美国国家公共电台 NPR Sundance Film Festival Kicks Off In Park City, Utah

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: 

"Reservoir Dogs," "Memento," "The Blair Witch Project" and the Coen brothers' debut¹ film, "Blood Simple," all have one thing in common. They premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. My co-host Kelly McEvers has more.

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: 

Sundance begins tonight in Park City, Utah, and NPR arts correspondent Mandalit del Barco is covering it, so she knows what to expect. Hi, there, Mandalit.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE²: Hi, Kelly.

MCEVERS: So no one really knows what's going to be the next big, you know, Sundance breakout, but there are some clues that can help us make predictions, right?

DEL BARCO: Right. You know, there are themes that bubble up, and this year Sundance has a program called New Climate. Robert Redford - he founded the festival. He's been an environmentalist for many, many years. And he told me he's especially gratified the festival will feature 14 documentaries, short films and virtual reality experiences on the subject of climate change and conservation.

You know, tonight, Redford will personally introduce his longtime friend, former Vice³ President Al Gore⁴. He's premiering a sequel to his documentary "An Inconvenient⁵ Truth." That film premiered 11 years ago at Sundance. And it went on to win two Oscars, and then, of course, Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize. There's also a film about a Chinese recycling plant. Another follows a team of divers⁶ and scientists exploring coral reefs, and another looks at California's water system.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "WATER AND POWER: A CALIFORNIA HEIST")

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Water is power. Water is power, and water is money. You don't have an industry, you don't have a town, you don't have agriculture unless you have water.

DEL BARCO: That film is called "Water And Power: A California Heist." And there's also a documentary in this program about working in a massive textile factory in India.

MCEVERS: All right, but all the films at Sundance can't all be about climate change and the environment. Yeah?

DEL BARCO: Right, right. There are a few films out of Cuba. One is a sequel to the "Buena Vista⁷ Social Club."

MCEVERS: Oh.

DEL BARCO: Another is a documentary about the historic free concert last year in Havana by Major Lazer. There are some films about police violence, including a feature called "Crown Heights." And there are a handful of films about Syria, including one called "City Of Ghosts" about a group of anonymous⁸ citizen journalists taking on ISIS.

MCEVERS: You said you talked to Sundance founder⁹ Robert Redford. He's also onscreen at the festival this year?

DEL BARCO: He is. He's in a movie called "The Discover," but he didn't really want to talk about that. He wanted to talk about the power of storytelling, and he told me about his idea to create Sundance back in 1978.

ROBERT REDFORD: What if we start a film festival where at least filmmakers could come and see each other's work and form a community? So the first year is maybe 25 films, maybe six or seven documentaries, and maybe a hundred people wandered around out in front of the theater. And I thought this is probably not going to work, but slowly it caught on and then it caught fire. Now it's almost out of control, but the mission was accomplished¹⁰ - to create the space for other voices in film to get their stories told and be seen.

DEL BARCO: You know, Sundance is massive right now.

MCEVERS: Yeah.

DEL BARCO: And Redford says it's still a struggle to fund independent films, but he did talk about the value of having a communal¹¹ experience of watching movies on the big screen together.

MCEVERS: It's amazing to think about a small Sundance, given what it is now. Sundance does start tonight, as we said, and tomorrow, of course, is Inauguration¹² Day. Do you expect any crossover between the two events?

DEL BARCO: Oh, sure. You know, Sundance has always attracted a really politically aware group of filmmakers and movie lovers. So in addition to going to screenings and parties, thousands of people plan to march down Main Street in Park City on Saturday. As women march in Washington, the sister march will be led by comedian¹³ Chelsea Handler, and among the speakers will be activist¹⁴ Dolores Huerta. She's also the subject of a doc premiering at the festival, so it should be a really interesting time.

MCEVERS: NPR's Mandalit del Barco, who's covering the Sundance Film Festival, thank you.

DEL BARCO: Thank you.

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

5 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

6 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

7 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

8 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

11 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

12 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

13 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

14 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。