The Latest

Sundance Institute Gathers Emerging Global & U.S. Creators at 2017 Directors and Screenwriters Labs
Radha Blank
Aleem Khan
Francisca Alegria
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Tayarisha Poe
Brett Weiner
Emma Fletcher
Hannah Pearl Utt
Jen Tullock
Grainger David
Cory Miller
Colman Domingo
Amirah Tajdin
Clea DuVall
Marcos Díaz Sosa
Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.
Los Angeles, CA — Thirteen new independent feature projects from Cuba, Chile, Kenya, the UK and the U.S.

Manifesto Demands 13 Different Characters From Cate Blanchett
This story was originally published January 25, 2017, following the premiere of Manifesto at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film is currently screening at Film Forum in NYC.In her latest film, Cate Blanchett plays a choreographer.

‘Casting JonBenet’: Director Kitty Green Isn’t Here to Crack a Cold Case
Before her film debuted at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and before it was made available to millions of homes and devices last week via Netflix, director Kitty Green met with Sundance.org to discuss Casting JonBenet. It’s the second feature for the Australian born filmmaker, following Ukraine Is Not a Brothel, which tracked a group of topless feminist activists in Ukraine whose efforts at social change seemed undermined by the shadowy figures who had orchestrated and funded their rise.

Sundance Institute Selects 11 Artists with VR and Emerging Media Storytelling Projects for New Frontier Story Lab
Rosie Haber
Silas Howard
Charlotte Stoudt
Laura Wexler
Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Toshiaki Ozawa
Griffin Frazen
Sutu
Charles Henden
Callum Cooper
Amelia Winger-Bearskin
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today 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 intensive that empowers creatives with individualized story sessions, conversations about key artistic, design and technology issues and case study presentations from experts in diverse related disciplines. Past participants include Roger Ross Williams, Yung Jake, Chris Milk, Hasan Minhaj, Tommy Pallotta, Navid and Vassiliki Khonsari, Karim Ben Khelifa, Tracy Fullerton and Yasmin Elayat.

Native Filmmakers Erin Lau and Shaandiin Tome Workshop Short Films at Sundance Institute Lab this Month in Santa Fe, NM
Los Angeles, CA — Two emerging Native storytellers, Erin Lau (Native Hawaiian) and Shaandiin Tome (Diné) will participate in the 2017 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 14-19 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.

Curtain Up: New Works for the Stage at Sundance Institute’s 2017 Theatre Lab
2013 Theatre LabCredit: Jonathan Hickerson
2015 Theatre LabCredit: Fred Hayes
2015 Theatre LabCredit: Jonathan Hickerson
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced a characteristically diverse and eclectic slate of projects that will be developed at their Theatre Lab, July 14-30 at Sundance Resort in Utah. The Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round work with the theatre community, and for nearly four decades has creatively supported projects including Indecent, Appropriate, Fun Home and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, Fellows at the Lab enjoy a continuum of support from the theatre community, with dedicated time, space and resources for creative development, rehearsals and constructive guidance and feedback.

Columbus and Unrest Secure Groundbreaking New Distribution Arrangement, with Support from Sundance Institute
Columbus
Photographer Credit: Elisha Christian
Unrest
Photographer Credit: Jason Rothenberg
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today the films selected for its Creative Distribution Fellowship, a new initiative to support filmmaking teams seeking a more entrepreneurial approach to the release of their work. Chosen to receive support from the Fellowship are two acclaimed works from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: Columbus, from director and screenwriter Kogonada, and Unrest, a documentary directed by Jennifer Brea.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Columbus and Unrest are perfect examples of the creative spirit of independent filmmaking, and this new Fellowship will provide them with resources, mentorship and tactical support to pioneer independent pathways to audiences.

If We Want a Better World, We Must Start With Ourselves
With Sundance Institute’s generous invitation, I had the privilege of attending the 2017 Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship as a Stories of Change Fellow.Our task was to meet with Skoll Foundation awardees to excavate stories and search for points of connection and to see what possibilities existed between our work as storytellers and the stories embedded in their work. Many of the awarded organizations are sitting on an ocean of stories, a dream for any filmmaker.

Sundance in India: “Local Stories Are Universal Stories”
Over the past five years, Sundance Institute’s sustained focus on Indian cinema has provided support for some of the most notable independent films from India in recent years, including Prashant Nair’s Umrika, which won the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival; Shonali Bose’s Margarita With A Straw, winner of the NETPAC Award at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival; and Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan, which made its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Avenir Prize. After five editions of its Screenwriters Labs in India supporting nearly 40 fellows and their projects, Sundance Institute will spend the coming year evaluating its program to make sure it continues to respond to the challenges facing the country’s independent filmmakers.
The Institute was first inspired to create a dedicated Screenwriters Lab in India after selecting Ritesh Batra for the 2009 Screenwriters and Directors Labs.

The Metroplex and Sundance Institute present Sundance Friday
(Hong Kong – April 26, 2017) The Metroplex and Sundance Institute will host the 4th edition of the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong September 21 to October 1, celebrating Hong Kong audiences’ passion for independent films. In addition, on Friday nights starting May 26, a selection of films showcased in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, U.S.

Programme Announced For 2017 Sundance Film Festival: London
Picturehouse Central, 25 April 2017 — Sundance Institute and Picturehouse announced today the programme of feature films, short films and panel discussions for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: London, taking place 1-4 June at Picturehouse Central. Festival passes are on sale now, find out more at picturehouses.com/sundance.

Playwrights Residency German Syrian Theatremakers
Focused Support & Mentorship Program Culminates in Public Performances at Maxim Gorki Theater
يُختتم البرنامج الذي يركز على الدعم والتوجيه بقراءات مفتوحة للجمهور في مسرح ماكسيم غوركي
Berlin and Neuklostersee, Germany Six Europe-based Syrian playwrights will create new work in Arabic
as part of Sundance Institutes Playwrights Residency in Berlin and Neuklostersee, continuing the Theatre Programs
mission-driven tradition of nurturing and amplifying emerging and established playwrights at the cutting edge of
their craft, and furthers their support of work from the Middle East and North Africa.
Table reads for the selected projects will take place May 3-4 at Berlin’s HAU
Studio
; casts will be drawn from the Berlin theatre community. Operations then move to Neuklostersee for six days of workshops and development-focused conversations with an international cohort of mentors and professionals.

Beatriz At Dinner To Open Sundance Film Festival: London
Salma Hayek as ‘Beatriz’ / Photographer credit: Lacey Terrell- click to watch the U.S. trailer for Beatriz at Dinner –
Picturehouse Central, 18 April 2017 — Sundance Institute and Picturehouse announced today that the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: London will open with the European premiere of Beatriz at Dinner.

‘Bending the Arc’ Screens at the Skoll World Forum
Bending the Arc, a Stories of Change supported film that revisits a group of health advocates’ unprecedented mission to make quality healthcare available to everyone, screened in Oxford to an audience of 500 as part of the Skoll World Forum. Tabitha Jackson led a post-film discussion with subjects Jim Yong Kim, Dr. Paul Farmer, Professor Agnes Binagwaho, Cori Shepherd Stern and Melquiades Huauya Oré.

Ask Yourself These Questions When Developing Your Documentary Film
Kevin Sharpley recently attended the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program’s Story Development Workshop supported by the Knight Foundation, which offers intensive story development sessions for a group of select nonfiction filmmakers from the Miami area. Below, he shares his learnings: the questions you should ask when developing your documentary film.When I walked into the room at the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program’s Story Development Workshop in Miami, it felt electric.