Sundance Gems Shine at 2011 Oscars

When Robert Redford organized the first Sundance Film Festival in 1981, no one could have guessed that the festival would showcase so many future Oscar contenders. The 2010 Sundance Festival made an especially prominent showing at the Oscars, earning a total of 17 nominations, including Best Picture nods for The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone.

Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes, both nominated for Winter's Bone, may have been less than household names before the 2011 Oscars, but they are both certain to get more attention in the next few years. While not quite as green as 2009 newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, both have had smaller roles on both television and film. In 2008, Lawrence received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Emerging Actress at the Venice Film Festival for The Burning Plain and the Los Angeles Film Festival's Outstanding Performance award for The Poker House. In 2012, she is set to play a very different role as Mystique in X-Men: First Class.

Sundance also brings atttention to actors whose fame has begun to overshaddow their talent, like Michelle Williams, who is nominated for Blue Valentine, and Annette Bening, nominated for The Kids Are Alright.

For independent film, the Sundance Film festival is traditionally viewed as the "gold seal." Doing well at Sundance has catapulted many indies into the same league as many films with larger budgets and wider releases. In recent years, Sundance contenders Precious (presented at Sundance as "Push"), Little Miss Sunshine, and An Inconvenient Truth have all gone on to win at the Oscars as well.

The success of Precious, Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire has brought much deserved attention to newcomer actress Gabourey Sidibe, who has since appeared on several magazine covers, hosted Saturday Night Live, and landed a role on the Showtime series The Big C.

Little Miss Sunshine received four Oscar nominations in 2006, and a win for Alan Arkin as the outspoken and crotchety grandpa and dance coach. Abigail Breslin, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, at only 10 years old has become a household name and has starred in several films, including Kit Kitteredge:An American Girl and My Sister's Keeper.

An Inconvenient Truth made its showing at the Oscars in 2006, winning in the categories of Best Documentary and Best Song, I Need to Wake Up by Melissa Etheridge. Since then, the film has woken up millions to the dangers of global warming and human-influenced climate change, motivating them to live "greener" and reduce their environmental impact on the planet.

The role of the Sundance Film Festival has many roles as it brings to our attention new actors, reminds us of seasoned professionals, and awakens our interest in important social issues; it will certainly continue to do so in years to come.

Oscars.org

The Envelope: LA Times

Sundance History

Sundance Blog

Who is John Hawkes Anyway?

Jennifer Lawrence Filmography