Performers take their dreams to Park City and Sundance

PARK CITY — The famous and the beautiful hog all the headlines from Sundance worldwide.

Robert Redford explains every year that he wants more focus on films, and then a bunch of films starring the famous and beautiful roll into town, and those in the media can't seem to help themselves and write or broadcast all about the jet-setters.

But the actual Sundance Film Festival, rather than the media that cover it, is certainly as much about the anonymous artist as it is about veteran actors turned rookie directors or "A-list" stars making a foray into "independent" film. There are hundreds of actors, directors, cinematographers, writers and musicians all trying to use Sundance as a launching pad. In the cinematic world, Park City — not Disneyland — is where dreams come true.

At least three films, including last year's "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire," have gone on to compete as Oscar best-picture nominees and lots of less obvious careers have used the festival as a launching pad, which inspires hope.

Kristin Diable is launched, at least a little. A 25-year-old musician from Louisiana, she makes her living as a musician — but that doesn't mean she knows where next month's rent is coming from. She arrived in Utah with her guitar on her back to play and make new fans while hoping that some of those fans would be film and television decision makers.

"Right now making it as an independent artist is not about selling $10 CDs, it's licensing," she said.

Diable (and no, that isn't a stage name) has landed her songs in a couple of commercials (a reel is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulRRSzroTAU) but those fade away and like anybody else, she wants to be in pictures.

"It is one thing to tell people about your music but to show them, you really get in their archives," she said pointing at her head. "Half of the narrative of film is music."

She played as part of the Rescue Haiti Acoustic Series, but that meant that she kicked off an event that was by its nature put together in only a few days and was trying to gain traction as it, and she, started. Crowds, designed to consist of celebrities and media only, were sparse to start with. But she stood at a microphone with her electric six-stringed traveling companion and played her guts out.