Overheard at Sundance: snippets of conversation in Park City

'My eyes have an eye ache.' 'Polar bears can grow up to nine feet high.'

The Sundance press and filmmakers reception on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Photo by Matt Carey

The movie screen isn't the only place to hear interesting dialogue during the Sundance Film Festival. At parties, premieres and walking on the street random bits of conversation wander into one's ear space -- sometimes the more out of context the more entertaining they are.

Gathered here are a few of my favorite snippets:

I mean, what happens to her? So many questions!

  --Two women walking on Park Avenue, apparently discussing a friend

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You mean the guy with the wonky eye?

  --Two men at the Yarrow in conversation about someone else

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No matter what direction you're facing the snow is blowing in your face.

  --Woman caught in one of the frequent snowstorms during the festival

As evidence in support of her comment, I could offer any number of photos. Here's one:

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Netflix picked up like half the festival.

 --Woman exiting the Eccles Theatre, in conversation with a friend

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Don't open too many wine bottles at a time.

  --Man giving a briefing to bartenders before the start of the Sundance awards show

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Can I go back to the food?

​  --Actress Cleopatra Coleman to publicists, after doing photos on an arrival line

Actress Cleopatra Coleman on the arrival line for the premiere of a shorts program at Sundance on Thursday, January 19, 2017. After finishing photos, she asked publicists, "Can I go back to the food?" We sympathize. Photo by Matt Carey

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It's documentary. Very documentary.

  --Woman standing the waiting list line at the Eccles Theatre, talking about the film "Chasing Coral"

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My eyes have an eye ache.

  --Young actress Hannah Cagwin after being peppered with flash photos on an arrival line

Hannah Cagwin and Luca Rodriguez, two of the stars of "Casting JonBenet," on the arrival for the world premiere of the documentary on Sunday, January 22, 2017. After doing photos Hannah said her "eyes have an eye ache." Luca wisely kept his eyes closed. Photo by Matt Carey

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It was a bad decade. With the big hair and the acid wash.

  --A woman at the MARC Theatre talking with friends about the 1980s

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Polar bears can grow up to nine feet high.

  --Two men in conversation on Main Street

This comment raised so many questions for me. How exactly do they measure polar bears? Do they ask them politely to stand up?
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A moose literally doesn't understand English.

  --Man in conversation with a friend in the waiting list line at the Eccles Theatre, contrasting bears with moose

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Do you have a Spotify playlist I could follow?

  --Man admiring music playing in the Prospect clothing store on Main Street, to woman  at the register

In case you're wondering which store plays the sweet tunes, this is it. Photo by Matt Carey

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I officially hate this.

  --Guy walking in blowing snow near The Library

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He could really hoist himself on his own petard.

  --Woman with British accent speaking on a cell phone in the Sundance Co-op space

We count on the Brits to be literate and they pretty much always come through. The woman I overheard scored points with a Shakespearean reference.

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'Where are you from?' 'Romania.' 'Isn't that where Obama's from?'

  --Photographer joking with an accented man before the start of the Sundance awards show

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Smile, Hannah. Smile with your teeth.

  --Woman giving instructions to young actress Hannah Cagwin as she posed for photos

Young actors Hannah Cagwin and Luca Rodriguez pose with Kitty Green, director of the documentary "Casting JonBenet" on Sunday, January 22, 2017. Someone behind the photographers (Hannah's mom?) urged her to "smile with your teeth." Nothing cuter than a kid with new teeth coming in. Photo by Matt Carey

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All right. I'm going to do a round of hugs.

  --Director Kitty Green, after completing photos on the arrival line for her film "Casting JonBenet"

It's important to note the above comment from Kitty Green was said with warmth, not cynicism. She seems lovely, kind and empathetic. I witnessed several of those hugs, exchanged between Green and the actors she cast to play roles in "Casting JonBenet," and they testified to an obviously warm bond.

Director Kitty Green gives a hug to Dixon White, the actor who plays John Mark Karr in her documentary "Casting JonBenet." White had just told the audience at the world premiere how much it meant to him to appear in Green's film. Park City, Utah Sunday, January 22, 2017. Photo by Matt Carey