Every year in Park City, Utah, some of the biggest names in independent filmmaking meet to showcase their talents at the Sundance Film Festival. One of the biggest film festivals in the world, Sundance — which begins Jan. 16 — is where the year’s cult classics and award winners premiere.
Participation in such an event can seem like a distant and unattainable goal for aspiring filmmakers and film industry workers.
But Ashton Allison, film and media arts senior, crosses that gap every year and attends the festival as a volunteer worker. She works with the press and the industry department, where she shadows journalists and critics who cover the films.
Attending the festival is an indispensable experience for a film student.
“You’re totally just like immersed in this world that is very different, even if you work in the film industry, from a day to day life,” Allison said.
Allison sees the festival as an opportunity to work with people who share her enthusiasm for film.
“You’ll sit in a room and everyone is quoting movies, and being here I have friends that work in business or PR, so they’re not as much of a film geek as I am,” Allison said. “So it’s kind of fun to be surrounded by those types of people — people who really share a passion for what I have a passion for.”
Allison said the festival is an incredible opportunity to work with professionals and gain experiences few others can obtain.
“We set up private screenings for the press and industry, so distributors, buyers, critics and journalists,” she said. “I also got to meet Roger Ebert, who passed away this year. He came in and was like a huge VIP. I got to shake his hand, and that was really awesome.”
Allison said she has always wanted to work in film, and although some may not see the University as a film school, it has been a rewarding experience for her. She credits Louisiana’s booming film industry with making the University a strong contender in the competitive film school world.
Allison said the University’s FMA program has made leaps and bounds in recent years.
“It’s exciting. I think that everyone is really starting to take notice now,” Allison said. “It’s been around for about two years and every semester there’s more and more classes, more and more interesting subjects.”
Allison has crossed paths with the likes of Jerusha Hess, director and writer of “Napoleon Dynamite,” Jill Soloway, director of “Afternoon Delight” and producer of “Six Feet Under” and Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of the “Kings of Summer”, each of whom have had a great effect on her.
“I’m just excited to get there and do it all over again,” Allison said.

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Richard Redmann

LSU film and media arts senior Ashton Allison works as an assistant for the Sundance Film Festival's Press and Industry department in Parks City, Utah.