How Will a New Director Change the Sundance Film Festival?

In addition to the news that the Sundance Film Festival will be offering a rental film service via YouTube, John Cooper is faced with the task of directing this year’s famous independent film festival. Cooper began his work with Robert Redford’s acclaimed festival back in 1989 when he served as a volunteer to the actor’s Sundance Institute.

As seen in their new deal with YouTube, it has already been revealed that Sundance 2010 will bring about a number of changes to the esteemed festival. For one, this year’s festival will put much greater emphasis on the films in contention for accolades. The custom of opening the festival with a non-competitive premiere has been omitted altogether. Although this will put a lot of attention on the highly anticipated films featuring the likes of Ben Affleck and Kristen Stewart, this year’s festival has also added a new series that will premiere a select group of films with budgets less than $500,000. Furthermore, a number of buzzworthy films will be additionally screened in exclusive cities across the country.

To learn more about Sundance 2010, click here.