PARK CITY — Ever seen foreign flicks from the likes of Nicaragua, Ecuador, Poland, Zimbabwe or Angola?
They're now playing on festival — and computer — screens near you.
Though Sundance Film Festival's reputation comes from being the premier stage for American-made independent movies, not all of its films come with a "Made in the U.S.A." tag. Like Wal-Mart and McDonald's, Robert Redford's backyard-little-festival-that-could has gone global.
Practice up on your Danish, your Chinese, your Hebrew and your United Kingdomish — 30 countries and 23 languages are represented in this year's repertoire. This festival isn't just Village Inn — its menu resembles the International House of Pancakes. Of the 202 movies, 73 of the entries are imports.
Though international movies are not exactly, well, a foreign thing for Sundance, they certainly have a more prominent presence than ever before. Festival organizers created two new competition categories — World Documentary and World Dramatic — to give immigrating indies a bigger stage and increased exposure.
"We've always been a festival that had quite a bit of international work," said John Cooper, Sundance's director of programming. "But even if they were absolutely great, they had a tough time getting attention in a festival known for American films."
As part of their foreign aid, most "world premieres" will take place in the heart of the festival at the Egyptian Theatre on Main Street. Putting them in the most prestigious and picturesque of the screening locations, Cooper said, was Sundance's way of giving their foreign friends "respect."
"It's a very dignified first entrance to Sundance," he said. "We're trying to be good hosts."
That doesn't mean an anti-American movement is afoot. Rather, Sundance took a less-is-more attitude with the international films. They received 1,228 feature and 1,097 short film entries from outside of the United States but actually admitted fewer foreign movies than in 2004. That's partly because Sundance trimmed down the overall number of movies it's featuring — 202 in '05 compared to a festival all-time high of 255 last year. But it's also to allow the globe's creamiest productions to rise to the top.
The theory, Cooper says, is that the tighter the selection process, the more competitive the films will be.
Sundance also traveled the world more, seeking the best out there and talking with foreign film council entities like the British Council and UniFrance to encourage participation.
"The world has gotten smaller. Those films are important," Cooper said. "American films have to compete in the international arena. It's all good for cultural business and good for the cultural health of not only the film business but of the country to see how other people live, to see stories from other places, to expand audiences and broaden minds."
And Cooper pointed out that festival organizers from countries like Brazil, Portugal and Korea look at Sundance as a role model for portraying independent art and expression on the big screen.
"We're an international name and an international idea," Cooper said.
That, says Myles Rademan, the city's public affairs director, is apparent in the diversity of the films and of the faces.
"If you live here, it's like taking a foreign vacation," he said, "but (you're) still getting to sleep in your own bed every night."
Jorge Gutman represents the international flavor at Sundance as much as anyone. He is here as a film buyer for a company in Argentina (his native land), and he is a journalist with a news organization in Montreal (his current home). Gutman claims Sundance is the "most important (festival) in the United States" and is gaining notoriety in both of his countries.
Eleonore Grudzinska, an aspiring actress, followed her boyfriend from France to help out here — and she's not the only of the 600-plus volunteer staffers with an accent. She was surprised to see visitors who call anywhere from Mexico to Germany home. And while many Americans have heard about the Cannes Film Festival in southern France, the Parisienne said they sell tickets for Sundance on the radio in "La Ville d'Amour" (English subtitles: "The City of Love").
"It's well-known," she said.
Unlike, unfortunately for her, le cinema francais in America.
"I'm really disappointed by the representation of French films at Sundance," she said. "There are some amazing, beautiful movies from France."
She's most eager to watch "The Emperor's Journey" ("La Marche de L'Empereur"), which is billed in the film festival guide as having "all the classic elements of an epic — insurmountable odds, conquering heroes, loving couples, and radiant beauty" and featuring some of the bravest and most memorable protagonists ever to grace the silver screen.
Audiences will have to decide for themselves if the featured penguins are speaking French or English during their Antarctic adventures.
Other themes from the world screen include everything from the dread surrounding children in the Chechnyan War ("The 3 Rooms of Melancholia") to the quest for the perfect wave in icy Norwegian waters ("Monsterthursday") to a Down Under slasher-horror movie a la "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".
E-mail: jody@desnews.com