“Do we have a shot?” he asked, as he and his cohorts leaned forward in anticipation of my answer.

“You’re not going to win, but you still had one of the best films at the festival” is what I said to three members of the crew of the hysterical Sundance selection The Aristocrats right before the award ceremony started. They looked at me in disbelief.

“Why? How can you be certain?” they asked.

“You’re up against people in wheelchairs playing rugby, innocent people released from prison after 20 years, and a timely film on war.” I deadpanned.

“What does that mean? We made a great film!” they pleaded.

“Well, if you’re on the Jury, in front of all your peers, are you going to vote for 90-minutes of dirty jokes over such weighty fare? The Jury would look shallow if they didn’t recognize Murderball, After Innocence, and Why We fight.” I explained.

Just came across this review of BloggingSundance… we’re flattered, but truth is we just show up, wait in line like everyone else, and blog!

By way of example – i watched both the re-cap’ show on The Sundance Channel, and read Jason Calacanis’ daily blogs from Sundance. Jason’s was far more detailed, and more nuanced. So where do both of these media properties fall? The Sundance Channel is professional’ but biased (it’s their film fest after all). Jason isn’t a professional film critic, but he’s active and honest about both his likes and dislikes and his personal relationships with some of the filmmakers. Jason was shooting video at CES, and i watched that as well. He’s the kind of content entrepreneur that the networks should be concerned about – because i’d watch his take on Sundance over Entertainment Tonight any day of the week.

Many more photos after the jump

Went to see Me, You, and Everyone We Know last night. I think it was my 18th, and perhaps last, film of the festival. It’s an endearing and unsuspectingly mesmerizing character-driven dramathe kind of film people search for at Sundance. The film works on so many levels, and people at Sundance have been buzzing about it all week so it’s appropriate that it is the last film I’ve seen.

Turns out the star, writer, and director, Miranda July (right), worked on the story along with me for Center of the Worldalthough we never met before Sundance 2005. From what I understand she consulted on the sex, and I consulted on the dotcom stuffsmall world.

I’ll have a full review up shortly, today I’m going to do some boarding and reflect on the films I’ve seen, before finishing up my final 10 reviews.

))<>((

I’m written a lot about the chumminess and good times in the press screening at Sundance, but eFilmCritic (never heard of them) recounts a story about a breakdown in the very well established mores at the press-only Yarrow One, Two, and Holiday One theaters.

It turns out Anthony Kaufman (right) from the Village Voice (who confirms the story on his blog) left his jacket on the chair before the movie and stepped outpeople do this all the time. It’s like digging out a parking space in Boston during a blizzardit’s your spot till the snow melts, or at least for a couple of days.

However, according to the story, Ruthe Stein from the San Francisco Chronicle moved his jacket and took his seatwhoa!!! When he returned shenanigans begin, and the ending, well you’ll have to visit eFilmCritic and Kaufman’s blog. Can’t we all just get along? Come on guys get a burger at Burgies and work it out.

Here is the official information direct from Sundance the live coverage was done over a cell phone, so it was a little spotty.

The American Documentary Grand Jury Prize was given to WHY WE FIGHT, written and directed byEugene Jarecki. The American Dramatic Grand Jury Prize was presented to FORTY SHADES OF BLUE, directed byIra Sachs and written by Michael Rohatyn and Ira Sachs.

The World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize was given to SHAPE OF THE MOON (The Netherlands), directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich and written by Leonard Retel Helmrich and Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich. The World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize was presented to THE HERO (Angola/Portugal/France), directed byZ? Gamboa and written by Carla Baptista.

The American Documentary Audience Award was presented to MURDERBALL, a film directed byHenry-Alex Rubin andDana Adam Shapiro. The American Dramatic Audience Award winner is HUSTLE & FLOW, written and directed by Craig Brewer. The Audience Awards are sponsored by Volkswagen of America, and are given to a documentary and a dramatic film in Competition or American Spectrum, as voted by Film Festival audiences.

The World Cinema Documentary Audience Award was presented to SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL: THE JOURNEY OF ROM? DALLAIRE (Canada ), directed by Peter Raymont. The World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award was presented to BROTHERS (Denmark ), directed by Susanne Bier. The World Cinema Audience Awards are given to both an international dramatic and documentary film in World Cinema Competition as voted by Film Festival audiences.

The American Directing Award recognizes excellence in directing for dramatic and documentary features. The Documentary Directing Award went to Jeff Feuerzeig, director of THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON. The Dramatic Directing Award was presented to Noah Baumbach for THE SQUID AND THE WHALE.

The American Excellence in Cinematography Award honors exceptional photography in both a dramatic and documentary film at the Festival. Gary Griffin for THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX from the Documentary Competition and Amelia Vincent for HUSTLE & FLOW from the Dramatic Competition received the 2005 Cinematography Awards.

The American Dramatic Jury presents the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for outstanding achievement in writing. The 2005 prize was given to Noah Baumbach forTHE SQUID AND THE WHALE. The award is sponsored by the Utah Film Commission.

The American Documentary Jury bestowed a Special Jury Prize for Editing to MURDERBALL, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin andDana Adam Shapiro and edited byGeoffrey Richman andConor O’ Neill, and a Special Jury Prize to AFTER INNOCENCE, directed by Jessica Sanders.

The American Dramatic Jury presented Special Jury Prizes for Acting to Amy Adams, for her performance in JUNEBUG, and to Lou Pucci, for his performance in THUMBSUCKER. The Dramatic Jury also awarded Special Jury Prizes for Originality of Vision to Miranda July, who wrote, directed, and acted in ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW, and to Rian Johnson, who directed BRICK.

The World Cinema Documentary Jury presented Special Jury Prizes to THE LIBERACE OF BAGHDAD (United Kingdom), directed by Sean McAllister, and to WALL (France/Israel

Ran into David Paterson, the writer of Love, Ludlow, at the VW Lounge the other day. He’s the only filmmaker/writer from the class of 2005 I know who’s blogging their Sundance experience. If you want to hear what it’s like to have a film at the festival, including the first moments of your first screening, check it out.

Oh yeah, even the volunteers are blogging!

Sundance 2005 Slotting by First Five and Last Three Days.

First Five Days: Friday, January 21st to Tuesday, January 25th.
Last Three Days: Wednesday, January 26th to Friday, January 28th.
Note: Thursday’s Opening Premiere is grouped into First Five Days.

Here are the 11 films that had their first showing during the last three days of the festival:

• Wednesday: Lackawanna Blues; The Girl From Monday; Stranger; High School Record; The Puffy Chair; This Revolution. Thursday: Reefer Madness; Rory O’Shea Was Here; Love, Ludlow; What is it? Friday: Mysterious Skin.

There’s no question about it: Sundance essentially ended on Tuesday night. At least 75% of the crowd was gone by the time the sun came up on Wednesday, as I headed to half-filled press screenings and suddenly empty halls at the Sundance HQ.

NOTE: The 75% estimate is my eyeball based on the overall crowdsnot just the people with badges who pay to come to the festival. A very helpful Sundance staffer thought my 75% number was way off, and that my estimation of the press screenings was way off as well. He would know regarding the press screenings, since they have the actual numbers, perhaps they are not as off as I have experienced. However, 99% of the gawkers, here last week, are now gone. No one has exact stats on the number of people here, but this being my fourth Sundance, it is a really quiet here.

Trips from the Yarrow to the top of Main Street by car took five minutesnot 50. There were no more VIP parties with hundreds of hopefuls mobbing a half dozen clipboarded hipsters. The hectic battle to plant your SUV was replaced by “rock star parking” moments, where you walk 10 feet

The L.A. Times does a story on buzz at Sundance and mentions the role blogs have started to play in that process (we hear there is a good photo, but we haven’t seen it yet). It’s a long story, and I think you have to register at the site, here are some of the quotes about blogs:

It’s buzz that’s behind the $9-million acquisition of “Hustle & Flow” by Paramount and MTV Films. It’s the reason people lined up five hours early to see Pierce Brosnan portray the “anti-Bond” wearing a Speedo in “The Matador,” now a Miramax property. It’s personified by blogger Jason Calacanis, who speaks so fast he doesn’t seem to breathe, racing from

Note: This review does not tell the joke that movie is based upon, so you can read this review without worrying about spoilers.

The Aristocrats is certainly the most vulgar, and with the exception of South Park: The Movie, the funniest film I’ve ever watched. That’s particularly impressive considering it’s a documentary.

Directed by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, the doc tracks the origin, history, and cultural significance of the world’s funniest joke. The joke, which has been traveling around since the Vaudeville days, follows a basic structure which I won’t reveal in this review. Let’s just say it’s a platform on which comedians can showcase not only their style, but also the outer limits of their tastelessness.

Due to the offensive nature of the joke, it has remained within the inner sanctums of comedy for decades. It’s told in the back rooms of comedy clubs by comedians to comediansuntil now.

So compelling is this film that you can be sure that within the next couple of months people will be