A fresh dusting of snow over Park City heralded the opening of the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday. Sundance becomes the focal point of the independent film world. Theatrical distributors prowl the festival looking for the next indie hit and film lovers have a good time being the first audiences with new movies. Lauren Greenfield said ‘You can’t make a film with a festival in mind. It’s not something I would have expected or taken for granted. It’s kind of the dream in the back of your mind.’ Thursday opened with ‘Hello I Must Be Going,’ actor turned director Todd Louiso’s U.S. dramatic entry. They centers on a love story between a 19 year old men with a 35 year old divorcee.

Others entries were the world cinema drama were ‘Wish You Were Here,’ from Australian filmmaker Kieran Darcy Smith. Director Malik Bendjelloul’s world cinema documentary was ‘Searching for Sugar Man,’ a portrait of promising 1970s singer songwriter Rodriguez. Sundance also launched place for films, which show off their films hoping to build buzz among audiences and the legions of cinema journalists attend the festival. Michael Barker said ‘All the film press in North America is at Sundance to discover films.’ which is showing director Nadine Labaki’s Lebanese drama ‘Where Do We Go Now’ and ‘Gareth Huw Evans’ Indonesian action tale ‘The Raid’ at the festival.

1. Actress Freida Pinto and Dev Patel in Toronto International Film Festival 2010
2. The 36th Toronto International Film Festival 2011
3. New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2012