The Latest
Sundance Institute: Over Half a Million Dollars to Documentary Projects
Twenty-Three Projects from Twelve Countries Among Documentary Film Program’s Latest Grantees
Los Angeles, CA — More than $585,000 in targeted grants will support a global crop of independent nonfiction storytellers,
Sundance Institute announced today. 58% of the supported projects are helmed by women, and 48% are from outside the U.S.
You Are Not Alone: These Films Are Helping Dispel the Stigma of Mental Illness
It is by no means an indicator that the work is close to—or ever—finished, but with each passing year there are signs of an incremental growth in our approach to mental health, both clinically and in personal circles.
Maybe it’s in the renewed public relations efforts around Mental Health Month, which is recognized in May of each year, or in the desperately overdue conversations in the wake of tragedies surrounding icons and idols whom we deem impervious to the scars and stigmas of mental illness.
Maybe it’s more subtle and subconscious, propelled by a younger and more dauntless generation’s memes and hashtags that pervade social media and point to a very important truth: that we are alike in our stories of struggle, if only we could release those stories so tightly bound to our shame.
Kimberly Pierce, Justin Chon, and Other Filmmakers Reveal How Failure Can Lead to Discovery
Stories transport and can transform us. They allow us to know ourselves and others, and to find meaning in our lives and in our world. They cross borders, transcend culture, and allow us to frame our worlds through new lenses.
Sundance Institute Selects Erica Tremblay and MorningStar Angeline Wilson For 2018 Native Filmmakers Lab
Fellows and Creative Advisors Gather May 13-18 in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Los Angeles, CA — Two emerging Native storytellers,
Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga) and
MorningStar Angeline Wilson (Navajo, Blackfeet, Chippewa Cree) will participate in the
2018 Sundance Institute Native Filmmakers Lab, continuing the Institute’s year-round work in the discovery and
development of artists from diverse backgrounds.
The Lab takes place May 13-18 in Santa Fe, NM. During the Lab, Fellows work with a cast, crew, and supervising producer to
shoot workshop versions of scenes from their short films under the expert creative mentorship of Program alumni and other
established industry professionals and Program staff.
Kim Yutani Named Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival
LOS ANGELES — Sundance Institute’s John Cooper announced today that
Kim Yutani is the Sundance Film Festival’s new Director of Programming. Yutani will lead the curation of
film, media, and off-screen programming at both the Sundance Film Festival and other year-round public platforms and programs
that showcase and elevate independent storytellers and artists. She was formerly Senior Programmer at the Festival, and
will report directly to Festival Director
John Cooper.
Announcing: Sundance Institute At Sundown presented by Acura
Special Benefit to Celebrate the Winner of the 2018 Vanguard Award: Boots Riley, Artist and Multi-Hyphenate
Featuring the LA Debut Screening of
Sorry to Bother You and (Raucous) Afterparty: Tickets on Sale Now at
sundance.org/sundown
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute, in collaboration with Annapurna Pictures, invites fans and supporters of
independent cinema to celebrate the irrepressible writer/director/producer/musician/activist
Boots Riley. Boots, an alumni of both the Sundance Labs and Film Festival, will be honored with the Sundance Institute’s
annual Vanguard Award at its summer fundraiser on June 14, 2018 at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, just
before the Los Angeles debut of his new film,
Sorry to Bother You and an afterparty for all ticketholders immediately following.
Sundance Institute Announces 2018 New Frontier Story Lab Fellows
Groundbreaking Group of Emerging Media Creatives Convene to Push the Boundaries of Storytelling and Technology
Nitzan Bartov | Char Simpson | Michèle Stephenson | Joe Brewster | Raqi Syed | Areito Echevarria |
Stephanie Dinkins |Sadé Dinkins | Shariffa Chelimo Ali | Yetunde Dada | Kevin Cornish | Seyward Darby
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announces the six projects selected for the annual
New Frontier Story Lab, which supports independent artists working at the cutting-edge convergence of film, art,
media, live performance and technology.
The New Frontier Story Lab is a week-long immersive experience that empowers creatives with individual story sessions, conversations
about key artistic, design and technology issues and case study presentations from experts in multiple disciplines. Past
participants include Roger Ross Williams, Josephine Decker, Silas Howard, Tracy Fullerton, Yung Jake, Chris Milk, Hasan
Minhaj, Tommy Pallotta, Amelia Winger-Bearskin, Hank Willis Thomas, Jillian Mayer, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Navid and Vassiliki
Khonsari, A Dandy Punk, Nicolas Peufaillit, and Yasmin Elayat.
Sundance Institute Announces 2018 Theatre Lab Acting Company and Creative Advisors
Advisors Indhu Rubasingham and Hassan Abdulrazzak join Creative Team
Acting Company includes Yassine Ahejjam, Hanane Hajj Ali, Khris Davis, Teresa Lim, Aya Metwalli, Alano Miller, Hala Omran, Sharif Sehnaoui, Micah Stock, Michelle Wilson and others
New York — Sundance Institute’s Theatre Lab kicks off on May 6th, and today announced this year’s
participating acting company and creative advisors. The Lab, which runs through May 27 at the Fellah Hotel outside Marrakech,
Morocco, is supervised by Artistic Director
Philip Himberg and Producing Director
Christopher Hibma, and is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round work with the theatre community,
alternating locations between Sundance Resort in Utah and a venue in the Middle East/North African region, as part of a
multi-year commitment to international work and a means of facilitating cultural exchange between artists writing in English
and Arabic.
For the three-week Lab, the Institute provides rehearsal space, dramaturgical support, and an acting company, creating
an immersive environment where artists can experiment, see their work take shape and collaborate with creative advisors,
dramaturgs and actors.
A Note to Screenwriters on Finding Their Story: “Comfort will kill you”
Filmmaker Meedo Taha participated in Sundance Institute’s annual Screenwriters Intensive with his project “Other People.” The Intensive provides emerging screenwriters the opportunity to hone their craft in a two-day workshop focused on the development of a fiction feature screenplay. Below he shares his insights and creative breakthroughs from that experience.
Native and Indigenous Storytellers: Apply for Grants Up to $25K Via the New Short Documentary Fund
In the early years of his work as a television actor, Robert Redford was asked to audition to play a Native character on TV. Appalled by this request, he went on a personal quest to find Native actors that broadened his quest of trying to locate Native filmmakers.
Through his early environmental work and his acquisition of land in Utah to create a preserve of pristine lands, Redford had built deep, lasting relationships with many different American Indian tribes.
Women Filmmakers Leading The Way At Sundance Film Festival: London
Sundance Film Festival: London Programme Announced – Picturehouse Central Hosts Feature Films, Short Films and Special Events from 31May – 3 June 2018
Tickets on sale Monday 30 April; priority booking from Monday 23 April
Find out more at
picturehouses.com/sundance
Picturehouse Central, 19 April 2018 — Sundance Institute and Picturehouseannounced today the programme of feature
films, short films and panel discussions for the
Sundance Film Festival: London 2018, taking place 31 May – 3 June at Picturehouse Central, presented in association
with Adobe. General ticket sales open at 9.
Filmmaker Beth de Araújo on “Making a Movie with Every Single Industry Faux Pas”
Beth de Araújo is a Los Angeles–based writer/director who was recently featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. She was selected for the 2018 Asian American Fellowship, and attended both the Screenwriters Intensive and the Screenwriters Lab with her feature screenplay Josephine, which will mark her feature directorial debut.Trying to analyze what I wanted my first feature to be was a daunting task.
Sundance Institute Names 2018 Theatre Lab Fellows
19 Theatremakers from U.S., Middle East & North Africa Assemble for Customized Support & Development
Lab Théâtre du Sundance Institute / Annonce des Boursiers 2018
المختبر المسرحي في معهد ساندانس يسمي الحاصلين على الزمالة لعام
NEW YORK, NY — Sundance Institute announces the slate of theatremakers from the U.
Filmmaker Tips for Exploring Creative Distribution
After eschewing traditional distribution offers following their run at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, the team behind Columbus opted to self-release their feature film with the support of the Sundance Institute Creative Distribution Fellowship (more on that here). The ongoing shifts in distribution, including new digital opportunities for film and television, have led creators to take a closer look at their options before jumping at the first distribution offer. And where a traditional deal may lighten the load on the filmmaker, it also calls into doubt the team’s creative control with the film moving forward.
Launching the Sundance Institute Short Documentary Fund Focused on Native and Indigenous Storytellers
With the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the partnership of the Guardian, Sundance Institute is excited to launch the Short Documentary Fund for Native and Indigenous voices from around the world.