The Latest
Sundance Institute Deepens Artist Development Programs in Eight U.S. Cities With Renewed Knight Foundation Support
Los Angeles — Sundance Institute will continue producing artist development programs in eight U.S. cities, with funding from the John S.
Sundance Institute Preserves Early Independent Film Music History with GRAMMY Grant
With support from the GRAMMY Museum, Sundance Institute has digitized more than 700 audio and video recordings, pages of sheet music, photographs, and other documents from the early days of its Film Music Program—including seminal work in independent film composition from as early as the 1980s.
A few highlights of the catalogued items include a 1987 recording of a conversation with Brave Little Toaster composer David Newman and director Jerry Rees, and 1988 video of a panel on the philosophy and methods of composing for low-budget films, among many other gems. The project also uncovered correspondence with Robert Redford regarding the founding of the Film Music Program, as well as early newsletters and reports that give insight into the successes and challenges of the program’s beginnings.
Are You a Native Filmmaker in New Mexico or Michigan? Apply to the Full Circle Fellowship
Each year, Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program aims to support the next generation of Native American storytellers through the Full Circle Fellowship. The fellowship provides opportunities to explore a career as a filmmaker, attendance at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, a set internship at the Native Filmmakers Lab to gain hands-on film production experience, and a trip to Los Angeles with a schedule of production facilities tours, meetings with industry mentors, and film screenings.
This fellowship selects four New Mexico- and Michigan-based applicants, ages 18 to 24.
‘Go Fish’ Director Rose Troche: Could a Simple Act of Love Change the Course of Violence?
Rose Troche is an alumni of the Sundance Film Festival and has served as a creative advisor at the Sundance Institute New Frontier Story Lab. Her virtual reality project IF NOT LOVE premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Could a simple act of love change the course of violence? IF NOT LOVE is an exploration of this question.
One Year Later, What We’ve Learned From Creatively Distributing ‘First Girl I Loved’
It’s been nearly a year since First Girl I Loved hit theaters and we embarked on our journey into self-distribution. We’ve worked hard and learned a great deal — but having gone through it all now, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. The biggest takeaway is this: know what your rights are worth and do your best to maximize your return.
Sundance Institute Names 2017 Episodic Lab Fellows
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute has selected 10 original independent pilots for holistic support at its fourth annual Episodic Lab. With topics ranging from awkward family dynamics to the rippling-effect of crime on a community, the scope of this year’s projects, and the diverse backgrounds of their creators, speaks to the Institute’s broad and visionary support of the episodic format; the Episodic Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round support program for emerging television writers.Beginning with the Lab, Fellows will benefit from customized, ongoing support from Feature Film Program staff, Creative Advisors and Industry Mentors, led by Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, Michelle Satter, and Senior Manager of the Episodic Program, Jennifer Goyne Blake.
Designing the Future of Work: New Frontier World Building Residency in Los Angeles
Three artists created a future Los Angeles as part of the Sundance Institute New Frontier World Building Residency. Join the artists for a presentation of their project on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.
Documentary Filmmakers: Does this story want to be a film?
Before you decide to embark on making a documentary — a process that often takes years, drains your savings, and tries the patience of your friends and family — ask yourself this simple not-so-simple question: Does your film want to get made?
That’s one of the questions filmmaker and Stanford professor Jan Krawitz urged the crowd of would-be filmmakers to consider at the Sundance Institute/Knight Foundation Documentary Workshop at the Hammer Theatre in San Jose, CA, this past August.
Before you shoot even a minute of film, consider, Krowitz suggested, “Does this want to be a film? Not an article? A dance? A painting?”
Krowitz was onstage having a conversation with Richard Ray Perez, the Sundance Institute’s Director of Creative Partnerships, Documentary Film Program before a screening of Perez’s 2014 film Cesar’s Last Fast. The hundred or so guests at the Hammer listened in and asked questions as Perez explained how he discovered that Last Fast, the dramatic story of Latino labor rights activist Cesar Chavez’s dramatic final act of consciousness-raising, was, most definitely, a film.
More than $1.9 Million to Nonfiction Storytellers: Sundance Institute Announces Documentary Fund Grants Across Nonfiction Formats
Los Angeles, CA — A diverse range of projects and artists on the frontlines of nonfiction storytelling received nearly $2 million in grants from Sundance Institute, furthering their work across a broad array of subjects and forms.
Works originate in 26 countries and six continents, and teams include Academy Award© nominees (Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, Richard Rowley, Jon Else and David France), and first-time feature filmmakers (Cody Lucich, Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas, Nadia Shihab, Bing Liu, T Cooper, Sandi Tan, Hana Mire, Jon Kasbe, Jonathan Bogarín, Elan Bogarín and Paula Eiselt). Funding for audience engagement goes to series including The Keepers and films such as The Force, Sembene! and The Death and Life of Marsha P.
When “It’s All In Your Head” Is The Diagnosis: Jennifer Brea and Laura Poitras on Portraying Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
There are few attacks on the human psyche more disempowering than being told that your experience is invalid.
That’s where filmmaker Jennifer Brea found herself time and time again amid a desperate search for medical truths as she gradually fell more incapacitated by the symptoms of a mysterious illness. An active Harvard PhD student at the time, Brea was eventually rendered bedridden and motionless, an official diagnosis proving frustratingly elusive.
How Collaboration—Not Isolation—Leads to Creative Breakthroughs
Filmmaker Grace Lee (“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs”) participated as a creative advisor at the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program | CNEX Workshop and Documentary Summit in Beijing earlier this year. Below she shares learnings gleaned from working collaboratively with filmmaking teams on their rough cuts.
I arrived in Beijing after a 13-hour flight from New York, jetlagged but thrilled to be a creative advisor at the Sundance / CNEX Documentary Story and Edit Lab.
Clea DuVall: Pulling My Script from the River
I started writing my script Layne about a year ago. When I sat down, the story flowed. I was feeling very confident, and had a good handle on where I was going and how to get there.
How Being Open to Change Can Maximize Your Film’s Reach
In our last article, we discussed the importance of data for filmmakers and provided some key analysis and digital marketing terms to know. Now I’d like to contextualize these terms by explaining the practice of analyzing data through the use of feedback loops and providing examples of these systems found in the independent film industry. Let’s start with a production feedback loop example: Dailies.
Conversations We Want to Have with Ourselves: Reflections from the New Frontier Story Lab
The public call for submissions is now open for the 2018 New Frontier Story Lab! Apply here or visit our FAQ.
I am a technologist, but my son says I can’t tweet properly. So here is some advice distilled from my time with my and Callum Cooper’s project Porton Down at the the 2017 New Frontier Story Lab, in tweet form:
If you want money: look for a community.
Sundance Institute and Time Warner Fellows
Tearrance Chisholm
Chico Colvard
Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Paola Lázaro
Jhane Myers
Jesi Nelson
Shawn Peters
Tayarisha Poe
Sharyn Steele
Amelia Winger-Bearskin
Los Angeles, CA — Eleven diverse independent artists have been selected to receive support
from the 2017
Sundance Institute | Time Warner Foundation Fellowship. These Fellowships and
accompanying grants are part of the non-profit Institute’s year-round efforts to discover and support
independent artists from diverse backgrounds in getting their work made and seen by a wide audience.