By Alex Fumero, Xenoland co-producer and Knight Arts grantee “Xemoland”, a short film directed and animated by Daniel Cárdenas and co-produced by Alex Fumero, both Miami natives, was selected for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program. The film which was one of 6,467 shorts submitted to the Sundance Institute, and “Xemoland” is one of four shorts selected for the festival. The team received a $5,000 grant from Knight Foundation and a $1,000 grant from ArtesMiami to cover the expenses of the trip. Today, Fumero checks in with a report from the field. Update: Xemoland has received a great amount of local media attention since pegged to its Sundance debut. Click here to read one of several recent articles.

Network, network, network.  That seemed to be what everyone was telling me before I arrived at Sundance.  The term has many implications: new business connections, future collaborations, meeting that elusive “White Whale” that could potentially catapult your career to the upper stratosphere of the entertainment industry.  The whole thing sounded daunting, to say the least.

What it was like in reality was far more casual: a frat-like house party with some executives from the digital department of a major network (who were ludicrously trying to heat up the hot tub by boiling pots of water on the stove); assuring one of these executives the following day that he did not in fact “yell at [me], and kick [me] out last night”…that must have been later; a lunch with some VP’s from a certain celebrity host’s new channel where the subject matter ranged from “What is addiction?” to “How’d you meet your girlfriend?”; a greedy hunt down Main Street, predictably the primary strip of downtown Park City, for “swag”—or free gear given away by sponsors of the festival—with some execs who seemed less impressed by the free merchandise than I did; suggesting movies-to-see to the producer of a premier documentary at the festival (who also happens to be producing the nation’s hottest, young pop-star’s debut concert film), at a friend’s dinner party; meeting another producer for an early morning screening of Tobey Maguire’s new dark, romantic comedy, The Details, and agreeing that we both “liked it, a lot.”

In truth, almost no business was discussed at all, but I left the festival with a pocket-full of business cards, and a host of new contacts.  The fear that somehow, someway, I would have to ingratiate myself to the mammoths of the entertainment world, turned out to be a needless worry.  I talked about Xemoland when asked, about my role, and about what it meant for us to be at Sundance (a huge deal!).  I talked about where I was in life, about my desire to be a producer, and how the life of an actor didn’t seem as fulfilling anymore.  I talked about films, about who were my favorite directors, and about the ones I’d seen there.  Basically, I made friends, some of which happen to be influential, and who I hope to work with in the future.  I guess it’s the same at every level—people like to work with people they like.

None of this, however, would have been remotely possible had it not been for the Knight Foundation, and ArtesMiami.  Now, I know this sounds like some sort of plug, but the truth is I would not have had any of these experiences had it not been for these organizations’ generous financial support.  I was able to travel to Park City, to drive to meetings, to treat industry to meals and drinks (crucial), and to stay close enough to the event center that I was actually able to sleep a few hours (most days were 8:00 am to 2:00 am), all because of the grants we received.  The same goes for the six other members of our film team, who gratefully crammed into the small hotel room we shared.  Forgive the cliché, but these organizations really put their money where their mouth is when it comes to supporting young Miami artists, and I am forever in their debt.  I know that this experience has irrevocably changed my life and career, and I only hope that I can repay their efforts one day—or, as I’m sure they would say, pay it forward.