In vogue — Film on fashion magazine to star at Sundance's opening gala

Director R.J. Cutler will be there for Friday's opening night gala at the Rose Wagner Center, as will the sometimes controversial Wintour.

The event is also expected to draw some of the world's top fashion models. That means the prescreening reception for "The September Issue"could turn into an impromptu fashion show.

"It's hard to imagine that the preshow will be better than the film itself. It's a wonderful piece of filmmaking," festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said.

"I think our audiences will be surprised at just how nail-biting the publishing business can be," he said. "This film has humor, drama and some real suspense."

However, Gilmore acknowledges that he looks forward to seeing some of the fashions — almost as much as seeing how the film "plays" with audiences, especially those in Salt Lake City.

And even Gilmore's well-known boss, Robert Redford, says he's intrigued by the movie.

"I'm a fan of documentary filmmaking," Redford quickly explained, and then laughed, "I'm a jeans-and-sweaters kind of guy, obviously."

The Salt Lake gala is just one of the events during the 10-day film showcase designed to show off Salt Lake City, as well as alleviate congestion in the festival's main hub, Park City.

Two of the three screening venues — the Rose Wagner Center and Broadway Centre — are located within three blocks of each other on 300 South.

The third, the Tower Theatre, is located in the popular Ninth East and Ninth South business block.

The so-called "festival corridor" — 300 South — also features the official "festival cafe" — the Beehive Tea Room, which will feature food and drink for Sundance attendees, as well as daily musical performances.

Also for the second year, a competing event called X-Dance, a festival that showcases nearly three dozen documentary films about action sports, will be in Salt Lake City. It runs through Wednesday at the Off-Broadway Theatre, just off 300 South, on Main Street.

And something called the Temporary Museum of Permanent Change (www.museumofchange.com) will unveil new displays, or "plakats," for its own "Broadway wing" along 300 South.

The 2009 edition of the Sundance Film Festival actually opened Thursday with the debut of the clay-animated feature "Mary and Max."