Each January, for the past 25 years, Park City, Utah has welcomed some of the biggest and brightest red carpet stars and budding filmmakers to its picaresque snowy surroundings for its annual Sundance Film Festival. For five years, it has also played host to Biola film students who capitalize on the chance to experience one of the world’s most praised film festivals, and even receive class credit in the process.

Famous for starting the careers of countless filmmakers and actors alike, The Sundance Film Festival has slowly gained notoriety since its founder, the “Sundance Kid,” Robert Redford, gave independent filmmakers a venue to present their work and interact with other filmmakers. From its humble beginnings, Sundance has been the breakout source of independent cinema, premiering films that eventually become box office hits. The long list includes, “Sex, Lies and Videotape” (1989) “Memento,” (2000) “Napoleon Dynamite,” (2004) “Little Miss Sunshine,” (2006) among others. Because of the incredible success of these films, the festival has now become a hotbed for industry professionals and big money deals for mainstream media. Sundance is the place to find the next big indie success.

Biola students have had a unique opportunity to take place in an open dialogue with fellow filmmakers and pop-culture theologians about the often heavy films Sundance premieres. In partnership with Craig Detweiler and Fuller Seminary, Biola students, along with others from Taylor and Point Loma University meet in the center of Park City to take place in the Windrider Forum. Windrider welcomes directors, actors and producers to Mountain Vineyard Christian Fellowship, which is right in the heart of the festival, for a unique, open discussion of the art of the filmmaking process.

“At the Windrider Forum we focus upon the ultimate questions that reside behind these films: Who are we, how do we get along, and where is God in our world?” said Detweiler, in his fifth year hosting the forum. “When Sundance filmmakers find out that there are so many film students interested in their work, they jump at the chance to go deeper in conversation, even with film students that are Christians,” he said.

The Windrider Forum is like nothing else at Sundance. Where most Q-and-A sessions are saturated with talks of budget and funding, Windrider attendees dig into the deeper themes and motives of films. Because of this, the forum brings in big name directors and producers from some of Sundance’s most celebrated films who seek out the intimate conversation. Last year the grand jury award-winning film “Frozen River” brought its producer, director and main cast to the forum, where they participated in a lengthy, heartfelt discussion. This year, personnel from “Adam,” “Sin Nombre,” “Arlen Faber” and award-winning “Short Term 12” graced the Windrider stage and opened up about the intricacies of their projects.

“You have to prove to them that you understand what they are aspiring to say, help them understand that their issues are your issues, and that you share their passion,” Detweiler said. “It’s about finding common ground in a sometimes divided culture.

Biola film students are privileged to have the chance to sit down and find common ground with successful filmmakers and make the most of it, asking difficult but heartfelt questions that get at the deeper issues of Sundance films.

“Even as filmmakers at Biola, we have a foundation in theology, so we are primed to be looking for themes and asking tough questions,” said senior film student Andrew Watkins. “The focus of our questions falls more toward, ‘what were you trying to tell me?’ and less about actors and budget.”

Watkins was one of 12 Biola students who received credit for the Sundance trip this interterm by participating in the forum.

Each student was able to see upward of 10 movies over the span of a week, some of which were foreign films, or documentaries; a few students even saw a midnight showing of a horror film about Nazi Zombies entitled “Dead Snow.”

Overall, for Biola film students, a trip to the Sundance Film Festival is an invaluable experience. They build connections with one another, as well as professional filmmakers. With the help of the Windrider Forum, students are able to assess the gritty films of Sundance through a theological lens, giving them a greater chance to take a spiritually centered approach to the filmmaking process and develop a better appreciation of the art form as a whole.