Sundance Film Festival s Newest Sponsors include Honda, Google, Activision Publishing, Inc., FilterForGoodSM, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, the National Milk Mustache “got milk?”® Campaign, Le Tourment Vert Absinthe Francaise and Timberland

Park City, UT(RushPRnews) 01/13/09 —The Sundance Institute announced today the complete list of official sponsors of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, a distinguished group of companies dedicated to supporting independent artists and the event’s presentation of more than 700 screenings by over 200 filmmakers. Sponsor support reflects a commitment to sustaining the vitality of independent film, filmmakers and audiences; their presence enriches the Festival experience and also extends to the year-round programs of the nonprofit Sundance Institute. The 25th Sundance Film Festival runs from January 15-25 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

“For the nonprofit Sundance Institute the importance of corporate support can never be overemphasized, and in light of the current global economic climate we are especially fortunate to have such deep commitments from these forward-thinking companies,” said Emily Laskin, Director of Development, Sundance Institute. “The strength of our Festival’s brand is an asset we work very hard to protect and this year’s sponsors are a wonderful fit for us.”

As a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute, the Sundance Film Festival operates with the support of corporate sponsors as well as that of private foundations, nonprofit associations and guilds, government agencies, and individual donors. Behind the scenes, Festival sponsorship dollars make possible many of the services provided to filmmakers during the Festival. These contributions also support the Festival and Institute’s infrastructure, including but not limited to marketing, volunteer services, transportation, and communications.

2009 Sundance Film Festival Sponsors
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival sponsors help sustain the nonprofit Sundance Institute’s year-round programs to support independent artists, inspire risk-taking and encourage diversity in the arts. This year’s Festival Sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors—Entertainment Weekly, HP and Honda; Leadership Sponsors—American Express, Delta Air Lines, DIRECTV, Google and Microsoft Corporation; Sustaining Sponsors—Activision Publishing, Inc., Blockbuster Inc., FilterForGoodSM, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, the National Milk Mustache “got milk?”® Campaign, L’Oreal Paris, Le Tourment Vert Absinthe Francaise, The New York Times, Ray-Ban, Sony Electronics, Inc., Stella Artois®, Timberland, and the Utah Film Commission. Group Partner Sundance Channel is the Official Television Network of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance Film Festival also announced a new venue for sponsors, The Sundance Lift. Located at the Town Lift on lower Main Street, Park City, The Sundance Lift will provide filmmakers and their casts a convenient location for hospitality and press junkets, while providing additional exposure for corporate sponsors who support the nonprofit Sundance Institute.

“In recent years, Sundance Film Festival has been overwhelmed by what we refer to as ‘ambush marketers’ – organizations without an official relationship to us who target festival attendees with their swag houses, lounges and nightclubs,” said Sarah Pearce, Director of Festival Operations, Sundance Film Festival. “The Sundance Lift will provide well-needed space for press junkets and filmmaker events, free from gifting suites and other non-film-related activity. Our hope is that it will send a message to those hangers-on who do not support the Festival.”

Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film, held each January in and around Park City, Utah. Presenting 120 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in seven distinct categories, and 80 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has introduced American audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Trouble the Water and Central Station.

Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a not-for-profit organization that fosters the development of original storytelling in film and theatre, and presents the annual Sundance Film Festival. Internationally recognized for its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Angels in America, Spring Awakening, Boys Don’t Cry and Born into Brothels.