The Latest
RIP, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020)
On Friday, news broke of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, who over the course of her lengthy career was a key figure in advancing women’s rights and gender equality. At the time of her death from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, Ginsburg—who was was the second woman ever to serve on the nation’s highest court—had held her post for 27 years.
The fiery yet soft-spoken jurist’s life and legacy were chronicled in Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Oscar-nominated documentary, RBG, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City.
In the Center: Indigenous Filmmakers Share Messages of Hope During Covid-19
You’re living in the center where life matters—that’s where you experience happiness and fullness.
—Shaandiin Tome
In June, Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache)—director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program—wrote about the sweeping effects of Covid-19 on Native communities around the U.S.
2020 Sundance Sandbox Fund Grantees
Park City, UT — The nonprofit Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films, a new mission-driven documentary studio, selected and announced their latest cohort of filmmakers and projects supported by the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund, an initiative that elevates the voices of independent artists working at the intersection of science and nonfiction storytelling as they produce and promote work and discourse that highlights the overlap of science and art.
The ten selected project teams will receive non-recoupable grants and access to Sundance Institute’s year-round continuum of support, which can help address creative, financial and production issues. In addition to this tailored project support, the grantees will receive opportunities for engagement events where they can connect with Sundance’s network of alumni and creative advisors and Sandbox Films ’s roster of renowned scientists, as well as enthusiastic audiences.
Meet the Artist: Anabel Rodríguez Ríos on ‘Once Upon a Time in Venezuela’
Latinx Heritage Month begins today,
September 15, and to celebrate, we’ll be spotlighting projects made by Latinx artists with ties
to Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival. First up, watch
our interview with Venezuelan filmmaker Anabel Rodríguez Ríos, director of the 2020 Festival documentary Once Upon a Time in Venezuela.
Anabel Rodríguez Ríos’s trip to Park City this January for the world premiere of Once Upon a Time in Venezuela was a long time coming.
Carrie Lozano Joins Sundance Institute as Director, Documentary Film Program
Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker & Journalist to Lead Support of Nonfiction FieldLos Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced that Carrie Lozano will helm its Documentary Film Program, succeeding interim Director Kristin Feeley and prior Director Tabitha Jackson.
As Documentary Film Program Director, Lozano will elevate and support nonfiction filmmakers worldwide at all stages of creating and distributing new cinematic work. She will also work to advance and elevate the health of the independent nonfiction field, ensuring that diverse forms, viewpoints, and participants continue to be central to all Institute programs, which include Labs, global and national partnerships and film funds.
Sundance-Supported Releases to Watch in September, from ‘The Mole Agent’ to ‘Kajillionaire’
September’s slate of Sundance Institute–supported releases features a strong lineup of documentaries that run the gamut from the heartwarming to the harrowing. On the human connection side of the spectrum, Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent follows 83-year-old Sergio, who goes undercover to investigate a nursing home but bungles the spy-gear technology and can’t seem to stay on course with the mission. An all-in-one uplifting, cutely funny but meaningful tearjerker, it’s the film we all need in 2020.
10 Inspiring Activism Documentaries to Re-energize Your Fight for Change
The Sundance Film Festival has long been a destination for inspiring documentaries that capture the indomitable spirit of those on the frontlines of world-changing movements—from Mark Kitchell’s 1991 student activism doc Berkeley in the Sixties, to 2012’s wealth inequality exposé We’re Not Broke, to 2017’s Whose Streets?, in which a Ferguson protester implores, “We have to raise a generation of activists. If there’s going to be any change, it starts with our children.” These words are proving true today as young people now lead the swelling antiracism movement across the country and the world.
‘Spree’ Director on the Link between Attention Culture and Violence
Eugene Kotlyarenko’s thriller Spree is now streaming after its premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Equal parts horror and satire, the film plays out almost entirely through the device screens of its main character and villain, rideshare driver and wannabe influencer Kurt (Joe Keery). Desperate for the validation of strangers, Kurt turns his unsuccessful social media account into a livestream of deadly attacks on his passengers, which only gets more twisted as he amasses more followers.
Now Streaming: ‘The Mole Agent’ Will Make You Want to Call Your Parents the Moment You Leave the Theater
At the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Maite Alberdi’s documentary The Mole Agent had its world premiere. Below, hear what the filmmaker had to say in Park City; then go watch the project, which is now available to rent on most streaming platforms. “All right.
Now Streaming: ‘Spree’ Takes on Livestreaming, Social Media, and the Gig Economy
Eugene Kotlyarenko’s thriller Spree—a selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival—begins streaming on Friday, August 14. Below, hear what the writer/director had to say in Park City at the film’s world premiere.“I’m going to livestream this.
Sundance Institute Announces Inaugural Cohort of Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellows
New Fellowship Offers Custom-Tailored Mentorship, Community, and Cash Grant from Sundance Institute and Adobe
11 Women Artists, Creating Bold New Work Across Diverse Disciplines, Selected for Year of Comprehensive Support
Los Angeles — Sundance Institute announced today the 11 artists selected for its first-ever Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellowship, designed to meaningfully support women artists creating bold new work in film and media, with a priority on filmmakers from historically underrepresented communities. The fellowship includes a $5,000 cash grant, skill-building workshops, and year-round mentorship from Sundance Institute staff and Adobe executives. Fellows were selected by Adobe from Sundance Institute’s community of supported artists across program disciplines.
Annual Sundance Institute Intensive for Indigenous Artists Held August 3-7, 2020
LOS ANGELES — Six Indigenous filmmakers participated in the 2020 Sundance Institute Indigenous Intensive held August 3-7, redesigned digitally on Sundance Co//ab . The Intensive focused on the advancement of storytellers’ projects under the guidance of experienced Creative Advisors and Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program. The Intensive is presented by WarnerMedia.
Now Streaming: ‘Boys State’ Offers Up Political Hope in the Form of a Texas-Sized Youth Election
Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’s film Boys State begins streaming on Apple TV+ today. The project won the U.S.
Streaming in August: ‘The Go-Go’s,’ ‘Spree,’ and More
At the top of the list of Sundance Institute–supported films coming to streaming platforms this month is Alison Ellwood’s doc The Go-Go’s, the heart-and-drama-fueled saga of the eponymous 1980s punk-turned-pop band who paved the way for women in the music industry. Though the film does delve into the more salacious parts of the group’s history, it also shows the human side of the band caught between conflicting images as both “America’s sweethearts” and “drug-crazed demons.”
For an inspiring documentary about the dogged Filipina reporter leading the charge for a free press despite pervasive threats from the authoritarian government, watch Ramona S.
Sundance Institute’s Short Film Intensive: Detroit Fellows Announced
Detroit, MI — Sundance Institute announced the cohort of Fellows for the Short Film Intensive: Detroit, which took place July 23-24, 2020 digitally on Co//ab, the Institute’s online community platform. Select filmmakers with short film projects in production met with advisors and Sundance film programmers and staff to discuss their projects and how to navigate the film festival world and career development.
The Intensive is part of the Knight Fellows Project, an initiative supported by the John S.