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Sheen Magazine was on the scene for the first half of The Sundance Film Festival 2024 in the frosty and fabulous Park City, Utah. The Utah US Film Festival was established and founded by esteemed actor, Robert Redford, and company in 1978. It was later renamed The Sundance Film Festival in 1984 in honor of Robert Redford’s movie and character in the film, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. This year, Sundance celebrates its 40th edition—four decades of intentional promotion of independent films, in which tens of thousands of people flock to the wintry city, with RSVP’d access to dozens of Sundance social events, edifying panels and of course, a plethora of private movie screenings available for cinema lovers to peep before the selected movies premier to public audiences. 

Historic Main Street in Park City was the main scene and dozens of attendees and creatives hustled and bustled to screening premiers, panels, and parties. Some Sundance partnership activations included the Adobe Live Lounge in which guests were able to listen to live panels featuring some of the directors and actors of the films on display, while also playing around with some of Adobe’s updated features. DJ Cardi and Dope DJ Duo, Coco & Breezy killed their sets at the Acura House of Energy lounge presented by Acura and White Claw Hard Seltzer. The Chase Sapphire Lounge was where the luxury was at, with Celebrity Chef Melissa King serving up savory hors d’ourves like her Hong Kong style French toast, mini-Cali breakfast burritos for brunch, Mala lamb skewers and scallion pancakes. While the state of Utah is intolerable of excessive public intoxication and has serious restrictions, small doses of libations were up for grabs. 

Quiet as its kept, the Melanin activation at Sundance was in the air. Oscar winning movie media company, MACRO returned for their seventh year hosting the MACRO Lodge. The company was founded by power couple CEO Charles D. and Stacey Walker King, and the lodge hosted various panels celebrating the American Black, African and Caribbean contributions to television and filmmaking. The Afrika Haus panel was moderated by, Audu Maikori, a lawyer and entrepreneur representing Nigeria and co-founder of Pixel Ray Studios. “We’ve built a bit of power, and we intend to use it.” Spoke the director of the hit Netflix movie, The Black Book and one of Naija’s finest, Editi Effiong. Completing the panel, were Haitian film director Robenson Lauvince and Head of Development of Tyler Perry Studios and Bajan Barbie, Elon Johnson. When the panel was asked how important it is to build relationships between the American African Diaspora and the Natives of Africa and the Caribbean, not just cinematically but entirely, such as economically, Editi added, “It’s expensive to make film in LA, it’s expensive to make film in Atlanta, way more than it is in Lagos. We [Africans] know how to navigate whatever resources are required to tell stories and if you want your money to multiply, that is where you put your money.” 

Erika Nicole Malone Entertainment presented the Black Women Lead Panel at The Cabin, a cozy lounge also on Main Street. Vanessa Mbonu, the Digital Director of NAACP moderated the conversation with writer, director, and producer Erika Nicole Malone of “Remember Me”: The Mahalia Jackson Story. As well as April Reign, creator of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, executive producer and showrunner of NBC’s drama, Found and The CW’s All American, Nkechi Okoro Carol, and from music videos to movies and TV, filmmaker Nzhinga Stewart. 

One of the topics of discussion, were how Melanated women are often solely viewed as superheroes, caregivers, and “the strong one” in various forms of media. The panel was asked, how have Melanated women not being seen as feminine and often not being allowed to resonate with this soft girl era, been a detriment to society? “TV normalizes this, and they treat Black Women as if we are invincible and it is to our detriment. We’re not allowed to be vulnerable. We’re taught that we have to live up to this superhero image until we’re in the hospital.” Nkechi Okoro Carol says, “It’s important that we demystify that.” 

Be on the lookout for a few Black Films that made their debut at the 40th Edition of The 2024 Sundance Film Festival: Luther Biopic: Never Too Much which chronicles the life of the iconic and legendary vocalist. The American Society of Magical Negroes, starring Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, and Aisha Hinds is about how Black People are literally creating ways of making white people’s lives easier. Exhibiting Forgiveness, starring André Holland and Andra Day and directed by Titus Kaphar, depicts a Father and a Sons path to forgiveness. Freaky Tales is an adventure, comedy, drama set in 1987 Oakland, California, starring Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Normani, and Too $hort.

For all things Sundance, visit www.Sundance.Org and via social media, visit @sundanceorg. 

Photo Credit: Antoine Debrill