Core to the Sundance festivities last month, was the first ever K-Swiss Ping Pong Challenge, where four filmmakers squared off at the net, as well as on screen.  K-Swiss used the opportunity to enlist an excellent videographer in Travis Graalman that offered a bit of Ping Pong history. Apparently the sport was born the Victorian era, when dinner was followed by clearing the table for a game with books stacked up to be used as a net. These four filmmakers showed their competitive spirit, taking the challenge of this “casual” sport very seriously — going out for the win, which went Skateland’s Anthony Burns, who, if not for his prowess behind the camera, could have been a ringer. Peep the video and watch out  for the next Ping Pong Challenge in Austin, TX for SXSW in March.

A film premiered at Sundance last night about an artist that couldn’t be filmed, or wouldn’t. “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is about a French shopkeeper and an amateur director that wanted to make a documentary about the prolific, and famously secretive artist named Banksy. An artist who’s sold millions of dollars worth of artwork, taken over complete galleries without so much as showing his face in public, Banksy is sort of the superhero to the creative class, which is why this doc sounds so perfectly apt. The film is about the effort it took to try and film the phantom artist.

Billed as “the world’s first street art disaster movie,” it quotes Banksy saying, “It’s the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable. And failed.” It’s even more amazing that sometime last Thursday, Banksy struck on Main St. in Park City — one of the most trafficked by filmmakers and cameramen almost all year in the tiny mountain town. The townsfolk want to cover it up, and there are petitions going around to save it. Regardless, if this film manages to sell like so many other Sundance films do, it will be yet another meta moment for Banksy’s art career — or will it be another work of art?

More: UK Guardian

No, we didn’t make it to Sundance ourselves … but our associates from K-Swiss are giving us the full live feed from the snow strewn streets. In the spirit of the annual celebration of indie film, K-Swiss and Gen Art are getting down with some of the brightest young directors for a K-Swiss Ping Pong Classic. Perfect for all comers, ping pong is an old school fave that lends well to the party vibe of Park City (Susan Sarandon recently picked up a paddle, dumped her hubby and invested in the NYC club Spin as well as its founder a 31 year-old filmmaker and ping pong fan). Combining the worlds of sport, film and celebrity, the Sundance event celebrates the accomplishments of four up-and-coming filmmakers who will face-off in a tournament to the death (well, sorta). The competition will pit Andrew Dickler (actor representing Douchebag), Alex Karpovsky (actor representing Lovers of Hate), Anthony Burns (director representing Skateland) and Diane Bell (director representing Obselidia) against each other, representing a more hand-to-hand version of competition in the festival.

As part of the Classic, K-Swiss also commissioned an emerging filmmaker Gabriel Sunday to create a short film, The Chinese Penhold, which they have given to us at KSPACE.TV to premiere online for you – check it out the High Def version HERE NOW !  The short centers Jake Scribner, a rugged, burnout bro from Ocean City Maryland with an undying passion for competition and a girlfriend that won’t get off his freakin’ back. He’s at a ridiculous party in the Valley and must face the most important match of his life. You may have to watch carefully for some of the cameos in the film (for the heads surely).

We don’t want to give away the full deal yet, but filmmaker Gabriel Sunday created a short worthy of much attention with less resources than you’d imagine. It figures that Sunday has been making films since he was 16, but is also an accomplished actor with roles in Judd Apatow’s Year One opposite Jack Black, directed by Harold Ramis and Taking Woodstock, directed by Ang Lee. He is also the is actor/writer/editor of the festival favorite My Suicide, which had its New York premiere at the Gen Art Film Festival. Kudos to Sunday and the soon-to-be-announced winner of the Classic.

Gen Art K-Swiss Ping Pong Classic