SPECIAL REPORT | OVERVIEW | MOVIE GALLERY

Park City buzz: It's awards day

Lots of films, no sure things

In a year with more than 140 entries, the Sundance Film Festival has left Park City visitors at a loss for a good, clear bet as Saturday's awards program nears.

By Anne Hubbell
Special to CNN

PARK CITY, Utah (CNN) -- With the end of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival in sight, attendees are wondering when the cream will rise.

Heading into the awards ceremony on Saturday evening, few obvious front-runners have emerged. Although several films have been acquired for theatrical distribution (perhaps the best prize of all), potential commercial success doesn't always translate into festival honors.

Sundance awards have become increasingly important. Distribution contracts, film deals and critical acclaim await the winners announced on Saturday. Examples: Last year's Sundance winners "In the Bedroom" and "Hedwig and the Angry Itch" will be vying for Golden Globes on Sunday evening.

Most veteran festivalgoers agree that this year's event has been subdued. People have concentrated on getting their work done and going home early.

While several films have received good reviews, the word on Park City streets is that there aren't many must-see flicks.

Robert Redford -- whose Sundance Institute has run the Sundance Film Festival since 1985 -- meets with members of the press in Park City. The festival was founded by the Utah Film Commission in 1978. It was renamed the Sundance Film Festival in 1991.

It could be that this year's crop of independent films isn't as strong as past fests. Or perhaps the sheer number of projects is overwhelming: With more than 140 programs being screened, there may simply be so much to see that a general consensus can't be formed.

Either way, there's still plenty to talk about while standing in line for films, at parties or on the bus.

Here are some of the films, and people, places and things that are generating that all-important "buzz."

- "Tadpole" is digital feature directed by Gary Winick. It stars Sigourney Weaver and John Ritter, and is about a young man who falls in love with his stepmother.

- Patricia Cardoso's, "Real Women Have Curves" is about a young woman struggling to cope with American Barbie-doll culture and break family tradition in order to go to college. This one is being touted as the feel-right film of the festival.

"Gerry," a film by "My Own Private Idaho" director Gus Van Sant," stars the ever-together Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, but might be considered too experimental for wide distribution.

- Gus Van Sant's "Gerry" is an abstract, existential story of two friends wandering through the desert. Although the film stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, it may be too experimental to be picked up for major distribution.

- In "Two Towns of Jasper," black director Marco Williams and white director Whitney Dow simultaneously documented residents of Jasper, Texas, in the aftermath of the dragging death there of James Byrd.

- Amish teens run amok in "Devil's Playground," Lucy Walker's documentary about coming-of-age rituals in the Pennsylvania Dutch community.

- Philip Seymour Hoffman's character in "Love Liza" is one he describes as "a very nice man, a Gen-X guy on his way to adulthood. After the death of his wife, he can't get back to normal."

- Unlikely indie diva Lupe Ontiveros is fresh from her success in "Chuck and Buck." The Latina character actress returns to Sundance in "Storytelling" and "Real Women Have Curves." Parker Posey is back in Park City and Christina Ricci has three festival films, but Ontiveros is the audience fave for 2002.

Sigourney Weaver appears in Gary Winick's digital feature, "Tadpole."

- For documentary chic, try the House of Docs. Furnished with plush couches, Kilim rugs and rustic decor straight out of Robert Redford's Sundance catalog, the House of Docs provides a relaxing lounge for networking, in addition to hosting panel discussions and receptions for documentary filmmakers and enthusiasts.

- Want plentiful swag? -- Some companies cancelled parties altogether, while others simply downsized, but there's been no shortage of take-home loot from corporate sponsors. Lucky invitees have received Jack Spade designer tote bags, Ray-Ban sunglasses and Diesel apparel.

- And those Olympic changes: Scaffolding and tents cover crucial parking lots and ski runs are closed for competition grooming and the erection of viewing stands. On a brighter note, the city's transit system has a new hub just off Main Street featuring a warm, enclosed waiting area with detailed information on routes and schedules.