Kevin Smith Instagram – HAPPY CLERKS DAY! 30 years ago from today, CLERKS debuted at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival! That means, if you ever wanted to stop me or my career from happening, youʼd send a Terminator back to this moment in time 3 decades back. Mercifully, there was no robotic hunter/killer trying to kill me at Sundance that year. The inaugural screening took place at the Holiday Village Cinema in a sold out 150 seater. That was the first time I got to see my first film with a full audience. The sheer thrill of finding out that ideas Iʼd had years prior actually held up to public scrutiny from strangers was intoxicating (but that also might have had something to do with the thin air at the high altitude). That first screening started the buzz that powered the next three screenings and a deluge of press about the black and white New Jersey convenience store movie and the director who was going back to work there after the Festival ended. By our fourth and final Sundance screening at The Egyptian Theater on Main Street in Park City, Clerks was being talked about and written about like it was well worth watching. As he introduced me and the film, Festival head Geoff Gilmore described me in a way that still gets me in the feels when he said “If Kevin Smith didnʼt exist, the Sundance Film Festival wouldʼve had to invent him.” Mine was a Cinderella-ish or Rocky-like tale that reminded folks anyone can take a shot at their dreams and maybe find a modicum of success – even if theyʼre from New Jersey. Do you have a dream (one that doesnʼt involve hurting people or animals, destruction or death)? 2024 is the year you move closer to your goal and take your shot on yourself. Many thanks to Brian, Jeff, Jay, Marilyn, Lisa, Scott, Dave, Kim, Virginia, Donald, Mom, Dad, the Thapars, and everyone else who helped me craft Clerks! Many thanks to Sundance, Mark Tusk, Bob Hawk and John Pierson for guiding a gobsmacked newcomer in his sudden success. And many thanks to you, my friends, for 30 years of continued interest in the Askewniverse adventures of retailing rascals Head over to JayAndSilentBob dot com TODAY to shop our anniversary sales! #KevinSmith #clerks #film