10th Annual Slamdance Film Festival 2004 Kicks Off With A Pair of Rock 'n Roll Events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 7, 2004
Contact: MARGOT GERBER
Tel: 323 466 1786 or publicity@slamdance.com

10th Annual Slamdance Film Festival 2004 Kicks Off With A Pair of Rock 'n Roll Events

Salt Lake City Kick-Off Party (January 16) and Festival Opening Night In Park City (January 17)

New York City - Extending the Slamdance mission of showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers, Slamdance 2004 and Radical Records team to present events featuring New York's finest unsigned, underground rock 'n roll bands. Slamdance's Salt Lake City Kick-Off event is at Club Vortex on January 16th and Park City's Opening Night will take place at Deer Valley's Snow Lodge on January 17th.

Radical Records will be showcasing bands from their release "New York City Rock N Roll" which has received critical acclaim in New York and is set to embark on a national tour. From the set, the Slamdance events will feature performances by underground rockers Queen V, SLUNT, Skum, Joker 5 Speed and The Sex Slaves.

The January 16th Kick Off event at Club Vortex (18+ to enter) in Salt Lake City also features hard hitting local talent The Wolves, Stiletto along with special guest DJs.

The January 17th Opening Night at Deer Valley's Snow Lodge (21+ to enter) will feature longer sets by the NYC bands, complimentary beverage provided by Tarantula Tequila and Dos Equis. Both events wil be hosted by Steve Blush, author of the classic music book "American Hardcore."

"Partnering with Radical Records and local SLC talent for Slamdance X illustrates the heart of the festival ñ dirt-under-the-nails, in your face, film and in this case, music. Featuring both NYC and SLC talent reinforces the all comers appeal of Slamdance on both a local and national level; a feat we are proud to achieve," said Slamdance Events Producer Howie Goldklang.

Speaking about the line up of bands performing, Steve Blush, Slamdance Event Producer / author of American Hardcore / NYC rock historian said, "I could go on and on with some highly intellectualized diatribe about the raison d'Ítre of these NYC bands and the mischievous social misfits who comprise them. A wide range of musicological, sociological, historical, and psycho-sexual issues offer a compelling look at post-Millennial, post-WTC Big Apple subculture. But all that misses the point - 'cuz yo, this ain't rocket science, this ain't brain surgery - this is New York City Rock 'n Roll.

Both the Salt Lake City Kick-Off and Park City Opening Night are ticketed events and will begin at 8pm. Tickets for the Kick-Off can currently be purchased at the Club Vortex Box Office located at 404 SW Temple Street in Salt Lake City, UT (a private club for members) and Opening Night tickets can be purchased Slamdance's Box Office at the Treasure Mountain Inn at 255 Main Street in Park City, UT from January 16. Over the past three years, Slamdance has built up a strong community for alumni filmmakers in New York City through the efforts of Slamdance East Coast Director and alum, Paul Rachman who organizes a monthly film series at the Pioneer Theatre followed by post-screening parties for filmmakers at local bars, featuring music from emerging bands. Additionally he produces three to four larger events each year that often combine independent film and music. "Slamdance's New York events are known for fostering relationships amongst independent filmmakers," says Rachman. "We have introduced an underground music element to certain events in New York and that has been really well received. The goal this year was to introduce the same synergy to the events in Salt Lake and Park Cities. Slamdance has become known as a festival for discovering new talent and in that spirit, these are musicians who are fresh and new and about to break."

Sponsors include Tarantula Tequila, Dos Equis, Brewvies and media partners x96, SLC Weekly, and SLUG Magazine. For more information on these events and Slamdance 2004, please visit http://www.slamdance.com and http://www.newyorkcityrocknroll.com.

Slamdance is a year-round organization dedicated to serving new filmmakers from around the world. Started in 1995 by a group of upstart writer/director/producers, Slamdance continues to be organized and programmed by active filmmakers. Now in its tenth year as an annual festival that runs simultaneous to the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering independent films by first-time directors working with limited budgets. With a renowned film festival at its heart, Slamdance has expanded to include domestic and international On The Road events (Los Angeles, Delhi, New York, Washington, D.C., Cologne, Beijing, Wroclaw-Poland), a thriving screenplay competition, a very active website at slamdance.com, the Anarchy online short film competition, a $99 Special short film production wing, the Dirty Dozen DVD series and a newly-formed Boot Camp education program.

Sparky awards together with sponsored prizes will be presented to the winners of the competition films at the Slamdance Birthday Party on January 23rd, details of which will be announced shortly.

Information about obtaining press credentials is in the press section of the website www.slamdance.com

Margot Gerber can be reached at 323.461.2020, 115 until January 14th. If you are in a different time zone it is best to e-mail.

EVENTS PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE. GO TO WWW.SLAMDANCE.COM FOR UPDATED INFORMATION.