Sundance Kids
Among those receiving accolades at this year's Sundance Film Festival are a Kenyon sophomore and Allison Janney '82 and Josh Radnor '96, two of Kenyon's most successful drama alumni.
Sophomore Miguel Flatow-Alvarez, performing under the name Miguel del Toro, won his first major role last summer as Igor in Keep the Lights On, the latest film from indie director Ira Sachs, which premiered at Sundance on January 20. Flatow-Alvarez was drawn out of an extras casting call and his mention of Kenyon caught the attention of the filmmakers. Soon he was given the supporting part of Igor and twenty pages of script to learn.
A native of Mexico, the future film or drama major holds an academic scholarship at Kenyon, where he also plays on the soccer team. "The film professors here are amazing," he said. When Flatow-Alvarez needed to dub additional lines this fall for Keep the Lights On, his professors Jon Tazewell and Jon Sherman arranged a soundproof booth for him on campus, with Sherman advising him on line readings.
"It's all like a dream for me,"said Flatow-Alvarez, from the Park City, Utah, festival.
While at Sundance he's hoping to meet Kenyon alumnus Josh Radnor '96, whose latest film, Liberal Arts, received a standing ovation at its premiere on January 22. The film, set at Kenyon and filmed on campus last summer, was written and director by Radnor, its star, and also features four-time Emmy award winning actress Allison Janney '82. The crew included numerous Kenyon student-interns and several production assistants.