TromaDance, Troma Studio's Alternative to Sundance

"TromaDance" is a second alternative to the yearly "Sundance Film Festival" that is held in Utah every January. TromaDance 2007 has come and passed but there is the upcoming TromaDance 2008 which will be running concurrently with both "Slamdance" and Sundance. The Slamdance Film Festival was the first festival to serve as a viable alternative to the Sundance Film Festival. Like the Slamdance Film Festival, the TromaDance was created as a response to what the Sundance Film Festival has become. This film festival is only a few years but seems to be pretty formidable as TromaDance has been founded by Lloyd Kaufman, the president of "Troma Films".

Lloyd Kaufman is known as the co-founder of Troma Entertainment and directed many of the studio's feature films. In a sense, his films have earned the special genre of "Tromaville" films. Kaufman is alumni of Yale University one of the biggest Ivy League universities in the United States. One of his past friends is the current president of the United States, George W. Bush.

Troma Entertainment is famous for all sorts of sex comedies in the seventies and eighties such as: "The First Turn-On!", "Toxic Avenger", "Class of Nuke 'Em High", and "Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD". Asides from the unsuccessful comedies, Kaufman is a strong advocate of independent film making and encourages more people to make their own films. He can be classified as one of the few people that don't seem to be in it for the money but just for the love of film.

Kaufman alone didn't come up with the idea of TromaDance. The inspiration came from a talk with Trey Parker responsible for "Southpark" and "Orgazmo". Like many other independent film makers, Kaufman and Parker seemed to be frustrated with how the Sundance Film Festival had turned out. It would seem that Kaufman has taken up Slamdance's lead and established TromaDance. The two festivals run at the same time as Sundance to lure people away from that event.