The Latest
“It Is Time”: Labs Alum Barbara Cigarroa on Latinx Representation in Film
In celebration and observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re working on a number of short essays, anecdotes, and free-form editorials that speak to the unique experiences, often untold, that artists and creatives of Latinx descent have gone through. We hope that these pieces offer you a new insight into the world that most people whose ethnic and cultural heritage is nuanced and complex live in. Our second piece comes from director Barbara Cigarroa, a Mexican American filmmaker from South Texas.
What to Watch in October
From the creepy to the bizarre, October’s slate of Sundance-supported releases makes for prime Halloweentime movie watching.Check out the absurdist genre comedy Little Monsters, starring Lupita Nyong’o as a kindergarten teacher thrust into the role of fierce protector as she shields her class from a zombie invasion—or the chiller Sweetheart, starring Kiersey Clemons as a woman stranded on a desert island where she is hunted by an otherworldly creature each night. And while documentaries about classic films might not normally be at the top of your scary movie list, Alexandre O.
‘ShortsCast’: Listen to All-New Episodes for the Festival Short Films You Don’t Want to Miss
September 30 is National Podcast Day—and we’re celebrating with all-new episodes of ShortsCast, our audio series spotlighting short films that have stayed with us long after playing at the Sundance Film Festival. Senior Programmer Mike Plante caught up with the teams behind a few such films, many of which are playing in cities around the U.S.
How the Theatre Lab Disrupts the Echo Chamber with New Voices
Adam Ashraf Elsayigh is a playwright, translator, producer, and independent scholar who splits his time between Cairo and New York. Adam has recently contributed to our creative communities at our Theatre Labs at both the Sundance Mountain Resort and MASS MoCA.The application for the 2020 Theatre Lab is now open and is available in English, French, and Arabic.
“Let Go and Be Bold”: Director/Editor Teams on “Rewriting” Their Films During the Edit
As the summer winds down, we’re spotlighting the Feature Film Program’s post-production support through the annual Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship and the Editing Residency, which took place this past June during our annual Directors Lab.
Honoring the memory of beloved Sundance Institute mentor Sally Menke (editor on Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Inglourious Basterds), the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship supports an emerging narrative editor in advancing their craft and building their career.
2019 Fellow Mónica Salazar’s credits include Honey Boy (directed by Alma Har’el), which won the 2019 Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Award for vision and craft, and the Los Angeles Emmy Award–winning documentary Montage: Great Film Composers and the Piano (directed by Ben Proudfoot).
What’s in a Name? Director Arturo Perez Jr. on the Truest Signature He Can Give
In celebration and observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15), we’re publishing a number of short essays, anecdotes, and free-form editorials that speak to the unique experiences, often untold, that artists and creatives of Latinx descent have gone through. We hope that these pieces offer you a new insight into the world that most people whose ethnic and cultural heritage is nuanced and complex live in.Our first piece comes from Arturo Perez Jr.
Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program Announces Collaboration with Art House Convergence
Toronto — A new collaboration between Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program and Art House Convergence (AHC), a North American coalition of community-based, mission-driven movie theaters, was announced last night by Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program Director N. Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache) at the Toronto International Film Festival. The collaboration will bring six Indigenous short films from Sundance Institute Fellows to select AHC theaters in North America during November’s annual celebration of National Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
What to Watch in September 2019
Round out your summer movie watching with the latest Sundance Film Festival selections to hit theaters and streaming platforms this month.
With Ms. Purple, director Justin Chon has written another powerful love letter to Los Angeles (after 2017’s Gook)—this time taking place in a Koreatown karaoke room, where hostess Kasie caters to rich businessmen while struggling to provide for her bedridden father on her own, until she begrudgingly seeks help from her estranged brother.
“Be Brave and Experiment”: Lab Fellows Share 5 Ways to Hone Your Composing Skills
From graceful piano notes to frenzied violins—what would a film be without a powerful score? Music is a vital part of both fiction and documentary filmmaking, and that’s why Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program empowers aspiring film composers through an annual Music and Sound Design Lab.
This year’s lab took place for two weeks in July at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California. Each composer was assigned either a fiction or documentary film project and then collaborated one-on-one with their project’s director to score a selection of scenes, with guidance from experienced advisors in both the film music and directing fields.
5 Editing Tips from the Documentary Edit and Story Lab
Getting dropped into a completely new project during post-production and being asked to reimagine structures and refocus on the director’s vision—all in one week—is a tall order. But the contributing editors who attended the Documentary Edit and Story Lab this summer are established documentary filmmakers with years of experience shaping stories, and each of them was carefully matched with a project that they could connect with on a deeper level.
Steph Ching—a DOC NYC “40 under 40” filmmaker based in Brooklyn whose past work includes After Spring and the Emmy-nominated Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon—was paired with Singing in the Wilderness.
Sundance Institute Announces Fellows for Sundance Institute | Luma Foundation Directors Retreat in Arles
Creative Exchange, Unstructured Work Time for International Stage & Film Directors
Los Angeles, CA — Six directors have convened in Arles, France for the sixth annual Sundance Institute | Luma Foundation Directors Retreat in Arles, France, from August 1-12, 2019. Founded in 2013 as a creative collaboration between Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program and Luma Foundation, the Retreat is an opportunity for directors to meet, share best and emerging practices, and work self-directed on their upcoming projects.
“At this Retreat, we ask only for a spirit of inquiry from our participants,” said Christopher Hibma, Director of the Institute’s Theatre Program.
What to Watch in August 2019
If you’re keeping up with all the new releases from the Sundance Film Festival, you’ve got your work cut out for you in August. With 17 films coming to theaters and streaming platforms (including a host of award winners), you could watch one every other day for the entire month, and then some. Better get started!
In the mood for a theater trip? Then check out Brittany Runs a Marathon, which won the Festival’s U.
Nine Independent Projects Unite Art and Science
Sundance Institute and Science Sandbox Celebrate
Innovative Nonfiction Storytelling With Expanded Tailored, Multifaceted Support
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute, in collaboration with Science Sandbox, an initiative of Simons Foundation, announced the expansion of the Science Sandbox Nonfiction Initiative, alongside the initial nine science-focused independent projects selected for support this year. The initiative, first introduced in 2018, aims to elevate the voices of independent artists working at the intersection of science and nonfiction storytelling, as well as to encourage critical thinking, promote educated discourse and highlight the overlap of science and art.
Following the initiative’s successful inaugural year, nine projects have been thus far selected for support in 2019, a cohort co-curated by the Institute and Science Sandbox.
‘I Knew People Wanted to See It’: The ‘In Reality’ Team on Why and How They Self-Distributed
In part one of this interview, In Reality writer/director/star Ann Lupo and producer Holly Meehl shared how they got their anti-romantic comedy feature off the ground. In this second and final part, we explore how they navigated self-distribution.
Were you building an audience along the way? How did you keep people engaged?
AL: During post-production I took on a side project editing a short for Casey Neistat called “Filmmaking is a Sport,” and it completely changed my perspective on YouTube.
Independent Producers, Industry Advisors to Convene at 2019 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Labs & Summit
Los Angeles — Sundance Institute today announced Fellows and Advisors for the five-day 2019 Creative Producing Labs, as well as the three-day Creative Producing Summit which immediately follows; both take place at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Labs begins July 29, and the Summit August 2. These are the flagship convenings for the Institute’s Creative Producing Program, which champions and develops current and rising generations of producers across fiction and nonfiction film.