Diving "Into the Noise" with Level Ground at Sundance
FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, Samantha Curley, Level Ground’s Executive Director, has been organizing an annual field trip to the Sundance Film Festival. It started in 2013 with just a few friends and has grown every year since. This January, 30 people traveled to Park City, Utah from across the country to share in a week of empathy-building stories on (and off) screen. Now officially produced by Level Ground, we call this Sundance trip “Into The Noise.”
Each person who travels with Into The Noise has their own unique reasons for wanting to attend the festival. Some work in film or in other creative industries, and this trip offers opportunities for artistic inspiration (and networking!). Others are retired or between jobs, and looking for something new. And for many of our attendees, experiencing the Sundance Film Festival allows them to check off an important box on their bucket list. Whatever one’s reasons for traveling, Into the Noise caters to each individual’s desires with a customized, full-package travel plan that doesn’t break the bank.
Ryan Parker, a Level Ground Member, has attended Into the Noise for the last 4 years. He finds deep personal and professional fulfillment through our unique travel program:
“As a consultant for film distribution, marketing, and publicity, going to Sundance is professionally advantageous, allowing me to see what films are coming down the pipe for the coming year and beyond. Even though it’s ostensibly independent, the festival, through its film programming and panel discussions, helps give me a sense of the state of the whole industry from independent filmmaking to studio production to streaming platforms.
“As an aspiring producer, Sundance is a source of deep, creative inspiration as networking events create space for new relationships and sparks for collaboration. Of course, that inspiration is only as good as my determination to do something with it once I leave the festival.
“Finally, as a film lover and as someone who longs to learn more about others’ experiences through story-telling and conversation, going to Sundance with Into the Noise has been good for my soul. I’ve made friendships that I rekindle each year around fireplaces and over glasses of High West whiskey.
“Just going to the festival is a wonderful opportunity, but being able to share the experience with like-minded folks from Level Ground (and new friends from around the country) is a gift. I’ve learned from and been challenged and inspired by these conversations. By democratizing the experience (read: making it cheaper to go!), Level Ground has helped make attending Sundance a rhythm of my life, and it’s one that I hope runs for many years to come.”
AS RYAN SAYS, the central element of our Into the Noise trip is a focus on and appreciation for storytelling and meaningful conversations. Sundance stories are not of the blockbuster, studio variety; rather, they are filled with the grit and pain and hope and subtlety of the human experience. Simply getting to view them is one thing, but having space to reflect and connect over them with a group of new friends who share your appreciation for empathetic, transformative stories—that is truly priceless.
Like many film festivals, Sundance can be difficult, intimidating, and expensive to navigate. With Into The Noise, Level Ground makes Sundance an accessible, curated, and communal experience.
Want to join us in 2021? The Sundance Film Festival happens every year at the end of January, but Level Ground starts planning our Into The Noise trip much sooner. To join us, subscribe to the Level Ground newsletter and look for an email in July about putting down a deposit.