As the purveyor of the finest director fits you’ll ever see on Instagram, my integration into the film industry has been a whirlwind. What started out as a distillery for well dressed filmmakers, @directorfits, my account, has put me in rooms I never thought I’d be in. From attending red carpet movie premieres, to speaking with my film heroes, to collaborating with studios on promotional merch, to now attending my first ever film festival on behalf of Hypebeast, this ascent has nonetheless been an absolutely insane experience.

As I approached my first trip to the Sundance Film Festival, a million things ran through my head. The idea of being on the grounds for a major event on the film calendar like this one was always something I wanted to do. Some of the most prestigious names in independent filmmaking got their starts here. Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson, just to name a few. Having read Peter Biskind’s Down and Dirty Pictures, the dream I built up in my head was beginning to take the shape of some of my favorite movies about making movies. I imagined I’d bump into Elvis Mitchell on Main Street or talk with Todd Haynes after a midnight screening. But the glamorous fantasy I developed over the years came crashing down once I arrived in Park City, Utah.

My first mistake was arriving during the second half of the 10 day festival as all the A-listers began to jump on flights back to New York and LA. My time there felt akin to the feeling you got back in middle school when your mom worked late and you were one of the last kids left on campus waiting to be picked up. That being said, I think it made for a more unique and authentic experience that was all about watching movies and none of the hoity-toity theatrics that typically enshroud festivals. I didn’t attend any cool premieres or after parties or fancy dinners. I sat my ass in mediocre theaters and elevated screening rooms, some of which looked like your typical high school auditorium on a rainy school day. And I watched movies. I loved every second of it.

One thing I’ll never forget about Sundance were the reactions from the audience during the screenings. I’m from LA where we love the movies more than anybody outside the French, perhaps? And I truly could not believe how engaged the crowd was for Gregg Araki’s campy dialogue in I Want Your Sex or Natalie Portman’s batshit art world ambitions in Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist. The following is a diary of my first time attending Sundance, which coincided with the festival’s last hurrah in Utah before it moves to Boulder, Colorado for future iterations. Also stay tuned for subsequent articles about the best films I saw, as well as some observations about style at Sundance.

Thursday, 1/29

8:15 AM PST
Arrived at the airport and immediately saw a TV in the LAX food court playing a Variety interview with John Wilson about his newly debuted documentary, The History of Concrete. Sundance is everywhere for those with eyes to see…

10AM PST
At my gate. I’m waiting to board the plane and I am not seeing anyone here that looks like they are traveling to Utah for Sundance. Possibly skiers and snowboarders? The first sign that I am arriving at the fest too late…

10:10AM PST
Nevermind. I overheard a couple people near me on the plane talking about being here for the fest.

1:20PM MST
Spent the two hour plane ride cosplaying as a fellow film industry individual by listening to Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast and editing an upcoming interview I conducted with Kleber Mendonça Filho. I guess if I’m being paid to travel to the festival and write about it, I am a part of this industry in some way? I don’t know, I still fall victim to imposter syndrome from time to time…

2:30PM MST
I arrived at my Park City hotel which is also home to the Yarrow Theater. Received a complimentary warm chocolate chip cookie.

3PM MST
Went to the Sundance HQ to receive my press pass for the week. Visited the official Sundance merch store and saw a bunch of extremely mid merch… they should hire me to whip up some more compelling designs next time! Got my shit and waited about 20 min for the local Sundance buses that take you around from venue to venue. In the meantime, I spoke with one of the local Park City volunteers who was working the event. He answered all my dumb questions about how to get to Main St. etc. He had some incredible swag. Long greyed out hair, a beaten to shit cap that said Film Crew on the side (couldn’t make out what the front said), with the official Kenneth Cole Sundance crew (yellow to black ombré) down jacket and a bunch of pins from this year’s fest adorned on it.

4:30PM MST
Finally after waiting forever for the shuttle bus (this whole experience is not as glamorous as it seemed from the outside) to take me to Main Street. I made it to the epicenter of the festival. This is where the boys from Entourage gathered for Vincent Chase’s Queens Blvd premiere at the Egyptian Theatre. It was everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. I was starving so I walked into an Irish Pub called Flanagans and looked over the menu for something that would warm me up. I ordered a Guinness on draft and some fish and chips at the bar and made some conversation with the dude on his laptop next to me. We spoke about The Grateful Dead and Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium Is the Message. It turns out he is someone who made millions by investing in Shopify at its infancy and now uses his earnings to help finance films. Pretty good use of your profits, if you ask me. He let me know that he does not have a film at the festival but was heavily involved in the making of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.

6PM MST
All in all, I walked 19,000 steps around Main Street trying to get a sense of the action. I saw one interesting couple dressed in what looked like Rick Owen’s from head to toe. They declined my offer to take their photo. It seems like the rush from the previous days has died down and the town is emptying out.

11:30PM MST
Anthony Mackie spotted outside my hotel smoking a cigar with friends saying, “Last time I ever lied was when I said I DO.” He sounds like a total wife guy, amirite? A fan approaches Mackie and says “Hey, I don’t wanna be that guy but…” Mackie emphatically responds with “Then don’t be that guy!” The fan asks if he can say hi anyway. My Uber arrived to take me to my first screening of the festival and I could not stay for the rest of their riveting conversation. They continued talking as I stared out my Uber’s Tesla Model Y window.

11:45PM MST
Seated for Tamra Davis’ The Best Summer and so far this is the most interesting looking crowd I’ve seen here so far. It turns out that while the town seems empty, the screenings are absolutely packed with life. Alt girls in fishnets, skirts, and face piercings with dark eyeliner and micro bangs. Dudes in oversized faded workwear jackets and wide double knee pants. Makes sense given the subject matter of the film?

Friday, 1/30/26
1:30AM
The Best Summer is incredible. In the doc, Tamra Davis follows around an all-star cast of bands for an Australian tour in 1995 and just records everything. She enlists Kathleen Hanna to facilitate the same questions to all the various band members on the tour. Adam Yauch wearing the Supreme classic logo in 1995, just a year after James Jebbia launched the brand, is crazy. Beck saying his New Year’s resolution is to finally buy a pair of shorts for the first time since he was a 10 year old. Dave Grohl pointing to cigarettes and wine when asked how he is able to perform on stage. Keep in mind this is just a year after the loss of Kurt Cobain, the wound still appeared to be fresh.

This whole doc felt like seeing someone’s family home videos except their family members are The Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Foo Fighters, Pavement, etc. Davis makes the choice to keep all these shaky cam long cuts instead of editing them down to quick cleaner cuts. It gives the effect of being there in the room with them and on the road. There are so many rare intimate behind-the-scenes moments in this. Nowadays, we are used to seeing this kind of content from our favorite artists all the time with the prevalence of Instagram and TikTok. It’s almost like the man on the street style of interviews mixed with the recommendation culture content that we see all over our feeds… but in 1995. You might see the official Coachella Instagram page making content just like this…

During the after screening Q+A, someone asked Tamra Davis who she would want to follow around right now? She said Geese. Ion Pack member spotted, I think it was KJ. Someone fainted right in front of me as we were descending down the stairs, it was absolutely terrifying. Thankfully, they woke back up, but for a few minutes there we were all worried as festival staff ran to get medical help. As I was walking out, I noticed that the crowd kind of resembled people you saw in the concert audience sections of the film.

8:30AM MST
With about 5.5 hours of sleep in my system, I woke up, got ready, and started walking down the street from my hotel to The Ray Theater where the Sundance awards ceremony will take place. I somehow snuck my way into the press room. Even though I had a press pass, I was unable to officially get on the list to participate in the press line at the event. The chaos in the room allowed me to slip by almost unnoticed (for now).

I immediately saw Eugene Hernandez, the director of the festival and the founder of IndieWire. He was wearing Paraboot Briac shoes with Jacques Marie Mage glasses. Knowing he’s a man of great taste, I thought I had to get his thoughts on the fashion of the festival he runs. Name dropping Hypebeast and Director Fits worked well here. He was super busy but upon hearing the outlets I worked for he gave me 8 minutes of his time.

9:30AM MST
After about an hour of the cramped, loud, and chaotic press room I thought I should step outside for a second to get some air before the big names of the awards ceremony are announced. As soon as I step out, I get a call from an unknown LA based number. I answer it and the voice on the other end sounds so familiar. It’s the HR department head from my day job as a strategist at a big ad agency in LA. Uh oh…

She very swiftly lets me know that due to budget cuts my role has been terminated. OK, sick. With that news, I head back into the press room and spot a chance to interview Filipiñana director Rafael Manuel. He’s wearing an olive-colored monotone corduroy outfit. His pants are cropped and reveal a beautiful pair of Paraboot Michaels. Two pairs of Paraboots in the same space? Is this the line at Maru Coffee or is this the press room at the Sundance Film Festival? Underneath his corduroy work shirt is a bright red Lululemon zip up, an interesting combination of performance gear and work wear. A great use of colors, as well.

10AM MST
My situation has been compromised. One of the staff working the press room spotted me sticking out like a sore thumb. Despite having my press lanyard around my neck, she asked me what I was doing here as all the press that was present had dedicated placards on the floor. My suspicion was correct, I wasn’t allowed to be there, but I made the most out of my brief time in the press room. A great example of the “do it until someone says no” model.

11AM MST
I mosied over to another bar on Main Street and drank a few pints of Guinness and drowned in my sorrows over my freshly lost job for a bit. Signed the severance papers. Boom, just like that I was unemployed.

3:30 PM MST
Rafael Manuel and his debut feature film Filipiñana were both brand new discoveries for me. Coming into the festival, I wanted to see some things that were totally not on my radar and I received an invite to this out of the blue and said yes swiftly. The film felt like a big visual metaphor for class and gender in the Philippines. It takes place at a luxury golf course, which Manuel said is a big thing over in the Philippines right now. Apparently, because of the distancing regulations set during the pandemic, golf grew exponentially in the country. The golf course acted as a microcosm of the class and gender dynamics in the Philippines.

In the Q+A portion, Manuel said the country is a very fertile place in terms of agriculture and at a place like a golf course this fertility is only enjoyed by a select few rich individuals. There was a rigid dichotomy among the employees, the caddies, and the maids at the resort. A very beautiful looking film. It’s hard to believe this feature was a first for the director, lead actor, production designer, and the costume designer. Their work felt very seasoned and confident. It’s a great addition to the world of slow cinema. I loved the locked off shots, without a lot of camera movements. The choices felt very intentional throughout.

6PM MST
I’m back at a bar (no alcohol this time) and attempting to make a rough plan of how to go about life without that steady income.

7:30 MST
I walk down the street to a sushi restaurant and sit down. I’m craving a piece of Los Angeles. I don’t usually get homesick very often, but I’m feeling it right now.

Saturday
1/31/26 10:08AM MST
My third screening of the festival was Andrew Stanton’s In the Blink of an Eye. It’s a movie that makes it so obvious that Stanton directed WALL-E. To be honest, I was expecting this to be an eye rolling, corny, predictable kind of movie that pulls at the heart strings in cheap and obvious ways. And it mostly was… but shit, I couldn’t help it, it moved me. I guess I was in a vulnerable state and this movie just hit me at the right time?

It’s a story spanning over 47,000 years and explores life and death from the perspectives of Neanderthals, present day humans, and a group of humans in the future trying to populate another planet. Looking back on it, it felt like some bulshit SpaceX type propaganda… That’s the power of seeing movies on a big screen in a dark room with other people. Sometimes even something so mid will move you and win you over. It was a real crowd pleaser amongst the clearly older audience. People were laughing at all the corny jokes and by the end everyone was sniffling and crying.

12PM MST
Added myself to the waitlist for Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Fingers crossed it works out.

3PM MST
My fourth screening of the festival, Once Upon a Time in Harlem was an absolutely gorgeous time capsule of the Harlem Renaissance by William and David Greaves. They gathered together pillars of the renaissance era at Duke Ellington’s flat in 1972. The film was shot in a way that made you feel like a bystander of the conversations taking place. Luminaries like Ernest Crichlow, Eubie Blake, and Arna Bontemps all reminisce about the old days and the impact left by their contemporaries like W. E. B. Du Bois and Langston Hughes. This is a dinner party I am so envious of. Imagine a group of intellectuals drinking, smoking, telling stories, playing piano, arguing, agreeing, and laughing. Wouldn’t you want to be there?

This was by far the best dressed film I have seen so far here. Perhaps it’s because it’s real people in real clothes? Perhaps people in the ‘70s just dressed better than we do today, plain and simple. So many incredible suits with sharp elongated lapels, patterned shirts with exaggerated collars, wide ties and trousers. Gorgeous lace dresses and extravagant costume jewelry… We need to bring back this level of opulence. If you were to gather the contemporary versions of these individuals and host a dinner party with them all in one place, would it look this good? Hard to tell, but I’d wager no.

4:30PM
En route to Salt Lake City for Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist.

5:15PM
Arrived for The Gallerist, my 5th screening of the festival. Extremely hectic crowds. The movie starts off with the famous Andy Warhol quote, “Art is anything you can get away with.” This is basically a movie about how contemporary art is mostly bullshit. It’s more about the story you tell and the marketing and the manufactured hype than the actual substance of a piece or artist.

This was a very stylistically shot film, so many interesting camera movements and pans. Lots of funny quips about the contemporary art world. A satire of rich 1%’ers who buy up art to store it away forever. Only doing so that their image is rehabilitated or their egos are boosted. Contemporary art really is bullshit, at least most of it is. I just feel so silly most times I visit a gallery. Of course, I’m not saying I hate art, that’s egregious. But the Art Basel category of the art world or someone like Mr. Brainwash? I just can’t get behind that stuff and this film feels like a perfect reflection of that.

I’d be curious to hear Cathy Yan speak about the world in which she tells this story. The outfits were very much on point to the loud, ostentatious, corny Miami Art Basel uniforms you see. Charli XCX gets run over by a car in it lol. Overall, it’s a very fun time at the movies.

11:40PM MST
Back in Park City for my 6th screening of the festival and my most anticipated film yet. Insane crowds are here at The Ray theater for Gregg Araki’s first film in about a decade, I Want Your Sex. They’ve brought in extra speakers for the film.

Sunday, 2/1
1:50AM MST
I Want Your Sex is by far my favorite movie of the festival. It’s just so much fun and non-stop entertainment. Gregg Araki movies always have the best graphic tees. This one features Cooper Hoffman wearing Sonic Youth and Madonna shirts and Chase Sui Wonders in a Spahn’s Movie Ranch tee. Cooper Hoffman is a star in the making. Both he and Olivia Wilde really put on a brave performance in this one. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it. The color palette is so refreshing for a modern film, no dull grays and muted colors. Bright greens, pinks, blues, all around. This was the last ever midnight screening at The Ray theater here in Park City. The crowd was electric with so many laughs and gasps. It felt like I was at a concert.

10:30AM MST
Finally, I saw the movie that made the most noise at the fest in the trades. It’s reported that Olivia Wilde’s The Invite incited an old fashioned Sundance bidding war among studios. It went on for about 72 hours and resulted in an apparent $15M acquisition from A24. The movie kind of harkens back to the fun ‘60s sex comedies and at times reminded me of the Mike Nichols classic, Carnal Knowledge. The intro credits were so fun and clearly felt like an homage to the original Steve McQueen Thomas Crowne Affair credit sequence.

The Invite played for some of the biggest laughs at the festival. At moments the laughter was so uproarious that I couldn’t hear the follow up dialogue. Featured an amazing violin based score by Dev Hynes that heightened and dramatized the story, but also brought a touch of a campy element to many of the tensions at the dinner party. Solid movie, I can see why studios felt the need to fight for this one. Perhaps the most mainstream and audience-driven movie I’ve seen here. I’m sure A24 smells another romantic comedy box office success story like they had with Materialists last summer.

12PM MST
Still feeling a little homesick for my beloved Los Angeles. I received a recommendation from a friend to check out a nearby breakfast/brunch spot called Harvest. The menu felt like something you might see from a trendy spot on Melrose. Not exactly my favorite part of LA, but since I’m in the middle of Utah, this will do.

1:30PM MST
Answered emails and began to edit down the interviews I conducted with Rafael Manuel and Eugene Hernandez.

4:20PM MST
Just got out of Kogonada’s Zi and wow that was one of the best shot and best looking movies of the festival for me. The plot, in a great way, is a bit vague, mysterious, and confusing. Hauntingly beautiful the more I think about it. From what I understood, it seems like the film is stuck in the titular character’s final memories as an older person with Alzheimer’s which is also the day she meets the love of her life. The romance between Zi and Elle was kind of giving Mulholland Drive in terms of obvious blonde wig? The film was also dedicated to Ryuichi Sakamoto. Sakamoto, I believe, scored Kogonada’s After Yang so this was a nice tribute to an absolute legend.

6PM MST
I tried my hardest to make it into the final screening of John Wilson’s The History of Concrete but I’ve come up short again. Outside of Charli XCX’s The Moment, this seems to be the hardest to get into film at Sundance. I’ve heard multiple people around town talking about trying and failing to get in, as well.

8:30PM MST
The final film of the festival for me is Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! at the Library theater. It’s the very last Sundance screening ever in this venue. The staff who run the show here are very visibly emotional. Some have been volunteering and working at the festival for over 10 years. The film played exceptionally well with the crowd. If there’s one thing about Sundance, it’s that the crowds are very engaged and reactive. As someone who attends screenings very often, this is not something you see all the time. The enthusiasm is off the charts at every screening I’ve been to here, making even the most mid movies feel pretty special.

Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! is very stylish and silly for a story about the death of your husband. I’m kind of a sucker for any movie set in Tokyo. Overall, it was maybe a touch too much on the theater kid campy side for me, but I had a good time watching it. The chaacters in the film seem to have good taste. The interiors of their Tokyo home looked amazing and they had posters of Punch-Drunk Love and All That Jazz up on the walls. The title card and all the chapter title cards were fantastic. I love when movies have good graphic design.

Monday, 2/2
5AM MST
The festival is over. I’m on my way to Salt Lake City airport. Feeling some congestion and soreness in my throat. According to some other friends who were at the festival earlier in the week, they are also feeling the same. I guess being stuck in theaters with hundreds of other people multiple times a day for four days will be enough to get you sick. While I love watching movies on a big screen, I spent way too much time doing this over the past few days. My head is pounding. Extra strength Tylenol is my best friend right now. Perhaps I will be back for the next iteration of the festival in Boulder, Colorado. Only time will tell.

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