The Latest
Release Rundown: “Together Together” and “In the Earth” Hit Theaters in April
Welcome to Release Rundown, your monthly look at the Sundance-supported titles hitting theaters and streaming platforms. In this revamped column, we’ll let you know where you can find each release, offer up trailers, and also clue you in on some classic Festival titles currently available on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu, Criterion Channel, and beyond. Here’s a look at everything you’ll want to add your your queue in April 2021.
Sundance Ignite: Meet the Next Generation of Independent Filmmakers
Ed. note: This year’s Sundance Ignite x Adobe Short Film Challenge is now open. If you’re an emerging filmmaker ages 18 to 25, submit your short film by April 6 for a chance to be one of 2022’s Sundance Ignite fellows.
Perspectives: Filmmakers Shaandiin Tome and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers on Carrying On a Legacy of Leadership
Last month, the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program published a new series, Perspectives, featuring Indigenous artists who have been supported by the Institute’s Indigenous Program whose work continues to broaden and champion all Indigenous experiences. We kicked off the series talking to filmmakers Miciana Alise (Tlingit) and Daniel Hyde (Navajo) on creating Black and Indigenous narratives; this month, in celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re back speaking with writer-directors Shaandiin Tome (Diné Nation) and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy, and Sámi from Uŋárga).
While Women’s History Month in the United States began as Women’s History Week in 1981, Indigenous communities have always maintained and honored women as leaders.
A Note from Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam
To our Sundance community —
After 10 deeply rewarding years, I have decided that it is the right time for me to step down as CEO of the Sundance Institute. Leading this incredible organization through a volatile era in media with the help of such a passionate and talented group of colleagues, artists, audiences, board members, partners, friends, and donors has been one of the greatest joys of my life. As I work with the team and the Board of Trustees to prepare for my departure at the end of this summer, I am confident that Sundance is thriving and poised to begin a transformative new era.
The Sundance Institute Announces Chief Executive Officer Keri Putnam to Step Down
LOS ANGELES—Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam has informed staff and the Board of Trustees that she will be stepping down later this year after more than 10 years with the Institute. Under her leadership, the renowned media and arts nonprofit has seen a decade of extraordinary growth and impact. The organization is uniquely positioned as a leading global advocate for independent artists, diversity in media, freedom of expression, and the critical role of arts in shaping society.
“Minari,” “Judas and the Black Messiah” Lead Sundance-Supported 2021 Oscar Nominees
Early Monday morning, 2021’s delayed awards season picked up more steam with the unveiling of the nominees for the 93rd annual Academy Awards. Priyanka Chopra (star of the 2018 Festival film A Kid Like Jake) and Nick Jonas (who was in the 2016 Festival film GOAT) went live to announce the nods across all 23 categories, and we want to congratulate all of the Sundance-supported projects that are up for awards. In total, Sundance-supported projects received 31 nominations (including four out of eight Best Picture nominations).
Sundance Institute and XRM Media Partner to Present Sundance Film Festival: Asia
Sundance Institute and XRM Media today announced a collaboration to create the Sundance Film Festival: Asia to support, connect, promote, and celebrate the independent film community within Asia while showcasing a selection of films from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival: Asia is an expansion of the Institute’s programming in the region, further championing and promoting visibility for independent storytelling before a wider global audience. The first edition will take place in late summer 2021 and be hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia, with support from IDN Media, Indonesia’s leading media platform company.
Updates from the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs
Dear family and friends,
Nearly a year ago, we announced our Respond and Reimagine Fund, which dedicated a million dollars in grants to artists and organizations impacted by the pandemic, with priority support for BIPOC artists and organizations that have been disproportionately affected. In the difficult months since then, the resilience, collective action, and creativity of the independent artist community have continued to inspire us, as they persisted despite adversity.
Submissions to the Sundance Institute’s labs and granting programs have been steady — in some cases, they’re higher than ever — and we recognize the ongoing urgency of providing creative and financial support to artists making new work during a time of great difficulty.
Celebrate International Women’s Day with This World-Spanning Sundance Watchlist
At the first-ever Sundance Film Festival in 1985, an English director named Sally Potter brought a unique project to Park City. Her debut feature, The Gold Diggers, was made with an all-women production crew that was paid equally, including Potter’s co-writers, Lindsay Cooper and Rose English; producers Nita Amy and Donna Grey; and cinematographer Babette Mangolte. That same year, the Festival also hosted Lina Wurtmüller’s A Joke of Destiny (Italy), Gillian Armstrong’s Mrs.
Announcing the 2021 Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive Fellows
We’re thrilled to announce the 11 screenwriters selected to participate in Sundance Institute’s ninth annual Screenwriters Intensive, taking place digitally on March 4–5, 2021. The Intensive is a two-day workshop for emerging independent writers and writer/directors developing their first fiction features. This cohort of artists from traditionally underrepresented communities will have the opportunity to interrogate their stories and refine their artistic practice, all under the guidance of established writers and the Institute’s Feature Film Program, led by me and the program’s Founding Director, Michelle Satter.
Sundance-Supported New Releases to Watch This March, from ‘Violation’ to ‘The Courier’
Growing up, Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli were fascinated by iconic male anti-heroes like Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle and Harvey Keitel’s titular character from Bad Lieutenant. “These were the films that made us want to make movies, and we realized we weren’t really seeing the same number of female antiheroes,” they explained to us before the U.S.
Congratulations to Sundance-Supported Golden Globe Winners “Minari,” “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Just over a year ago, Lee Isaac Chung’s moving family drama Minari premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it was awarded the U.
Perspectives: Miciana Alise and Daniel Hyde on Creating Black and Indigenous Narratives
Since its founding, the Sundance Institute has supported and advocated Indigenous artists and voices. Today, nearly 40 years later, in a continuation of our commitment to Indigenous artists, we are proud to publish a new series, Perspectives, from the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, featuring Indigenous artists who have been supported by the Institute’s Indigenous Program and whose work continues to broaden and champion all Indigenous experiences. As we prepare to close out Black History Month, we present the first in the series, in which we talk with artists Miciana Alise (Tlingit) and Daniel Hyde (Navajo).
Black Visionaries: A Chat with Jason Fitzroy Jeffers of Third Horizon
At the Sundance Institute, we firmly believe that Black artists and Black stories should be celebrated and uplifted year-round. During February, aka Black History Month, we’re continuing that work with a series we’re calling Black Visionaries, in which we’ll be spotlighting our friends at Black-run arts organizations around the country. So far, we’ve talked with leaders of the Harlem-based nonprofit Firelight Media; Iyabo Boyd, founder of Brown Girls Doc Mafia; and Brickson Diamond, a founding board member and chair of the Blackhouse Foundation.
Black Visionaries: A Chat with Brickson Diamond of the Blackhouse Foundation
At the Sundance Institute, we firmly believe that Black artists and Black stories should be celebrated and uplifted year-round. During February, aka Black History Month, we’re continuing that work with a series we’re calling Black Visionaries, in which we’ll be spotlighting our friends at Black-run arts organizations around the country. So far, we’ve talked with leaders of the Harlem-based nonprofit Firelight Media as well as Iyabo Boyd, founder of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.