The Latest
Black Visionaries: A Chat with Iyabo Boyd of Brown Girls Doc Mafia
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. Last week, we talked with Brooklyn-based nonprofit Firelight Media, and this week we’re chatting with filmmaker Iyabo Boyd, founder of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.
Black Visionaries: Turning a Spotlight on Firelight Media
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. First up, we checked in with Harlem-based nonprofit Firelight Media, which produces documentary films by and about communities of color, supports emerging filmmakers of color, and cultivates audiences for their work.
World Premieres, Live Q&As, Floating in Outer Space: Highlights from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival
In our 40 years as an Institute, we’ve never hosted a Sundance Film Festival quite like 2021’s. And that’s thanks in large part to you, our adventurous audiences from all 50 states and 120 countries, who joined us (and our friends at Satellite Screens across the U.S.
12 Sundance Institute–Supported Projects from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival
Back in 2015, writer-director Christopher Makoto Yogi was one of eight filmmakers who spent several weeks of their summer at the Sundance Resort for the Sundance Institute’s annual Directors Lab. Under the guidance of creative advisors like Joshua Marston, Miguel Arteta, Kasi Lemmons, and the late Lynn Shelton, Makoto Yogi was there to work on I Was a Simple Man, a ghost story set in the pastoral countryside of the north shore of Oahu, Hawai’i.
Nearly six years later, at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Makoto Yogi’s film had its world premiere, along with 11 other projects that were directly supported by the nonprofit Institute’s various labs, grants, and programs.
Choose Your Own Ending: A Sundance Valentine’s Day Watchlist for True Believers and Cynics Alike
A classic ’90s rom-com starring none other than Hugh Grant? Check. A lush period piece that harkens back to the Technicolor melodramas of Old Hollywood? Check. An arty European affair with a satisfyingly ambiguous ending? Check.
2021 Sundance Film Festival Announces Audience Attendance
Park City, UT —The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced attendance information for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which took place both online and in-person in 20 cities across the country from January 28 through February 3. The seven day Festival reached a total audience 2.7 times larger than at the typical 11-day Utah edition, despite the shorter duration and with fewer feature films (73) than the festival’s typical 120 features.
Sundance-Supported New Releases for February, from “Land” to “Judas and the Black Messiah”
Just days after its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Shaka King’s second feature, Judas and the Black Messiah, has already racked up two Golden Globe nominations (for Daniel Kaluuya’s supporting turn as Fred Hampton and for its original song, “Fight for You”). Luckily for you, if you missed it during our online screenings, you won’t have to wait long to catch the drama, which also features Festival alum LaKeith Stanfield. The project begins streaming on HBO Max next Friday, February 12; it will also have a limited theatrical run.
“Promising Young Woman,” “The Father” Lead Sundance-Supported Golden Globe Nominees
This morning, the nominees for the 2021 Golden Globe Awards were announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and we want to congratulate all of the projects with ties to the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival for being recognized.
Promising Young Woman and The Father led the Sundance-supported nominees with four apiece. Promising Young Woman received nods for Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Screenplay; for Carey Mulligan’s lead performance; and for Emerald Fennell’s direction on her debut feature.
2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced
Park City, UT — After six days and 73 feature films, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony took place tonight, hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, with jurors presenting 24 prizes for feature filmmaking and seven for short films. Honorees, named in total below, represent new achievements in global independent storytelling. Bold, intimate, and humanizing stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to CODA (U.
Sundance Institute Announces Marja Bål Nango as 2021 Merata Mita Fellow
PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 29, 2021 — Sundance Institute today announced Marja Bål Nango (Sámi) as the 2021 recipient of the Merata Mita Fellowship, an annual fellowship named in honor of the late Māori filmmaker Merata Mita (1942-2010). The announcement was delivered today at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Native Forum Celebration by N.
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Presents Feature Film Prize to ‘Son of Monarchs’ Announces New Artist Grants
Park City, Utah — At the 2021 Sundance Film Festival today, the beneficiaries of $70,000 in grants from Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were named. Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P.
“Never Rarely Sometimes Always” Leads Sundance-Supported Independent Spirit Award Nominees
Earlier today, nominees for the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards were unveiled, and we want to congratulate all of the projects with ties to the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival for being recognized.
Eliza Hittman’s masterful drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the pack, notching seven nominations, including Best Feature and Best Director, while Lee Isaac Chung’s gorgeous, delicate family tale Minari (soon to enter wide release!) racked up six, including Best Male Lead and Best Screenplay.
Channing Godfrey Peoples’s Miss Juneteenth, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, and Kitty Green’s The Assistant also received multiple nods, and in the Best Documentary category, all of the nominated films premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Latest Additions to Sundance Film Festival Talks & Events
Park City, UT — The Sundance Institute today announced the latest additions to the programming slate of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday, January 28, at festival.sundance.org and via a network of Satellite Screens across the U.
In Memoriam: Walter Bernstein (1919–2021)
Walter Bernstein, the brilliant dramatist and one of our founding creative advisors, passed away on January 22, 2021, at the age of 101. Erudite, political, and fearless, Walter’s words always mattered; his stories mattered and his truth mattered. Walter was a powerful presence at the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab for over 25 years, and he made an extraordinary impact on the work of independent filmmakers and the stories they told, bearing witness and challenging the world we live in.
2021 Sundance Film Festival: Juries Announced
Park City, UT — 22 celebrated voices across film, art and culture will bestow this year’s awards to feature-length and short film at the Sundance Film Festival, at a digital ceremony taking place February 2nd. This year’s Festival is fully available online at Festival.Sundance.