The Sundance Diaries: Part One

Photo by Kristina Zacharias

In partnership with Cassian Elwes and the Independent Screenwriting Fellowship, we were so happy to bring two writers to the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Kristina Zacharias was chosen as this year’s Sundance Fellow, and Cassian was generous enough to bring along an additional writer as a part of the fellowship, Terrell Garrett. Both writers were chosen based on the strength of their scripts, which were hosted on the Black List site and then shortlisted as a part of the fellowship. Kristina and Terrell have provided us with diaries of their first visit to Park City — here are their thoughts on day one. We’ll be publishing the rest of Kristina and Terrell’s diaries over the next couple of days, so stay tuned!

Sundance: Day One from Kristina Zacharias

Today I was up at 4am for my flight to Utah. I have no idea what to expect from my trip and can only trust what Megan Halpern (Director of Events, The Black List) told me a few weeks ago in New York — she told me things are about to change. I hope so. Despite the early hour, first flight from NYC to Chicago energized me — people were talking about Sundance and exchanging business cards, including myself. I met a young writer/director who works for a news outlet covering the festival. I told him that I’d won the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship through my script, RESTAVEK, being hosted on The Black List. I advised him to upload his screenplays immediately, which he did. In Chicago, I met my co-fellow and new friend, Terrell Garrett. I think we were both uncertain about what was to come and also still in shock that after so many years of writing we were finally being given a legitimate chance to start our screenwriting careers.

We were picked up at our accommodations by Cassian, his assistant Evan Arnold and artist Susan Hall and thus began the whirlwind — we were introduced as Fellowship winners during Cassian’s interview at Twitter’s Digital Storytelling event. It was the first time witnessing Cassian’s incredible storytelling — he is an absolute master and I’ll be the first one to buy his memoir if he chooses to write one. We met filmmaker Morgan Spurlock afterward and I gushed awkwardly as he congratulated me on the fellowship.

The rest of the afternoon was a mix of trading stories and…grocery shopping for the week. That’s right, grocery shopping with the biggest independent film producer in Hollywood. That night, we attended a screening of artist Rossan Crow’s short film MADAME PSYCHOSIS HOLDS A SEANCE, starring Kelly Lynch. This would be the first of many low-key dinners throughout Sundance where Cassian’s partners and friends welcomed us with open arms and talked willingly about the creative and financial aspects of the industry. After dinner, two of the four Horizon Award winners joined us — Maqui Gaona and Florence Pelletier — and thus began an adventure made better because we were all in it together.

Sundance: Day One from Terrell Garrett

When I first uploaded TWITCH to The Black List website, I immediately tried to take it down.

I’m talking within seconds of uploading it. I panicked. I was ashamed of it. Not because I thought it was bad, but because there was so much of myself in those characters. I couldn’t expose myself like this. But, alas, I couldn’t take it down until after I received the evaluations I just paid for.

So I acquiesced.

And waited.

And wrote.

Then the good reviews came in, and the news that it made a short list at Warner Brothers, and I was suddenly glad The Black List didn’t let me delete my script.

Boy was I glad.

Fast-forward a few months later, to New Year’s Eve, the last day of 2015, and I’m worn out from working a busy shift at my day job. I’ve been working at Starbucks for almost ten years. Not because I think it’s the greatest job ever, but I can work there twenty hours a week and still have health insurance and have plenty of time to focus on what I considered my real job…

Writing screenplays.

But funny things happen to your brain when you’ve been working at a food service job for almost ten years. Even though you’re writing on the side, you can begin to doubt yourself.

Ten years is a long time, after all. A decade of living hand-to-mouth while you write screenplays no one cares about requires a certain delusional stubbornness to keep pushing forward.

Well, I was having one of those days where you question your life choices. My wife and I were heading to a New Year’s Eve Party when my phone started ringing. Caller ID said it was coming from Beverly Hills, California. As I don’t know anyone in Beverly Hills, I decided to answer it.

It was Cassian Elwes, and he was raving about my script, which he thought was a modern day WAR GAMES set in the world of Twitch videogame streamers. He kept talking, saying how he was going to bring me and another writer, Kristina, to Sundance with him and that he was “going to change my life”. When I tried to reply, words weren’t happening. They weren’t forming in my mouth correctly. “Are you crying?” Yes, yes I was. Then Cassian started crying. Meanwhile, my wife was freaking out, probably wondering if someone was delivering news that someone in our family had died. “Who is that?” “My wife.” “Let me talk to her.”

Here I was, an emotional wreck, and the producer of THE BUTLER and DALLAS BUYER’S CLUB was talking to my wife, saying how he was going to change our lives.

So, that happened.

But it turns out that a phone-call from Cassian Elwes was a pretty good way to ring in the New Year.

Thursday, January 21st, 2016. Day One.

I wake up at 6 am. I’ve only had about three or four hours of sleep. Little do I know, but this is going to be the amount of sleep I’m going to get each night for the next week in Park City, Utah. I was up at the last minute, packing. I’m confused about what clothes to bring. Do I go for comfort or do I go for trying to look cool? It’s cold there, right? Guess I gotta pack lots of layers. What kind of supplies do I bring? Toilet paper? Fuck it, I can’t decide. So I just throw in everything. Including toilet paper. The top of the suitcase won’t close.

My wife ends up repacking for me while I’m napping at 5 am. Apparently I’m a shitty packer. “Why did you pack toilet paper? Do you not think there’s going to be toilet paper at the condo?” “Look, I don’t know. I panicked.” My wife took out the toilet paper, and refolded all my clothes and made sure I had a few nice shirts, good sweaters, stylish but rugged jeans, lots of socks and an awesome pair of boots capable of surviving the snow and slush. And most importantly, lots of protein bars and trail mix.

If it wasn’t for my wife, I would have brought a suitcase full of toilet paper, sweat pants and flip-flops to Park City.

She drops me off at the Atlanta airport. We say bye and she makes me promise that I won’t drink too much. “How much is too much?” “You’re a light weight. Don’t drink anything.” I can’t make a promise like that, but I do promise not to cheat on her and not to sign any contracts while under the influence. She’s a good woman, my wife. In fact, she’s always been there to encourage my writing even though I’ve never really had anything to show for my efforts. Finding that in a person? Someone who believes in your art and your craft while times are lean? That’s rare, my friends.

After checking in my suitcase, I learn that my flight is delayed. Great. I might not have time to make my connecting flight in Chicago, where I’m supposed to meet the other fellowship winner, Kristina Zacharias. I text her to inform her that I might not make it, then pocket my phone and go through the CHILDREN OF MEN-style TSA security check. Am I going to be taken aside and disappear forever, like some wayward Chechen soldier who stumbled upon the wrong checkpoint?

There’s a group of Asian businessmen wearing slippers who manage to make it through the gate with what appears to be supernatural speed. Meanwhile I’m trying to take off my belt without tripping over my clunky boots, worried that I’m not moving fast enough for the perky people behind me. I make it through with my life, and wait for over an hour before I get on the plane to Chicago.

Two hours later the plane touches ground and Kristina texts me, informs me of our gate. I have twenty minutes to make it there. “Look for the guy wearing glasses and a yellow plaid shirt that kind of looks like an Ewok.” “I…look like everyone else.” Once in the Chicago airport, I have the option to wait for a shuttle to get my gate, or I can walk 15 minutes. I have no idea how long it’s going to take for the shuttle to arrive so I start lazily speed-walking through the airport. It’s pretty nice. You could set a suspense sequence for a modern day UNTOUCHABLES in that airport.

I make it to the gate in time and spot a girl looking around, people-watching. She’s standing apart from the line to the plane. She does a double-take at my shirt and my Ewok-like appearance. I stop in front of her, prepared for full-on awkwardness. “Terr -” “Kristina? Good. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it.” Immediately we start talking about our scripts, babbling about our stories and our expectations for the film festival. “Are you nervous?” I ask. “No. I have no expectations.”

Immediately I’m intimidated.

Kristina is zen as fuck. I’m thinking I need to start acting like her. And her script sounds amazing, a prestige picture with Oscar potential if done right. I suddenly feel inadequate. I wrote a movie about a kid who never leaves his room and streams his life onto the Internet, and I’m suddenly feeling a little like him. But that passes. Negative thoughts. My script is fucking awesome. Her script is fucking awesome. But they’re worlds different and that’s okay.

We’re in this together and we’re here to support each other. Which turns out to be the truth in more ways than I could truly expect.

We’re separated once we board the plane. We have seats on different rows. “See ya in a few hours.” “Have a nice flight!” I live the next four hours cramped in a middle seat trying to protect my elbows from my seat-mates. The guy on my left seems cool. We don’t talk, but he pulls his iPad out and reads a screenplay for most of the trip. I read a play. “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen. I want to ask him what he’s reading, but I’m not sure if that would be rude, so I just keep quiet. Obviously he’s going to Sundance as well. I mean, why would you read a script on your iPad on the plane and not be going to Sundance?

We land in Park City around 3 pm. On the way to baggage claim, Kristina and I theorize whether or not we’ve brought the right clothes. “Are we supposed to dress hip or just warm?” “I’m not sure, but I tried to bring toilet paper.” We look at the other people getting off the plane, scrutinizing their fashion choices and wondering aloud if we’ve properly prepared.

The Black List has a shuttle waiting for us, and we begin the voyage into Park City. Utah is majestic. There’s mountains and stuff. Frozen salt lakes. Georgia is flat and has pine trees. I’m staring out the window with my jaw to the floor when I get an email from Cassian’s assistant, Evan. “Cassian wants you to stay with us. Call me when you land.”

So, I’m a bit confused because I’m supposed to be staying with The Black List people, Megan, Kate and Terry. They’re going to have an adjacent condo with the four female Horizon Award directors Cassian is also bringing. I call Evan. It’s rapid -fire talking as he’s with Cassian and Susan, an LA-based painter and producer who I would soon learn was going to play den mother for our group of wide-eyed Sundance virgins. “Cassian wants you with us. So call me when you get to the condo and we’ll come get you.”

Forty minutes later we pull into Park City.

It’s a veritable winter wonderland. There’s snow and magic in the air. A picaresque town preparing for an invasion of Los Angelinos and film people. Skiers and snowboarders race down the mountainsides. Cars fishtail and slide on the frozen and powdered streets. I’m not sure if I’m going to ascend or die in this place, but I’m excited either way. We get dropped off at The Black List condo and Kristina drops her stuff off and I call Evan.

Minutes later a Black SUV pulls up and Cassian and Susan step out and give us hugs. Evan, who I will soon learn to appreciate as one of the other saints on this trip, loads my luggage into the back. Immediately we’re sitting in the back with Cassian and Susan as Evan navigates the roads with the type of skill, courage and confidence a driver has when they know they have full coverage.

Photo by Terrell Garrett

We’re on our way to the invitation-only Digital Storytelling Conference at the Stein Eriksen Lodge, which Cassian is a speaker at. Once there, we’re introduced to Jennifer Prince, Senior Director of Entertainment for Twitter and Gleana Albrittion, Twitter’s Entertainment and Media Marketer. They mic Cassian and give us a rundown of what to expect. Cassian wants to introduce Kristina and I to the audience during his talk, and Jennifer asks us where we want to sit. Do we want to be brought up on stage? Do we want to be on camera? Or do we want to sit in the audience? We have about an hour to kill and Cassian uses the time to give us some of his history and he asks us what are goals are.

I’m honest and say I just want to make a living with my writing. He asks me what I see happening with TWITCH. I give him my modest answer and he tells me to “think bigger”. “Your script is commercial enough to set up at one of the studios.” Okay. The conversation dovetails with not only our expectations and dreams, but stories about his step-father and mentor, legendary producer Elliot Kastner. He tells a great story about the genesis of his first film that would kick-off a producing career that is now somewhere above three hundred movies and still going strong.

But his first is the Rob Lowe film, OXFORD BLUES. During this hour, I start to get a sense of the pedigree and the motivation that drives Cassian. Not only is he a wealth of experience and history, but he’s hit some life-changing milestones that now influence the type of movies he likes to make today. Before we know it, we’re ushered into the room where an audience of people from Hulu, YouTube and other digital companies are gathered. Cassian takes the stage with Jennifer and tells a story about one such life-changing milestone in his life. It’s about an encounter with a war vet suffering from PTSD on an airplane, and what starts out like the setup for a contained thriller turns into something more significant. It’s really the story about how one person’s compassion changed another person’s life for the better. After he’s done, he introduces Kristina and I to the room and it’s our first taste of what it’s going to be like to go to party’s with Cassian, Susan and Evan.

Before we leave, he introduces us to the next person who is about to give a talk, Morgan Spurlock. He shakes our hands and says, “Cassian’s one of the good ones.” This is the first time we’re going to hear a filmmaker say these words, but it’s not going to be the last. Then, we’re whisked off to the grocery store where Cassian tells us to grab some carts and to load up on everything we need, and to shop for the Horizon Directors who are going to be trickling in over the next twenty-four hours. At one point, Evan walks up to me and asks if I’m okay. “This is surreal.” “What’s surreal?” “I’m grocery shopping with Cassian Elwes.” Evan laughs and walks away, and I help Kristina buy food and snacks for the directors.

Next stop is at mansion on the side of the mountain, where we’ve been invited by Ruth Vitale’s Creative Future to attend a private dinner and screening of Rosson Crow and Jeff Vespa’s short film, “Madame Psychosis Holds a Seance”, starring Kelly Lynch. Kristina and I are excited about the prospect of food since we haven’t really had anything to eat all day and it’s been GO GO GO since we got off the plane. Inside, we’re told to take off our boots and we’re ushered to a downstairs room where Rosson and Jeff are mingling with the small number of attendees.

They are warm hosts and get everyone to make themselves comfortable on the couch, and the lights dim and we watch their film. For those of you who don’t know, Rosson is an esteemed artist living in Los Angeles, and her work can be described as baroque, theatrical and immersive. The film was no different, a sort of surreal fever dream that features Kelly Lynch playing a woman obsessed with JFK, each scene an actual distinct painting or piece of art by Crow. Impressive and haunting. Like a jackass though, and a little star-struck by Rosson, I walked up to her and Jeff and said, “So, you guys like David Lynch, huh?” The whole time, there are photographers taking pictures of us and the party-goers, and I’m doing my best to act like a fucking idiot in front of a modern day star of the fine art world.

Upstairs, we’re treated to an awesome dinner with many mouth-watering choices. People are mingling everywhere but I beeline with Kristina to the food. I go for the short-rib and salad, and begin stuffing my face when Rosson walks into the kitchen and we start talking while I continue to stuff my face. I use the opportunity to pick her brain a little bit and inquire if she wants to delve into feature films. The whole time I’m aware that I should be self-conscious because I’m eating, but I’m starving so all etiquette goes out the window. Seems to work out fine though as we exchange emails and I wander around to meet more people.

Evan returns with two of the Horizon Award directors, Maqui Gaona and Florence Pelletier. They’ve just flown in and they walk in, absolutely beaming and wide-eyed. Cassian and Susan warmly greet them, give them hugs, and immediately begin introducing them to all the people in the area. They seem floored to be getting so much attention. It’s cool to see for Kristina and I, because this must be how we look to everyone. Just walking around with a big grin on our faces not entirely sure that this is our reality right now. But it is.

Photo from Terrell Garrett, via Getty Images

Soon, Cassian pulls Maqui and Florence up to Kristina and I and we make introductions. Immediately we’re all bonding and asking each other questions about our scripts and films. I learn that Florence co-directed her short with a gal named Juliette and that she’s arriving tomorrow. They’re both from Montreal. Maqui came from NYU and as she’s telling me about her short film, I’m a bit blown away and I’m immediately thinking of Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman and Jeunet. It’s a great time of connecting with what I’m going to soon refer to as The Squad, Cassian’s posse of young filmmakers that he brought to Sundance with him. It’s a golden atmosphere. A night I’m never going to forget. We’re asked to gather for photos and then we’re heading out, but not before meeting Peter Baxter, one of the founders of Slamdance.

It’s late so we head over to Cassian’s condo, where we gather around the kitchen table and he pulls out a puzzle. Cassian loves putting together puzzles and claims that it’s good for the mind. As we all work on the puzzle and chat, Shanice Malakai arrives from Phoenix. She’s one of the other Horizon Award winners and we all greet her with hugs. We’re all around the table again and Cassian regales us with a rollicking and brilliant story weaving together the genesis of how he raised financing for DALLAS BUYERS CLUB that involved an amazing tangent about HURT LOCKER producer, Nicolas Chartier. This is probably the best personal story I’ve ever heard, probably because it involved a young Chartier, a struggling screenwriter in his youth, sleeping on the beach at Cannes and sneaking a script under Cassian’s door at his hotel. Cassian went on to sell his script, but it comes full circle to a moment where Chartier, twenty years later, repays the favor by hopping onboard DALLAS BUYERS CLUB by writing Cassian a check. The story is also a favorite of mine because it serves as an example for everyone he brought here…maybe we too can become successful in the business because Cassian is giving us a chance. Maybe one day we’ll be able to pay it back. I hope so.

The night ends with the girls returning to their condo and me settling downstairs. And, in what will become routine for us at the end of each day, Evan comes in and we talk about the events of the day and he tells me a little bit about his life and how he became Cassian’s right hand man and how they both handle a slate of sixty-something movies. There’s a lot to learn from Cassian’s assistant and director of development, but I’ll talk about this more later on. Finally, we retire to our rooms for a few hours of shut-eye.