Dear PCSkiGal- I think I want to see a Sundance Film Festival movie but everything that sounds interesting is waitlisted? Am I wasting my time? Should I even bother trying to go? I thought you might be the one in the know. ImpatientFan

Dear Impatient Fan- It’s not as bleak as it seems. You definitely have a shot at seeing not only a movie but one of your choice. Sundance continues through this Sunday and ends on Monday with the Best of Fest screenings for locals. The tickets to the BoF have been divvied out but because everyone got two, there’s a strong chance people can’t make it. Start asking around. Same goes for tickets to the screenings of your favorite picks. Network. Post want ads on Craigslist and KSL; Tweet. Also, every morning at 8 a.m. the Sundance box office releases extra tickets to movies screened that same day. They will publish an updated list the night before at http://www.sundance.org/ticketchart/. Check the chart, then head up to Park City before dawn. The guys at the office told me some people start lining up at 3 a.m.!

WaitList

Plan to stand in line in the cold if the above doesn’t work or have appeal. Now that the Fest is halfway through more seats become available. A good number of ticketholders start to blow off their movies toward the end of the Fest. They would rather ski, sleep, network, or they’ve OD’d on film. Choose movies that play in the early morning (before 9 a.m.) or super late evening (after 10 p.m.) that will screen at the larger venues: The Eccles Center, The Park City Library and the Prospector Square Theater. Get there TWO HOURS before showtime to pick up a waitlist number and return 30 minutes before the screening.

FSBO

Disclaimer- I neither endorse nor deny the following suggestion.

People are selling their tickets. Check Craigslist under Sale/Sundance. It is what it is. Be aware, however, the box office says they will prosecute anyone reselling their tickets and will void them out as there is some sort of fine print allowing them to do so. I asked the workers in the box office, “Don’t you guys have anything better to do than police your tickets?” and they responded, “Are you kidding? We’re a non-profit, of course not.”

Scalping is legal in Utah as long as the price is not greater than the face value of the ticket but Sundance gets to make their own laws? I think it’s absolutely ridiculous and lame that ticketholders can be prevented from recouping their money in the event that they can’t make it to a film. They are forced to purchase tickets so far in advance that the earth could end by the time the Festival comes around. You shouldn’t have to be out the money; especially if the screening is sold out. Sundance made their money on that ticket. They shouldn’t be entitled to double dip at your expense.

The one relief is you can exchange your unusable tickets for another movie at the box office and but it must be done in person and costs and extra $2 per ticket (the original ticket cost is $15). The box office will then resell your old ticket.

Now go out there and see a film before it’s too late!

~PCSkiGal