Hustle & Flow It was one of the first films I saw for Sundance, and it really blew me away with its energy and filmmaking. It's the perfect film to kick-start the festival.
Writers panel One of the beauties of the festival is to get to hear firsthand from the people who create these pieces, and the writers are a phenomenal group who have very different approaches and have crafted some memorable Vegas films. It's a really exciting opportunity to hear them talk about it.
Radiant A really fascinating, challenging film that shows how much you can do with limited resources. It manages to create an entirely futuristic world on a relatively low budget. It's independent filmmaking at its most creative.
Morvern Callar Samantha Morton is one of her generation's greatest actresses. She's not as well known as a lot of other people who have accomplished much less because she transforms herself so much in her films that people often don't recognize her. To see her accept her award and to see her film is a real honor.
Wim Wenders He's one of my favorite filmmakers of all time, and his film, Wings of Desire, showed me the power of film and helped me realize that I wanted to pursue a career in film. To be able to have him in the festival and present one of his new films is something people should come and check out.
Shorts They're amazing little pieces of cinema you can't see anywhere else. Filmmakers have made these purely out of passion, for the joy of the movie-making. To be able to check them out in a theater is a rare opportunity, and something that people should really come check out and fall in love with shorts like I did.