The Latest

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.

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.

2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: NEW FRONTIER LINEUP ANNOUNCED

Park City, UT — Sundance Institute spotlights work at the dynamic crossroads of film, art and
technology with the New Frontier selections for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, announced today. This curated
collection of cutting-edge independent and experimental media works are by creators who are pushing artistic
innovation across new mediums that include VR, AR, mixed reality (MR) and AI. Programmers assembled a global slate of
work from a mix of invitations and submissions to an open call for VR work earlier this year.

2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: INDIE EPISODIC, SHORTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS ANNOUNCED

12 Episodic Works, 73 Short Films, 4 Special Events Join Festival Slate
Park City, UT — Works selected across the Indie Episodic, Shorts and Special Events sections of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival were announced today, underlining Sundance Institute’s commitment to showcasing bold independent storytelling regardless of form, format or length.
Kim Yutani, the Festival’s Director of Programming, said “Our newly-expanded programming team took in a full spectrum of human experience across genres and formats in creating this year’s Festival program. Following the success of last year’s inaugural Indie Episodic section, we’re immensely proud to showcase these stories told across installments, alongside several provocative, conversation-starting Special Events.

Digging for Truth in the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Program

A theater can serve as a sanctuary of sorts. Stories on screen can whisk us off to worlds unknown, or introduce us to voices seldom heard. They can liberate us from the clamor of daily life, or excavate truth when it’s been submerged for far too long.