'Letters from the Big Man' screens at Sundance 2011

by Matt Moneymaker, February 6, 2011

Watch the preview below for a film recently shown at the Sundance Film Festival -- "Letters from the Big Man".

The scene below does a good job of depicting how a sasquatch approaches a human -- very cautiously, and among big obstructions, and rarely closer than 25 feet or so, and only for the purpose of watching the human(s).

The plot of the film does not revolve around the sasquatch. It's a romance between two young lovers. The sasquatch interaction is a sub-plot of that romance.

The sasquatch is a man-in-costume rather than a CGI (i.e. computer animation) figure, but the costume is an impressively close approximation to a real sasquatch..

Oregonian Sara Smith is portrayed by New York actress Lily Rabe. Lily is the daughter of beloved Academy Award winning actress Jill Clayburgh.

The writer and costume designer apparently did their homework on the subject, because the sasquatch figure looks like a real sasquatch, and moves like a real sasquatch, and tries to hide itself like a real sasquatch.

The film was written and directed by Christopher Munch. The costume was created at Lee Romaire Studios in Burbank.

The promotional description of "Letters from the Big Man" on the Sundance Film Festival web site:

"In the breathtaking, remote wilderness of southwestern Oregon, Sarah Smith, a hydrologist, embarks on an expedition to conduct a government water survey. An intrepid outdoors woman, Sarah craves a solo journey so she can reconnect with herself and nature. Venturing deep into the forest, she intuits another presence. Gradually, the elusive figure reveals himself to be a Sasquatch, and the two interact tentatively. As their bond intensifies, Sarah finds she must take bold steps to protect the Big Man?s privacy, as well as her own. You can almost sense the rustling of trees and fresh air as Munch reverently explores the possibility of communicating directly with the ineffable mysteries in nature, fashioning a powerful metaphysical love story with resonance for our times."

A longer trailer for "Letters from the Big Man".