Letter from the Editor

 

In lieu of my usual editor’s letter, I decided to turn the tables on our Creative Director, Jeff Vespa. He prefers to stay behind the camera, but this year — which happens to be Verge’s fourth time at the film festival — I put him in the hot seat. And hit him with the same questions I’ve asked the seven Sundance sensations featured inside the pages of our annual preview issue. We hope you enjoy it. — James Patrick Herman, Editorial Director

Where are you from? 

Jeff Vespa: Baltimore. I grew up eating hard-shell crabs and I still love them. But now I just get them shipped to Los Angeles.

How long have you been going to Park City?  

JV: My first year at Sundance was 1995, so you do the math. That was the year The Brothers McMullen won the Grand Jury Prize and it also happened to be the debut of the alternative film festival, Slamdance.

How does it feel to be the official photographer of Sundance? 

JV: The reality is that there are many people involved in the festival, and I am just a small part of it. But I have been the official photographer since 2003, so I am grateful to have occupied that role for over a decade. I have helped to discover numerous emerging actors over the years, and honestly, that was the inspiration for starting Verge.

Describe your ideal Sundance selfie. 

JV: I take so many photos of other people that I rarely take any of myself. However, anytime Jena Malone is at the festival, she always takes one of us together because she is a photographer, too. She is coming this year, so that will be my official Sundance selfie.

What do you think of Robert Redford? 

JV: The amazing thing about Sundance is that he founded it to support independent filmmakers. But what he may not realize is that the festival has supported so many other careers as well. For instance, I would not be where I am today without Sundance.

What’s the buzz about this issue of Verge? 

JV: This is our fourth year celebrating the freshest faces of the festival. When we first started, I never imagined that one of the actors featured in Verge’s Sundance preview issue would go on to land the lead in the biggest movie of all-time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We featured John Boyega only two years ago. So I would say the buzz is that if you want to see the next big stars before they’re famous, then you should read this magazine! Now I am going a bit overboard, but seriously, there is a lot of talent in these pages. And I feel confident they all have long careers ahead of them.