Sundance becoming a blog fest

As befits its indie roots, the Sundance Film Festival has long played host to innovations that have spread elsewhere.

Blogging is one of them. Personal blogs, millions of them, are spreading on the Internet like kudzu, from LiveJournal.com to MySpace.com. A professional blog such as Gawker Media's gossipy Defamer.com can draw as many as 270,000 page views per day.

As blogs become more successful, they're challenging traditional media, and this year's Sundance marks a fascinating juncture as newly powerful blogs like Cinematical.com take on the likes of The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

"Blogs are becoming a vital part of an independent film scene that relies on word-of-mouth and alternative media to truly thrive," says Eugene Hernandez, editor of the pioneering indie film site IndieWire.com, which hosts some two dozen blogs and this year has asked 12 filmmakers from Sundance and the concurrent Slamdance to blog about their experiences.

Sundance founder Robert Redford may lament all the buzz surrounding Sundance, but with all the blogs in attendance, that buzz will be louder than ever.

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