At the first edition of the Sundance Film Festival, in 1985, ten directors presented their works in the Dramatic Competition.
Over the next decade, the number of films in this series would increase to 16 (and remain this way).
Gender and Ethnicity
Of the ten directors, there was only one woman, Nell Cox, and only one African-American, Bill Duke.
The age of the directors varied from the early 20s (Adam Brooks) to early 40s (Victor Nunez).
About half of the directors were graduates of film school, several of them from NYU Film School.
Highlights
Most of the films were feature directorial debuts, such as Joel Coen’s “Blood Simple.”
Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger Than Paradise” had actually premiered at the Cannes Film Fest in May 1984, where it won the Camera d’Or. By the time it played at Sundance, Jarmusch’s stunning debut had already played at the New York Film Fest in October, and had won the Best Picture of the Year from the National Society of Film Critics (of which I am a member).
Theatrical Distribution:
Almost You, Adam Brooks, 20th Fox, May 1985
Blood Simple, Joel Coen
Cold Feet, Bruce Van Dusen
Flash of Green, A, Victor Nunez
Hard Choices, Rick King
Heartbreakers, Bobby Roth
Killing Floor, The, William Duke
Roommate, The, Nell Cox
Stranger Than Paradise, Jim Jarmusch
Vamping, Frederick Keller
Dramatic Competition: 10 Films (By Title)
Almost You, Adam Brooks
Blood Simple, Joel Coen
Cold Feet, Bruce Van Dusen
Flash of Green, A, Victor Nunez
Hard Choices, Rick King
Heartbreakers, Bobby Roth
Killing Floor, The, William Duke
Roommate, The, Nell Cox
Stranger Than Paradise, Jim Jarmusch
Vamping, Frederick Keller
Dramatic Competition (By Director)
Brooks, Adam, Almost You
Coen, Joel, Blood Simple
Cox, Nell, The Roommate
Duke, William, The Killing Floor
Jarmusch, Jim, Stranger Than Paradise
Keller, Frederick, Vamping
King, Rick, Hard Choices
Nunez, Victor, A Flash of Green
Roth, Bobby, Heartbreakers
Van Dusen, Bruce, Cold Feet
