A few changes are in store for Slamdance's 7th year, including a move of most of the Festival off of Main St. and up the hill to the Park City Silver Mine . Slamdance Executive Director and Co-Founder Peter Baxter , in a prepared statement, highlighted a Festival lineup that includes movies from around the world. One continuing trend this year is the large percentage of international films in competition. Slamdance's competition is made up of lower budget films, without distribution, that are made by first-time filmmakers.
Organizers attribute the jump in submissions to the increasing use of digital video.
Baxter indicated in the announcement that half of the features submitted and one-third of those selected for the festival were shot on digital or video. Blazing a trail that other festivals are only now catching up with, Slamdance has a six-year history of offering digital projection as an option for filmmakers. The awards will be presented on January 14th at Windows on the World at New York City's World Trade Center . The owner of Movie Magic Producer , the software suite that includes the widely used Movie Magic Budgeting program, told indieWIRE that the layoffs were a response to the cooling of the economic climate, but that the company is still in excellent condition. It's a sad reality when you have to tighten your belt, but it's healthy and necessary.