We are all witnessing something of a phenomenon right now as documentary film enjoys a newfound and well-deserved popularity. Audiences across the country are recognizing that by offering a distinctive point of view, a documentary has the ability to facilitate greater understanding and even change the way we think about an issue, an event or a single person. From Control Room’s look at Middle Eastern media coverage of the war in Iraq, to Farmingville’s examination of an American middle class community’s response to an influx of Mexican day laborers, and DIG!’s portrayal of the compulsive, self destructive nature of creativity within two rival rock bands on the rise, documentary filmmakers are now offering insights into an unprecedented range of subjects.

Inspired by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute has presented documentary and narrative films with equal prominence since our first Festival in 1985 – reflecting a commitment that continues to set us apart from other major U.S. festivals – and this year we’ll launch our first World Cinema Documentary Competition. Under the direction of Diane Weyermann, our support for nonfiction filmmaking has grown to include creative and financial assistance for artists both domestically and internationally. On a local level, the upcoming monthly screening series in Utah presents a wide variety of recent documentaries, and offers audiences a chance to consider the topics of the day in entirely new ways. I hope that you will continue to look to Sundance for the most compelling new work in nonfiction film, and that you will make a point of seeing these films – at the Festival, through the Institute’s screening series, and as they make their way to cinemas and television screens across the country, and increasingly around the world.

	Ken Brecher Executive Director, Sundance Institute

The Making of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
In the months leading up to the Festival, Sundance programmers are planted firmly in screening rooms and living rooms across L.A. viewing the more than 6,000 films submitted for their consideration each year. Ask any one of the eight programmers what they’re looking for as they watch, and you’re likely to get very different answers.

“We (Festival programmers) each bring a very unique perspective to the selection process,” explains Festival Director Geoff Gilmore, “and we train ourselves to respond to the broadest possible spectrum of work that’s made within a given year. It’s that discussion among a group of people with very different viewpoints and sensibilities all working within a very broad definition of what we’re looking for that makes the Festival’s slate so diverse each year.”

After viewing each of the film submissions, programmers face the complex task of crafting a Festival slate that presents 125 features and roughly 80 short films. “After we’ve watched all the films, we isolate ourselves and we argue for one film one day and against that same film the next day,” says John Cooper, director of programming for the Festival. “We put the Festival together as an event that provides an overall view of independent filmmaking in a given year. It’s like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.”

The Festival will announce its programming slate in early December.

Click here for a video download that gives an inside look at the programming staff and the process of programming the Festival.

	A filmmaker turns his film into Sundance staff member Lane Kneedler. A steady stream of filmmakers made their way to the Institute’s Los Angeles office to submit their films to the 2005 Sundance Film Festival by the September 24 deadline.
	At the Festival, programmers introduce each of the films and filmmakers engage in Q&As with audience members after the screenings. Here, John Cooper, the Festival's director of programming announces Open Water at the '04 Festival.

Also new this year, the Festival has initiated an official travel service. Destination: Sundance Film Festival offers one-stop travel shopping through personalized service online and over the phone. Local Park City and Festival experts are on hand to help Festivalgoers select from a range of options for air and ground transportation, and lodging. For more information, call 1-877-SFF-STAY (733-7829), or visit www.destinationsff.com.

Patron Circle Kicks Off Fall Season of Sundance Salons
At a recent Sundance Salon in L.A., Patron Circle members and guests were treated to a peek behind the scenes of the making of the new I Huckabees. The salon featured a conversation between I Huckabees co-writer/director David O. Russell and composer Jon Brion who discussed their collaboration and the role of music in the film. Russell’s previous directorial credits include Three Kings and Flirting with Disaster. Brion has composed scores for films such as Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love, among others. The conversation was moderated by Institute staff member John Nein.

The Sundance Institute's Patron Circle is a donor group that shares the Institute's commitment to the development of artists and projects of independent vision. Upcoming Patron Circle events include a Sundance Salon in Park City, Utah on November 4 with Riding Giants co-writer/director Stacy Peralta and co-writer Sam George. Peralta's surfing documentary opened the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Stay tuned for information about upcoming fall events in New York, Los Angeles, and Utah. Events are by invitation only. For more information please contact patroncircle@sundance.org.

		click on images to enlarge

	Moderator John Nein and writer/director David O. Russell listen as composer Jon Brion explains his film music composition process at a recent Sundance Salon.
	Salon guests Tatiana Kelly, Mikail Lazarev, Benjamin Goldhirsh and Goran Dukic enjoy the cocktail reception at a Sundance Salon in LA. Lazarev and Dukic are filmmaker fellows in the Institute’s Feature Film Program.

Documentary Series Presents Free Monthly Screenings in Park City

The Institute launches its 2004-2005 Documentary Series on November 4 with a screening of Stacy Peralta’s Riding Giants. The free screenings take place the first Thursday of each month through June, 2005 – with the exception of February when the Institute presents the 2005 Sundance Film Festival’s Best of Fest screenings. The series is held in the Jim Santy Auditorium at the Park City Library, 1225 Park Avenue. Screenings betin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets or reservations are not required. A complete schedule follows.

NOVEMBER 4
Riding Giants
Directed by Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys), Riding Giants follows the evolution of surfing from its early Polynesian roots to the extreme riders that push the envelope of the sport by riding giant waves. Riding Giants premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival as the Opening Night Film, making headlines as the first documentary film selected for this honor.

DECEMBER 2
Control Room
Directed by Jehane Noujaim (Startup.com), Control Room explores the ongoing cultural clash between Western and Arab worlds through the prism of satellite television’s impact on how viewers receive information. The film focuses on the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera’s presentation of the second Iraq war and calls into question many of the prevailing images and positions offered up by the U.S. news media. Control Room is a seminal documentary that explores how facts are gathered, presented, and ultimately used to construct truths by those who deliver the news.

JANUARY 6
World Documentary Sneak Peek
A special “Sneak Peek” screening of a film selected to participate in the 2005 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Competition.

FEBRUARY
2005 Sundance Film Festival Best of Fest Screenings

March 3
American Hollow
The debut of award-winning director Rory Kennedy, American Hollow screened in Documentary Competition at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. American Hollow tells the tale of a close-knit Appalachian family whose circumstances have changed little in the last 100 years. The film follows the 13-branched Bowling clan – a family that manages to live with dignity even as they inhabit one of the most impoverished areas in the U.S. and are themselves faced with severe socio-economic hardships. American Hollow is an honest and non-judgmental look poverty in America.

April 7
Word Wars
Directed by Eric Chaikin and Julian Petrillo Word Wars screened in Dramatic Competition at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Word Wars delves into the world of competitive SCRABBLE and focuses on four of the world’s highest-ranked players, as they advance from heated competition in neighborhood parks and clubs to highly organized regional and national tournaments, culminating in the 2002 National Championship where the top prize is $25,000.

May 5
Imelda
Imelda screened in Dramatic Competition at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, where it received The Documentary Excellence in Cinematography Award. Directed by Ramona S. Diaz, Imelda brilliantly delves into the life and work of Imelda Marcos, offering a rare and stunning glimpse of one of the world’s richest and most powerful women. This in-depth, "beyond the shoes" documentary is a fascinating story of power gone awry and one woman’s supreme ability to reinvent herself time and time again.

June 2
DIG!
Winner of the 2004 Documentary Grand Jury Prize, DIG! follows the rise of two talented musicians – Anton Newcombe, leader of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Courtney Taylor, leader of the Dandy Warhols, and dissects their star-crossed friendship and bitter rivalry. Directed by Ondi Timoner, the film was seven years in the making and was culled from over 1500 hours of footage. Fresh, stylish, raucous and raw, DIG! is a feat in rough and tumble filmmaking that examines age-old conflicts surrounding genius and creativity and re-visits the question of whether artists can thrive in a market-driven world while maintaining their artistic integrity.

Stacy Peralta’s Riding Giants opened Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and also launches the Sundance Institute Documentary Series on November 4.

Click here for a video download of Stacy Peralta talking about Riding Giants.

Fall Screenplay Readings
Part of the script development process following the Screenwriters and Filmmakers Labs, Screenplay Readings are an opportunity for both writers and their audience to hear a professional cast bring scripts to life for the first time and provide a rare glimpse into the script development process. Readings are open to program alumni, creative advisors, and Patron Circle members.

Iraqi Freedom
Co-writers Paxton Winters and Emre Mirza brought their feature film project Iraqi Freedom to the Screenwriters Lab in 2003. To RSVP, or for more information call 310.360.1983.

Monday, October 25
7:30 p.m.
Actors Gang Theater
6209 Santa Monica Blvd.
Hollywood

Peep World
Writer/director Peter Himmelstein was a fellow of the 2004 Filmmakers Lab where he developed his project Peep World.

Monday, November 22