If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Sundance Film Festival should never be low on compliments.
The unaffiliated, independent film festivals that flock to Park City and Salt Lake City every year during Sundance are proof that the original festival is inspiration to throngs of other "dances" — and it will never be alone.
There's Slamdance, Tromadance and a handful of other dances that will come this month to the Beehive State, looking for a corner of real estate to display independent films of varying genres.
Some of the dances, such as Slamdance, have been around longer than the others — but this year, there's only one dance that actively claims to have Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford's stamp of approval: X-Dance.
"I grew up here," said X-Dance founder Brian Wimmer. "I've known (Redford) and his family since I was really young. I didn't want to be part of the problem with competing with what he's got going on, and since we have a theme of action sports, there is no competition whatsoever."
Wimmer says Redford has been supportive of his efforts, keeping up with the festival's progress and commiserating over how frustrating planning and fund-raising for the events can be.
This is the eighth year for X-Dance to set up shop in Utah and celebrate independent, extrem-sports filmmaking. In the past, the festival has crowded into Park City, but this year, X-Dance will solely be based in Salt Lake City, where there is more room.
"Salt Lake has become a center for action sports," said X-Dance media director Ann Wycoff. "There is a lot going on here for sports, and we fit nicely into that puzzle. It's nice to be down here, and we have big plans to just keep expanding."
There are other advantages to locating in the state's capital — like saving money. It's much cheaper to rent venues in Salt Lake City during the festival than in Park City, Wimmer says, and the location is more central to X-Dance fans.
"We absolutely want to stay in Salt Lake," Wimmer said. "It's not the Sundance Film Festivalgoers that see our movies. The reason we do it at this time of year is so our film guys can rub shoulders with the Sundance guys. It's a big time in the world for filmmaking, during the Sundance Film Festival."
X-Dance will premiere several action-sport films this year, including an Australian documentary on surf-culture called "Bra Boys," and 40 other full-length films. Half of the movies are international submissions, but most of the movies were filmed all over the world, Wimmer said.
"The great part (about X-Dance) is what it does for these filmmakers' careers," Wimmer said. "We're not voting for the best snowboarding film, we're voting for filmmaking attributes, best cinematography, best editing, best soundtrack, things like that. ... The impact we're seeing is with the filmmakers, and that's the positive aspect of what we're doing."
Slamdance, which is hosting its 14th festival this year, was originally established to host films that didn't make it into Sundance. As time passed, the alternative festival has grown into its own niche, said Slamdance executive director Drea Clark.
This year the alternative festival is expecting some 10,000 visitors will watch the 29 feature-length festival films, Clark said, but the more attention the festival can bring to the festival's new filmmakers, the better.
"These special-screening films help so much when we're trying to support the majority of our filmmakers who are unknown, and they are doing this with their own credit card and their mom's money," Clark said. "We're an independent film festival that coincides with the Sundance Film Festival, and we break new talent. ... There's always room for new festivals or new filmmakers to get their chance."
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