastic filmmakers on a
thirteen-year quest to uncover
the true meaning of
independent cinema.
Initially meant to be a homage to the
Sundance Film Festival, it soon
developed into an in-depth survey
of the challenges faced by young
directors who operate outside the
Hollywood studio system.
5. Robert Redford, veteran
Hollywood actor and the founder
of Sundance Institute, watched an
earlier version of the documentary
after his wife chanced upon it at
an exhibition in Monaco.
After enthusiastically
receiving the film, he later
advised Starks to edit and
re-shoot certain sequences.
6. You can check out the film
on streaming services
including Tubi and Google
Play.
Starks’ documentary is a deep-
dive into the behind-the-scenes
hurdles, anxiety and tenacity of
young directors who set out to
realize their Sundance dream.
