Film-industry hopefuls large part of fest crowd

PARK CITY — Amid the stars, filmmakers and patrons of the Sundance Film Festival, Sajen Corona stands on a busy street corner, handing out photographs of himself.

"This is what you have to do in this industry. You have to hustle," Corona says. He hands his picture to a group of people walking by and shouts: "You watch — I'm going to be on Leno someday!"

Corona is not a new sight at the international event. Every year, struggling actors and aspiring filmmakers flood Main Street, autographing glossy pictures, passing out promotional postcards and showing movie clips on laptops. They take advantage of the thousands of film executives, big-time producers and industry players who converge on the small town of Park City for ten days.

For tomorrow's hopefuls, it's easier to run into Hollywood favorites on the small stretch of Main Street than it is to find them at work or play in the hundreds of miles of Southern California. And many come upon the success they are looking for by standing in the snowy streets, advertising their dream.

"You get in front of so many producers and directors," Corona said of the festival. "Last year, all I had was a showcase at the Laugh Factory. Now, I have a feature film."

It's Corona's second year in a row pitching at the festival. He stands outside Sundance hotspots, parties and theaters for about eight hours a day, giving pictures of himself to people passing by. The picture lists his contact information, Web site and a new movie, "Gettin' It," that he is starring in.

"Sundance is for little people with great ideas. And that's what I have," Corona said. "As an actor, if Hollywood doesn't know who I am, I haven't done my job."

Nathan Williams, executive producer of the soon-to-be-shot film "Dirty Laundry," also came to the festival with the film's director, Maurice Jamal. Although their film starts production in March, the filmmakers wanted to begin promoting early.

"With an indie film, you kind of have to get a grassroots campaign," Williams said. "We were there to kind of start the buzz going."

It is a gay-prodigal son story about a character who returns to his upbringing after 10 years, and filmmakers hope to finish the film in time for the spring Tribecca Film Festival. While they don't plan to enter the film into the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, they hope to screen the film during the festival's 10-day run in Park City.