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Offscreen at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival: Panels and Events
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute will convene dozens of offscreen events, including inclusive and intersectional conversations on the next wave of storytelling, radical data transparency, the future of democracy at its intersection with the arts, behind-the-scenes panels on the art of filmmaking and musical performances that range from intimate to raucous at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival taking place in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Sundance, Utah, January 24 through February 3, 2019.
The first 2019 installment of the longstanding Power of Story series, Power of Story: Makers of the New Narrative Revolution will convene Terence Nance (As Told To G/D Thyself, Random Acts of Flyness), Reggie Watts (Runnin’), John Gaeta (Senior Vice President of Creative Strategy, Magic Leap), Stephanie Dinkins (Not The Only One), and Sarah Ellis (The Seven Ages of Man, director of digital development, Royal Shakespeare Company) and moderator Julia Kaganskiy to explore a range of inspirations, the changing nature of artistic discovery, the necessity of invention, and how culture stands to be dramatically reshaped by revolutionary, new narrative experiences. Power of Story is presented by Dropbox.
Meet the 2019 Knight Fellows
(R-L) Jonathan Cuartas, Paige Wood, Ryah Aqel, and Tara GadomskiAs part of our commitment to developing and nurturing the next generation of creative voices, Sundance Institute, with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation annually selects four Knight Fellows to attend the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Sundance Film Festival: Juries, Awards Night Host Announced
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute will gather 20 celebrated and revered expert voices across film, art, culture and science to award feature-length and short films shown at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival with 12 prizes, announced at a ceremony February 2 that will be livestreamed at sundance.org and on YouTube. Short Film Awards will be announced at a separate ceremony on January 29 and will also be livestreamed.
2019 Sundance Film Festival Announces Talent Forum Program
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute announced today program information for the first-ever Talent Forum, a new event for creators and industry at the Festival, bringing together a slate of artists and projects across all stages of development. This new event marks an expansion of the nonprofit Institute’s year round continuum of support for independent artists.
Emerging talent from the Institute’s signature artist development Labs and Fellowships will gather at the Festival, in Park City, Utah, to present new work to industry attendees, alongside a special artist-only program of keynotes, screenings, gatherings and seminars.
How to Fest in Salt Lake City: Your Guide to Films, Music, and More
Some 30 miles outside its bustling epicenter in Park City, the Festival offers a robust slate of events and activities in neighboring Salt Lake City. Five official Sundance Film Festival venues now reside in Salt Lake City, presenting a diverse array of film screenings and artist Q&As for downtown audiences.
Find out more about Salt Lake theaters, lounges, and box offices on our How to Fest page, and check out the schedule of films playing in SLC by browsing our film program.
Eight Indigenous-Made Films to See at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival
Want to see which films by Indigenous filmmakers made their world premieres at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in Park City? See the list here.This year, eight Indigenous-made films from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States will be premiering at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The Native American and Indigenous Film Program has a global focus and through its work strengthens Indigenous cinema.
Final Additions to 2019 Sundance Film Festival Lineup
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute rounds out this year’s 2019 Sundance Film Festival program with today’s additions to the Documentary Premieres and Special Events sections. The Festival will take place in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort January 24-February 3, 2019.
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES CATEGORY
The Brink / U.
Meet the Class of 2019
From grueling days on set to momentous breakthroughs, dive into these quick-hitting, exclusive introductions to the Sundance Film Festival class of 2019. Get a glimpse at never-before-seen film clips and hear intimate stories from the production trenches.For many, this is the first time they’ve been able to share their story and recount the journey of their project—everything from the profound to the peculiar to the downright shocking.
Sundance Institute and Time Warner Foundation Select 9 Artist Fellows for Grants
Los Angeles, CA — Nine diverse independent artists will receive support from the 2018 Sundance Institute | Time Warner Foundation Fellowship, the Institute announced today. These Fellowships, and accompanying grants, are part of the non-profit organization’s year-round efforts to discover independent artists from underrepresented communities and support them as they create their work and connect with audiences.
The Fellowship supports Fellows working in film, theatre, film music and new media, as well as in the Institute’s Native Program.
We Spoke to Dozens of Independent Film Distributors; This Is What They Want in a Project
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in January 2019, and a few updates have since been made to reflect changing distributor names and offerings. I’m a writer/director, but because I’m in the micro-budget indie feature world, I take on a lot of producing duties as well. As with a lot of my colleagues, I looked at all the films that had inspired me and assumed a lot regarding how they got out into the world.
Robert Redford: “All of us have a part to play in bringing the country together again”
Like many of you, I find myself reflecting and looking ahead to a new year, with both optimism and a sense of trepidation.I’m hoping it will bring positive changes: a return to democratic values, more justice for all, less divisions and anger, and a renewed consciousness for our civic duty to protect the environment we all depend on, no matter which political party we align with.I’m also looking back a bit (something I don’t allow myself to do too often).
So You Want to Be a Film Producer? Mallory Schwartz on the Making of “Before You Know It”
The role of the film producer is often obscured by the far-reaching definitions of the job—which are expansive to say the least. With the Feature Film Creative Producing Lab and Fellowship currently accepting applications for the 2019 program, we checked in with 2016 Fellow Mallory Schwartz—and her project Before You Know It (formerly known as Stupid Happy)—to shed light on her journey of producing an independent film. Before You Know It was directed by Hannah Utt and stars Judith Light and Mandy Patinkin alongside co-writers Utt and Jen Tullock.
Sundance Institute Announces 2019 January Screenwriters Lab Fellows: Emerging Writers and Experienced Advisors Come Together for Creative Dialogue
Distinctive Projects from Unique Voices Reflect Boldness and Passion;
Ten Alumni Projects to Premiere at 2019 Sundance Film Festival
Los Angeles, CA — Fifteen screenwriters from countries including the U.S., Lebanon, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Kingdom will bring twelve projects to the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab, taking place January 18-23, 2019 at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah.
So You Want to Be a Film Producer? Producer Diane Becker On Beating the Clock to Make “Inventing Tomorrow”
It’s an artistic process that often goes unheralded, and one that certainly warrants more conversation: the day-to-day work of the nonfiction producer. To coincide with the launch of the 2019 application for the Documentary Creative Producing Lab and Fellowship, we checked in with 2017 Fellow Diane Becker and her project Inventing Tomorrow, which is directed by Laura Nix and premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary “follows six young scientists from Indonesia, Hawaii, India and Mexico as they tackle some of the most complex environmental issues facing humanity today.
Wrestling the Edit: How the Makers of ‘The Cinema Travellers’ Reached the Final Cut
Directors Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya attended the 2014 Documentary Edit and Story Lab with their film “The Cinema Travellers,” about the last traveling cinemas in the faraway villages of India. Below, Amit chronicles their time at the lab and the journey to arriving at the final cut of their film.
“We are here to experiment.