The World Premiere of The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang:

The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang had it's world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 21st. Below, producer Jeremy Coon gives his reasons why they decided to screen the film at Slamdance, instead of the more high-profile Sundance Film Festival:

Jeremy Coon, producer of the 2004 Sundance and surprise mainstream hit film Napoleon Dynamite (based on a 2003 Slamdance short), was a programmer for last year's Slamdance competition. He will return this year, alongside the same Brigham Young University crew that produced "Napoleon," to show their new film, "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang," set in the 1970s about kids who create Bigfoot tracks to distract police officers who are trying to hunt them down for an unpaid bill at a local burger restaurant.

Coon says the group considered Sundance, but ultimately decided their new film belonged at Slamdance.

Filmed in Oregon, "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang" was written and directed by Napoleon's assistant director, Tim Skousen. Napoleon fans will recognize some of the comedy Coon says, but the cast is new.

Sasquatch is more of a straight-up kids' film Goonies, but told in a non-linear style that I don't think a lot of kids' films are told. That's how the comedy breaks through you see events through different perspectives," he explained. "This year it sounds like Sundance has chosen to pick a darker slate of films that are more edgy and back to their roots, and our film doesn't really mesh."
The BYU crew likes to make independent films because they enjoy the freedom, and given the films they make, Slamdance is likely the best way to get the word out, Coon explained. Though the triumph of "Napoleon," did give him choices, he says, "we just don't like dealing with the studio system yet."

Coon explains that whether Slamdance admits it or not, it will always be in Sundance's shadow, but he considers that maybe Slamdancers don't mind being the younger brother.
"Sundance has become a victim of some success, but Slamdance is a lot smaller, and you get a lot more attention. At Sundance there's no way you're going to meet all the other filmmakers. Slamdance it's possible. It's a lot smaller, with a more family-like atmosphere, which is definitely cool," he said.
Source: parkrecord.com

SDG's Film Festival awards:
The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance film festival, which spoke volumes about the film's mainstream appeal:
Their prize was $25,000 credit on post-production services.
Source: www.slamdance.com

They also won two more awards at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival. Unfortunately, it did not win best feature, but it did win for best actor, and also best director Tim Skousen.
Source: www.uscaf.com

The Film Discovery Program's Award Winners, sponsored by Variety, include:
Best Feature - Friends With Money
Best Screenplay - Keeping Mum
Best Actor - Justin Long, The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang
Best Actress - Olivia Wilde, Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Idea
Best Director - Tim Skousen, The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang
Breakout Filmmaker Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking
Best Live-Action Short - K-7, director Christopher Leone
Best Animated Short - Angry Unpaid Hooker, director Steve Dildarian
Best College Short - Check Out, director Dan Eckman
Cinemax Audience Award Winner – Shut Up and Sing