Every aspiring independent filmmaker dreams of making a feature film.  Many do.  Of those that get made, every aspiring filmmaker dreams of getting into a film festival.  There are lots of festivals so quite a few do.  Of those, every aspiring filmmaker dreams of getting into Sundance (2007 Official Selection) or Cannes or Toronto, et al.  Some do.  Of those, every aspiring filmmaker hopes their film is good enough to get noticed by a distributor and sold.  A few do.  Of those that get picked up, well, they can only dream of what John Carney, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglová did.  A hit film.  A critically acclaimed film. A major release.  An Oscar.

I met Glen, Marketa and John after their premier screening as well as after a performance at a bar at the top of Main Street in Park City, Utah a couple days later. Such gracious folks. I really enjoyed my few minutes with them. I highly recommend you add this DVD to your film library. I really fell for these characters but just as importantly, I fell for the music they created. The performances that Glen and Marketa turned in were nothing short of astounding. This from two people who are professional musicians, not actors! Here’s the trailer:

Here’s some of their live performances from around Sundance: