Ahead of its 30th anniversary, Slamdance is still making the same first impression.
Shaggy yet shiny, the indie film festival was forged in the shadow of Sundance after its founders were rejected from the prestigious Park City showcase during the mid-nineties. Now, the Slamdance Group aims to be ahead of the game — having already moved from Utah and made its West Coast debut at the Director’s Guild of America on December 9 with the first-ever Indie Awards.
“I don’t feel like it’s being dramatic or over-dramatizing it to say that independent film is at stake,” said Slamdance Festival Director Taylor Miller during her opening remarks. “There is so much going on that this is the best place to be and to have these awards. Los Angeles is where so much is changing week in and week out.”
Also known as The Indies, the event was designed to “not just celebrate but elevate” projects that are “truly indie,” Miller said. To qualify for the Slamdance honor, contenders could not have made their world premieres at Sundance, SXSW, or Telluride. Nominees did however have to play at least one domestic film festival, and were restricted to North America and the Indigenous Nations of Turtle Island.
“Never has there been a harder time for true independent films and true independent filmmakers to go on and find commercial success, but it’s vital,” Miller continued. “So we try harder and do something new to nurture a legacy for the next generation — and we trust in the promise of the new.”
The complete Slamdance festival comes to California next year and is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles from February 20 to 26, 2025. Speaking about the decision to move, President Peter Baxter told IndieWire in May that Sundance had nothing to do with it (although that organization is also considering leaving Utah). Still, the charmingly chaotic Indies’ ceremony rang true to the spirit of Slamdance’s origins.
Hosted by comedian Nic Novicki, with repeat appearances by Miller, Slamdance set up the evening more like a rallying cry than your average awards show. Presenters sometimes appeared on stage when they weren’t supposed to and the sporadic use of an intercom caused one audience member to loudly wonder, “Who IS that disembodied voice?” A recent Gotham Award winner, “The People’s Joker” Vera Drew also received a special jury prize that doubled as something of a head scratcher.
“This is such a beautiful night,” Drew said, holding The Renegade Award. “I also looked up the definition of the word ‘renegade’ just now because I realized I didn’t do that. And it’s a noun and it’s ‘a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.’” Met with laughter and applause, the filmmaker said this gave her cause to “reflect” before commenting on the rogue allies her IP-reimagining required.
“It is a scary time to be making art and to be making aggressively weird art, but indie film showed up for this movie,” Drew said. “It’s impossible for me to be cynical when so many people put their careers on the line to screen this film.”
Looking back on the year, Slamdance gave top honors to “Atikamekw Suns” for Best Narrative Feature and “All We Carry” for Best Documentary Feature at The Indies. In both cases, the creators spoke about facing significant headwinds when defending the care essential to keeping their work authentic.
“Atikamekw Suns” tells the true story of five First Nation youths who were found dead in a truck in 1977. It won Outstanding Storytelling Craft, Outstanding Technical Achievement, and The Native Viewpoint Award For Outstanding Indigenous Community Story Collaboration at The Indies.
“It’s a hybrid documentary and fictional film and there was a whole community that was very traumatized by what happened,” said writer/director Chloé Leriche on her final trip to the podium. “It was really hard to do this film. It was eight years of real emotions and hard work to try and tell this story.”
“It shouldn’t be as hard as it is to tell stories this important,” echoed the “All We Carry” documentary team. In a pre-written joint speech, the four-person filmmaking team — Cady Voge, Laura Pilloni, Laura Tatham, and Rachel Clara Reed — described the obstacles they overcame with their “love story” and Honduran immigration saga.
“Thank you so much to Slamdance and The Indies, who also believe in this type of story full of nuance,” the filmmakers said. “We are so appreciative of everything that you stand for in creating spaces for truly independent films like ours.”
Filling an opportunity gap left by the demise of the LA Film Festival and OutFest in Los Angeles (coincidentally, where “The People’s Joker” premiered), Slamdance looks to carve familiar space for filmmakers in a new home. The Indies served as a warm welcome.
“Our mission is to foster the power of community and shared success in the creative process, said Miller, “ensuring that every voice has the opportunity to help shape cinema for a new century.”
Slamdance Film Festival will take place in Los Angeles from February 20 to 26, 2025.Read on for a complete list of the winners from the 2024 Indie Awards:
Best Narrative Feature
Chloé Leriche for “Atikamekw Suns”
Outstanding Storytelling Craft
Chloé Leriche & Natalie Lamoureux for “Atikamekw Suns”
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Giauco Bermudez for “Atikamekw Suns”
Outstanding Ensemble and Casting
Keris Hope Hill, Mélanie Bray, Constant Bernard, Alex Trahan, Josée Young, Brandon Oakes, Jocelyne Zucco, John Buchan, and Jason Knight for “Rosie”
The Native Viewpoint Award For Outstanding Indigenous Community Story Collaboration
Chloé Leriche for “Atikamekw Suns”
The Narrative Committee Renegade Award
Vera Drew for “The People’s Joker”
The Narrative Committee Authenticity Award
Kelli McNeil-Yellen for “Daruma”
Best Documentary Feature
Cady Voge, Laura Pilloni, Laura Tatham, and Rachel Clara Reed for “All We Carry”
Outstanding Storytelling Craft
Karen KH Sim, Elisa Levine, Gabriel Miller, and Brittany Kaplan for “Sweetheart Deal”
Outstanding Cinematography
Luke Connor, Ben Giesbrecht, Joshua Manyhands, Calvin Stimson, and Anthony Stengal for “Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun”
Outstanding Use of Archival Footage
John Carlos Frey & James Cude for “The Little Pageant That Could”
The Documentary Committee Spotlight Award
Jesselyn Silva for “JessZilla”
The Native Viewpoint Award For Indigenous Film Critic’s Best Overall Selection
Jules Koostachin for “WaaPake”
