Sundance Film Festival Recap

Last weekend I had the honor of attending the Sundance Film Festival (!!!) as founder and editor of chief of my company, EnVi Media. And EnVi was invited there as a Gold House Gold Publisher! I CAN’T BELIEVE I GET TO EVEN TYPE THOSE WORDS OUT! The weekend itself was a complete blur of premieres, screenings, panels, and community. It was also my first time ever in Utah, and it’s now one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited.

Sundance 101

Sundance is a BIG festival, taking over the small ski town of Park City, Utah. There are movie premieres and screenings (this year there were 83 films, 53 shorts, and 35 documentaries to be exact!) happening at all the theaters in town, plus panels and side events with cast and crew. The side events I came to learn, are primarily hosted by affiliated organizations, and referred to as ‘houses’.

As a Gold Publisher, we (I was able to bring our Entertainment Editor, Heather, too!) had access to the official pan-AAPI house, Sunrise Collective, which was hosted by Gold House, TAAF, and 3AD. It’s so cool that there are multicultural organizations amplifying diverse voices at such prominent event — we saw others for the Black community, Muslim community, and LGBTQ+ community as well. Heather and I got to cover red carpets, interview talent, and attend all the cool panels Sunrise Collective hosted.

Best Views of the Mountains

While we were there for work, and didn’t really have time to explore, we did take advantage in the evenings to check out some local haunts for dinner. On our first evening, we got a tip from our Uber driver, that the best view in Park City is at the St. Regis, and the ride is completely free! So we gathered a couple of our fellow Gold Publishers, and took the scenic ride in the gondolas up to the hotel. It was magnificent!

We were able to snag a few seats at the bar for dinner, and afterwards enjoy looking out over the snowy mountains next to the outdoor fire pits. Apparently, there is a lot of daytime (or après-ski) parties that happen there too! I have the St. Regis Park City booked in my phone as a MUST visit in the future. I haven’t been skiing before, but if I’m going to do it, this is definitely the place to!

Food Worth the Hype

For the next two nights, we had reservations in advance. That was the best decision we made, because on top of Sundance, Park City was PACKED with families and tourists for ski season. On our second night, Heather and I got a full Bavarian, fondue in the mountains experience at The Goldener Hirsch restaurant. It was absolutely divine. On our last night, we had been able to snag a reservation at Yama Sushi at the famous Deer Valley Montage resort.

The famous resort was definitely something on both our bucket lists to check out, and I’m so happy we were able to. On the car ride up, it felt like we were approaching Hogwarts! Afterwards, we stepped outside to the fire pits to roast s’mores and sip on some hot cocoa before heading to the airport. The perfect ending to the perfect quick work trip!

Be sure to check out all our coverage of Sundance over on EnVi Media! And if you enjoyed this recap and what I do for work, you might also like to read my best tips for professionals HERE!