From humble beginnings to a film festival standing on its own two feet, Slamdance is out to have a good year. And consequently, bring even more tourism dollars to Main Street.
Peter Baxter, the creator of Slamdance, has been hard at work preparing for film festival week.
In the first year, Slamdance was a way for Baxter and a handful of other directors who were turned down to be screened in Sundance to still get their films on the big screen. With a matter of a few hundred of dollars and what Baxter called “an amazing amount of free hours” the festival was born.
“Today, you can see the gradual development of the festival,” Baxter said. “Now we have sponsorship, ticket sales and passes increase every year.”
The festival began in 1999 with a total of 48 submissions. This year, Baxter received more than 5,000 films and shorts to review, screening roughly 100 of those submitted.
“It may be just as hard to get into Slamdance as Sundance now,” Baxter said. “There’s some really hard competition.”
More than submissions have grown. The festival budget is well into the six-figure mark, Baxter said. From one cash sponsor in 1999 of just $500 to today, Slamdance now has more than 50 cash paying sponsors.
“Tickets are very close to selling out right now,” he added. “We now have over 400 pass sales, an increase by 25 percent from last year alone.”
Andy Beerman, the owner and operator of Treasure Mountain Inn where Slamdance is held, said he has seen festivals come and go but Slamdance remained.
“I’ve seen dozens if not more festivals crop up and leave,” Beerman said, “but Slamdance has been consistent and stayed true to original mission. It has not tried to compete with Sundance, rather it carved out its own niche.”
Though he doesn’t have a typical business background the British-born director and entrepreneur has two art degrees from Middlesex and Oxford a business mindset is what’s keeping Slamdance around, he said.
“I decided to treat Slamdance like business,” Baxter said, “because I realized there was no outside support for what we were trying to do. We created value for what we were doing, really monetizing what we’re doing.
“We had to monetize independent film,” he added. “That has been the harsh reality of this business.”
But it’s a plan that has paid off. Baxter expects 2012 to be the best year in Slamdance history, a goal achieved by staying true to the Slamdance mission, provide an outlet for independent and first-time filmmakers, and also making the festival as accessible as possible.
“Sundance is definite economic driver for Park City and without Sundance there would be no Slamdance,” Beerman said, “but I think it complements Sundance and allows filmmakers to attend that otherwise wouldn’t be able to.”