As you enter the Sundance Institute’s office in Los Angeles, there is on the wall a small, framed handwritten note. It says: “Sundance – home for ideas and development.” It was written years ago by Robert Redford during a meeting at the Sundance Village. It has always seemed to me the clearest definition of our work at Sundance – introducing and advancing fresh ideas while building community among forward-thinking artists, audiences, and patrons. In that same spirit, we are launching the Sundance Institute inSIder. It is our hope that it will not only provide you with news of individuals and activities, but also serve to deepen your own connection to the Sundance Institute.
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Sundance Lab Project wins Pulitzer Prize for
Drama
Sundance Institute congratulates Doug Wright whose recent work I
Am My Own Wife has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, widely
considered one of playwriting’s highest honors. The play tells the
true story of a German transvestite and her survival of the Nazi and communist
regimes.
In 2000 Wright was invited to the Institute’s Playwrights Retreat at UCROSS Foundation where he developed the script. The following July, Wright attended the Sundance Theatre Lab with director Moises Kaufmann and actor Jefferson Mays to further hone the piece. The highly acclaimed work is now playing at New York’s Lyceum Theatre. Read a Q& A with Doug Wright
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Actor Jefferson Mays rehearsing I Am
My Own Wife at the Institute''s Theatre Lab in 2000. Mays
portrays nearly three dozen characters in the Pulitzer Prize-winning
play. |
Life After The Labs
Fifteen projects recently supported by the Institute''s Feature Film Program
have significantly advanced since leaving the Screenwriters and Filmmakers
Labs and are now in various stages of production. full
article
The magic of Photoshop brings together fellows, creative advisors and staff of the 2003 labs in Screenwriting, Filmmaking, and Theatre at Sundance Village.
Richard Press was one of 16 screenwriters who convened at Sundance Village this winter to focus on the development of 12 feature film projects. He shares this account of his time at the January Screenwriters Lab. full article
Fund Announces Support for Eleven Documentaries
Eleven documentaries recently joined the growing list of films supported
by the Sundance Documentary Fund. The films focus on global issues of
human rights, freedom of expression, social justice, and civil liberties.
full article
Project News
Five films supported at various stages in their development by the Sundance
Documentary Fund premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. 
Born
into Brothels (US) by directors Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski
was a favorite of Festival-goers, receiving the Audience Award for Documentary
(
2).
Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval’s Farmingville
(US) was recognized with a Special Jury Prize (1),
and cinematographer Ferne Pearlstein earned the Excellence in Cinematography
Award for her work in Imelda.
Also premiering at the Festival were SDF-supported films Garden
(Israel), by directors Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash; and Persons
of Interest (US), directed by Alison Maclean and Tobias
Perse.
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The 2004 Sundance Film Festival welcomed an audience of more than 35,000 filmgoers to Park City during its ten-day run. In the months since the Festival opened on January 15, 21 films from its programming slate have secured domestic theatrical distribution and are scheduled for release throughout 2004. full article
Sundance Online Film
Festival
Having just completed its fourth year, the Online Film Festival continues
to grow as a showcase for the most exciting work made for the Web. In addition
to presenting its largest line up to date, this year’s Online Festival
convened its first-ever jury to select winning films. Audiences also voted
for their favorites. full
article
A Perfect Score . . .
In keeping with its mission to enhance the role of music in independent
film, the Sundance Film Music Program offers referrals of composers, music
supervisors and music editors to both narrative and documentary filmmakers.
Drawing from its range of former fellows and creative advisors, the program
has recommended music professionals for films such as The
Good Girl, Blue Vinyl, and Dopamine.
For more information about this service of the Film Music Program, contact
program director Peter Golub at 310.360.1981, extension 103.
The Sundance Institute Patron Council donor group shares the Institute’s commitment to the development of artists and projects of independent vision. Members of the Patron Council receive year-round benefits including invitations to special events that offer opportunities to meet Sundance film and theatre artists and get a first look at their works-in-progress.
For more information, please contact individualgiving@sundance.org
Upcoming Patron Council events include:
Meet the Artists at the Sundance Salon Series
Events are by invitation only. Please contact individualgiving@sundance.org
Los Angeles
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Avalon Hotel, Beverly Hills
Monologist Josh Kornbluth brings solace to tax season with an excerpt from his hilarious new monologue, Love and Taxes. Josh developed Love and Taxes at the 2002 Sundance Theatre Lab. A Sundance veteran, Josh also attended the 1994 Screenwriters Lab where he collaborated with his brother Jacob on the film adaptation of his previous monologue, Haiku Tunnel. The film screened at the 2001 Festival.
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Institute Trustee Sally Field, Art Spigel, Patron Council member Dan Fireman, and Institute Executive Director Ken Brecher enjoy the Celebrate the Sundance Filmmakers VIP reception during the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. |
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Patron Council member Christine Kummer-Hardt and friend Nancy Hardin talk with Festival director Geoff Gilmore, at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Preview at the Avalon Hotel, Beverly Hills. |
New York
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
6:30 p.m. Cocktails
8:00 p.m. Work in Progress Reading
Signature Theatre, New York City
Meet writer/director Elisabeth Subrin and her co-writer Evan Carlson for a cocktail reception and a work in progress reading of their screenplay UP!, which they developed at last summer’s Screenwriters and Filmmakers Labs. During the reception Elisabeth and Evan will speak about their time at the labs. Guests will then be invited to take a seat in the theater while a professional cast brings their screenplay to life, offering a rare glimpse into the script development process.
Los Angeles
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
7:30 p.m.
The Actor’s Gang Theater, Santa Monica
Join the audience for a work in progress reading of Paper Man, a script developed at the January Lab in 2003 by Kieran and Michele Mulroney
Sundance Celebrates Risk-Takers in the Arts
Gala Benefit
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Gotham Hall, New York City
The Sundance community will gather in New York City in April for the third annual celebration of Risk-Takers in the Arts. In keeping with the Institute’s mission to encourage independent vision, the gala benefit recognizes individuals whose own artistic pursuits, philanthropic support, or activism is deeply informed by a desire to nurture and present new, diverse voices to the world. Honorees this year are filmmakers Todd Haynes and Errol Morris, writer Walter Mosley, and HP Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina. Sundance Trustees Steve Tisch and Sally Field co-chair the Risk-Takers event with Honorary Chair and Sundance founder Robert Redford.
Proceeds from the event help to fund the Institute’s activities in support of emerging artists. To purchase tickets or for more information on the event, call Susan Clarke at 310.360.1981, extension 140.
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An honoree of the 2003 Risktakers event, Paul T.
Anderson snaps a self portrait. Pictured from left to right are event
co-chair Glenn Close, honoree Peter Sellars, presenter Julianne
Moore, along with Anderson. |
Exposure Documentary Film Series: Farmingville
Sunday, April 25, 2004
7:00 p.m.
George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Center for the Performing Arts at Park
City High School, Park City, Utah
Attend this screening of Farmingville and participate in a Q&A session with directors Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval. The film explores the political, economic, and social issues created by the residence of undocumented immigrants in a Long Island town. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and may be purchased at the door. For more information and to purchase advance tickets call 435-655-3114.
Deadline: Film Music
Composers Lab
Application Deadline: April 15, 2004
Applications are now being accepted from film composers for this two-week
training summer program that is run in conjunction with the Sundance Filmmakers
Lab.
Apply
Deadline: The Power
of American Popular Song
Application Deadline: April 30, 2004
This third annual collaboration between the Sundance Theatre Program and
the Johnny Mercer Foundation offers a weekend of classes, panel discussions
and performances. Held August 4-7 at the Sundance Village, the intensive
course focuses on the interpretation and personalization of the great
American songbook. Master classes are conducted by award-winning performers,
composers, and directors such as Charles Strouse, Billy Stritch, and Margaret
Whiting, all of whom are slated to teach this year. A group of thirty
professional theatre and film actors, writers, and directors are selected
to participate in the program.
Apply
Deadline: Feature
Film Program
Application Deadline: May 1, 2004
Applications for the January 2005 Screenwriters Lab are now being accepted
through May 1, 2004.
Apply
Deadline: Alfred
P. Sloan Feature Film Program Fellowship
Application Deadline: May 1, 2004
The Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship is awarded to a project that explores science
and technology, or depicts scientists in engaging and innovative ways.
As a participant in the Sundance Feature Film Program, the Sloan Fellow
receives year-round support for his or her project – from script
development to the pre-production stage. Submissions for the January 2005
Screenwriters Lab are now being accepted through May 1, 2004.
Apply
Deadline: Independent Producers
Conference
Application Deadline: May 26, 2004
Applications are now being accepted for the 19th annual Independent Producers
Conference, July 29 – August 1, 2004. The conference presents panels
on a range of subjects, including production, financing, marketing, digital
technologies and the state of independent film. Apply
Sundance
Theatre:
Sundance
Lab Project Wins
Pulitzer Prize
Feature Film Program:
Life After The Labs
Feature Film Program:
First Person, From the
Screenwriting Lab
Documentary Film Program:
Fund Announces Support
for
Eleven Films
Documentary Film Program:
Project News
Sundance Online
Film Festival 2004
Film Music Program:
The Perfect Score
In Memoriam: Lynn Auerbach
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Watch These Movies
Nine films supported by the Sundance Institute, through the Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Documentary Fund, appear on screens across the country in the coming weeks. Click on the underlined titles below to link directly to films'' Web sites, and check your local listings for screening schedules.
Lost Boys
of Sudan
Now playing in theatres in L.A., New York, and Washington, DC; the
film appears in theatres nationwide this spring. The film by director/producer
Megan Mylan and director/producer/cinematographer John Shenk, was funded
in part by the Sundance Documentary Fund.
Read a Review of Lost Boys of the Sudan
United
States of Leland
Screened at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, the film is now playing
in select cities nationwide. Matthew Ryan Hoge wrote and directed the
film.
Good
Bye, Lenin!
Now playing in select theatres, the German film screened as part of the
World Cinema category at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Director Wolfgang
Becker collaborated with Bernd Lichtenberg on the script.
Never Die Alone
The film by Ernest Dickerson was screened at the 2004 Festival,
and is now playing in select cities. James Gibson adapted the screenplay
from the novel by Donald Goines.
A Foreign Affair
Directed by Helmut Schleppi with the screenplay by Geert Heetebrij, the
film was shown at the 2003 Festival and is now playing in select cities.
Dogville
Writer/director Lars von Trier’s project screened at
the 2004 Festival. It is now playing in New York and L.A., and opens throughout
the spring in select theatres nationwide.
Spring,
Summer, Fall, Winter. . . Spring
The project by writer/director Kim Ki-duk of South Korea, was part of
the World Cinema category at the 2004 Festival. The film is now playing
in the U.S.
A Thousand Clouds of Peace
The film by writer/director Julian Hernandez opens April 16 in New York
and LA and in select cities throughout the spring. The film screened as
part of the 2004 Festival’s World Cinema line up.
My Terrorist
The Sundance Channel broadcasts Yulie Cohen Gerstel''s documentary My
Terrorist on April 26 at 9 p.m. EST. The film was funded in part by
the Sundance Documentary Fund.
Love & Diane
Directed by Jennifer Dworkin, airs on April 21 on PBS.
The film screened at the Festival in 2003.
The
Saddest Music in the World
Opening April 30, the film was directed by Guy Maddin, who collaborated
with Kazuo Ishiguro and George Toles on the screenplay. The film screened
at the 2004 Festival.
See These Plays
This month, six plays developed during various Sundance theatre labs are
being staged in theatres in New York, Washington, DC and Chicago. Be sure
to catch the following productions:
I Am My Own Wife
Written by Doug Wright and directed by Moises Kaufman, I Am My Own
Wife continues at the Lyceum
Theatre on Broadway. The play was developed during the 2000 Theatre
Lab.
Well
Lisa Kron’s Well had its world premiere on March 16 at
the Public Theatre/Martinson Hall
Off-Broadway, where it continues through April 18. The play was a project
of the 2003 Theatre Lab.
Crowns
Regina Taylor’s Crowns continues through April 18 at the
Goodman Theatre in Chicago,
a production followed by a special return engagement from July 27-August
15 at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Adapted from the book by Michael
Cunningham and Craig Marberry, Crowns was a project of the Theatre
Lab in 2002.
Yellowman
Yellowman continues through April 18 at the Arena Stage, Washington,
DC. Playwright Dael Orlandersmith developed Yellowman at the
2001 Theatre Lab. More information about Yellowman at Arena
Stage website. Read a Feature Story about Yellowman.
The Tricky Part
This play by Martin Moran runs through May 30 Off-Broadway at the McGinn/Cazale
Theatre. The Tricky Part was developed at the 2003 Sundance Theatre
Lab and is being produced, in part, by Jeanne Donovan Fisher''s True Love
Productions.
Fraulein Else
Adapted from the novella by Arthur Schnitzler, Francesca Faridany’s
play opens April 22 at the Court Theatre at the University of Chicago,
where it runs through May 16. Faridany developed the play during the 2002
Sundance Theatre Lab.
Sundance
Institute Programs
To learn more about all of the Sundance Institute''s activities, follow
the links below to the Institute''s Web site.
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