The Latest
Poetic Portraits of the 2018 New Frontier Story Lab
In May 2018 I was invited to join Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Story Lab in Utah as a Creative Observer. As an inclusion producer from the Pervasive Media Studio at Watershed in Bristol, UK, it was a treat to be invited to observe a naturally intersectional and representative lab process in the U.S.
‘Hale County This Morning, This Evening’ is a Perceptive Meditation on Life in the South
This article was originally published following the world premiere of “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film comes to theaters in New York and Los Angeles on September 14th and September 21st, respectively. Find a screening here.
Gerardo Coello Escalante: “The Only Truly Necessary Element to Make a Film Is an Idea”
As a young filmmaker, figuring out what steps to take in the process of making your first feature film is like attempting to find a path through a curtain of smoke. There is no readymade answer or right way of going about it. But none of the routes are easy.
Remembering Master Screenwriter Tom Rickman
I first met Tom Rickman in 1981 at the inaugural Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab. We were all figuring out how to create a safe, creative space for writers, and Tom, along with Frank Daniel, Frank Pierson, and Waldo Salt, were instrumental in our early days as our founding Creative Advisor group.
Over three decades, Tom continued to be an inspiration to hundreds of emerging writers, transformed by the time and care he put into each meeting, each interaction.
The Dreaded ‘P’ Word: How to Learn to Love Pitching
Documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army; Trapped) opened a conversation last month by leveling with everyone about the cringeworthy nature of the pitching process. “Very few people enjoy pitching. People should realize they are not alone in their loathing of pitching.
Money and Marketing for Creatives: Tips from the Creative Distribution Master Class
Michael W. Pannell is a writer and one-time filmmaker based in Georgia.I wondered if I wanted to spend my Saturday at a workshop on how to creatively raise money to make movies and then ingeniously promote them and get them in front of an audience.
What to Watch in September
In a month when more Sundance-supported films make their releases than any other in recent memory, a slew of badass women are dominating the screen. To canvass the indie film slate in September is to find yourself among intimate portraits of women brimming with conviction. In Kusama – Infinity, it’s Yayoi Kusama’s against-the-odds journey from the rigid conformity of her home life in Japan to becoming the top-selling female artist in the world; in Colette, Wash Westmoreland revisits the eponymous vanguard French writer whose own husband stripped her of authorial credit; and in Bad Reputation and Matangi/Maya/M.
The Metroplex and Sundance Institute Proudly Present 2018 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong September 20 to October 1, 2018
(Hong Kong – August 16, 2018) Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong returns for the fifth edition this September with a selection of 12 independent films, direct from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A.
Writer/Director Sky Bruno on His Experience at the Sundance Institute Directors Lab
Insecurity had been commonplace for me in the months leading up to the summer of 2018. Seeing that all my friends and mentors had plans and were working on films, being stagnant was the last thing I wanted. The pressure to create weighed heavy on my shoulders as I sat at my desk staring at blank pages, praying for inspiration to descend.
Documentary Creators Share Tips From Exploring the World of Audio
Introduced by Robert Redford, “Neighbourhood” is a collaboration between the BBC World Service and Sundance Institute that supports new projects exploring the theme of “Neighbourhood,” with the resulting radio programs airing on the BBC World Service, also available as podcasts, and accompanied by visual storytelling online. The series reflects the stories of people across different locations, cultures and demographics to give insight into how communities are built from a patchwork of people and ideas, interacting with each other.
We recently caught up with the documentary makers behind these five new projects and asked them to share the insights and learnings gleaned from their experiences.
What to Watch in August
Four films from the 2018 Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT section – the place for films operating on the fringes of genre and shaping the next wave of cinema – make their premieres this August, two of which (We the Animals and Night Comes On) shared honors for the inaugural NEXT Innovator Award. Another theme emerging among this month’s docket: Crystal Moselle (Skate Kitchen) and Jeremiah Zagar (We the Animals) both make their dramatic feature debuts after opening their careers on the nonfiction side. Check out all of the Sundance-supported releases coming to theaters and digital platforms this month.
Contemplating the Cut: The Art and Craft of Nonfiction Editing
On Saturday, May 12, in Los Angeles, Sundance Institute and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship partnered for the fourth year in a row to bring together documentary filmmakers to discuss the art and craft of nonfiction editing.
I return time and again to Jonathan Oppenheim’s brilliant keynote, delivered at the first event four years ago, which Sundance Institute’s Kristin Feeley referenced this year in her opening remarks. She highlighted Oppenheim’s distinction between two models for the role of the editor: the “artistic model” and the “industrial model.
Directors Lab Fellow Eimi Imanishi Is Asking Herself the Hard Questions
Eimi Imanishi is a Japanese American filmmaker who grew up in France. She directed two award-winning short films: “Battalion to My Beat” and “One-Up.” Imanishi took part in the 2018 Sundance Institute Directors Lab with her project “Doha: The Rising Sun.
Crystal Kayiza: “Imagining a World Where Your Voice and Storytelling Belong”
One of the challenges of being a young emerging filmmaker, especially one committed to nonfiction storytelling, is imagining a world where your voice and storytelling belong.
In my everyday life, I’ve been blessed to work in a community of artists and mentors that affirms and encourages my work and growth. But the emerging film landscape, the new media world that will arrive faster than many anticipate, is something that I found to be largely inaccessible.
Sundance Institute Convenes Creative Producing Labs & Summit
Independent Fiction and Nonfiction Producers Collaborate With Industry Advisors
Los Angeles — Sundance Institute today announced the Fellows and Advisors slated for the annual weeklong Creative Producing Labs, which commence July 30 at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, as well as the industry leaders and other independent filmmakers who will gather for the three-day Creative Producing Summit immediately following.
Created to champion and develop the current and rising generations of producers, the Institute’s Creative Producing Program nurtures creative vision and holistic best practices at every stage of a film’s progress from development to audience engagement. The program, which recognizes the need for a flexible, robust support system and community in an evolving industry, includes the annual Labs and Summit as well as year-round mentorship, granting, education and opportunities for financing and distribution.