their footage is found a year later. It grossed over
$140 million in the United States alone.
Impact During the 1990’s, the Sundance Film Fes-
tival changed from a low-profile venue for small-
budget films to become the most significant show-
case for independent films. This annual ten-day
event became the place where unknown film cre-
ators could become famous overnight, often with
studio executives or distribution companies in a bid-
ding war over their films. For instance,The Blair
Witch Project, filmed with a budget of $35,000, sold
for over $1 million after a midnight screening at
Sundance.
Filmmakers whose big break came at Sundance in
the 1990’s include Quentin Tarantino, Ed Burns,
Kevin Smith, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Robert
Rodriguez. With fame and commercial success,
many Sundance filmmakers eventually became part
of mainstream cinema and Hollywood. The festival
itself had become a major media and marketing
event by the end of the decade, but Sundance con-
tinued its commitment to showcase the world’s most
creative independent films.Further Reading
Biskind, Peter.Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax,
Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film. New
York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Entertaining nar-
rative of how Robert Redford, the Sundance Film
Festival, and the Weinstein brothers of Miramax
promoted the growth of independent AmericanThe Nineties in America Sundance Film Festival 821
Robert Redford speaks at a press conference for the filmFour Weddings and a Funeralduring the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.
(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)