Beastie Boys Show Their Movie

The biggest party this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival might not have been in one of Park City's overflowing night clubs.

The late Saturday screening of the documentary "Awesome; I F*****' Shot That," which documents a sold-out concert by the rap group Beastie Boys on Oct. 9, 2004 at Madison Square Garden, had an atmosphere not unlike a concert itself.

As members of the band took seats near the back of the packed Park City Library auditorium, scattered applause greeted them. Rhythmic clapping, the kind used by an eager audience to beckon the start of a show, subsided as senior programmer Trevor Groth introduced the documentary.

Groth's introduction was much more collegial than the usual staid introductions given at the festival, and Groth admitted being a longtime fan of the band. The documentary relied heavily on 50 hand-held cameras given to audience members at the concert, and it makes for a concert film as close to being there as possible.

That vibe wasn't lost on the Sundance audience, which clapped after many of the songs and cheered throughout the film. All three band members - Michael Diamond, Adam Horowitz and Adam Yauch - directed the film and took questions from audience members after the screening.

They were relatively quiet, responding with short answers or quips. Perhaps they were saving their energy. The Beastie Boys are scheduled to perform at a private party Monday night hosted by Internet site MySpace.com and the arts organization Gen Art. The documentary officially opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 31.