The Latest

Film Producers on the First Films That Blew Their Minds

“The film that blew your mind isn’t necessarily the best film,” Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper said slyly at the closing night of the Creative Producing Summit. Apparently that declaration was intended to curtail the evening’s presenters—a who’s-who of the film-producing world—from shying away from candor. In fairness, how many of us are wont to divulge our earliest, innocent artistic predilections? Not I, says this sheepish fan of Waterworld.

Calling Young Filmmakers: 4 Reasons to Submit to the “What’s Next?” Short Film Challenge

Kevin Brooks was one of five winners of the 2015 “What’s Next?” Short Film Challenge, in partnership with Adobe Project 1324, and a Sundance Ignite Fellow who received year-round mentorship and networking opportunities, including a trip to the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Below he shares insights gained from his past year as an Ignite Fellow and calls on filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 24 to submit their projects by September 26 for a chance to be one of the winners of the 2016 “What’s Next?” Short Film Challenge. Click here to learn more.

‘Cartel Land’ and ‘Miss Simone’ Lead Emmy Nominees (Updated with Winners)

This post was originally published July 14 and has been updated with Emmy winners in bold.The 2016 Emmy Award nominees were announced today and honored a number of Sundance-supported films, including five nominations for Matthew Heineman’s perilous journey exploring Mexican drugs lords in Cartel Land, and six nominations for the sweeping portrait of Nina Simone in Liz Garbus’ What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction ProgramCartel Land (winner)Mapplethorpe: Look At The PictureWhat Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Directing For A Nonfiction ProgramMatthew Heineman, Cartel LandLiz Garbus, What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program Cartel Land What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Sound Editing For A Nonfiction Program (Single Or Multi-Camera)Cartel Land (winner)What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special Becoming Mike NicholsListen To Me MarlonMapplethorpe: Look At The PicturesWhat Happened, Miss Simone? (winner) Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking (two winners)The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the RevolutionCartel Land (winner)Jim: The James Foley Story (winner)Racing Extinction Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera)What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Supporting Role11.22.

​A Message from Native Filmmakers Fighting the Dakota Pipeline at Standing Rock

Heather Rae, a Sundance-supported producer and the director of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival documentary selection “Trudell,” was recently on the ground with other Native filmmakers, Cody Lucich and Ben Dupris, at Standing Rock in North Dakota telling their story of the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The following is an account of their time protecting Native lands.

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Since April of this year, Native people from all over North America have been gathering on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their fight against a pipeline proposed to traverse treaty land and impede their water source, the Missouri River.

Q&A: Jeff Feuerzeig on JT LeRoy, “The Literary Hoax of the Century”

If you followed pop
culture in the late ’90s, the name JT LeRoy was inescapable and in many ways
inscrutable. Thought to be a 15 year-old, drug-abusing transgender prostitute
from rural West Virginia, LeRoy’s byline began to appear in magazines. Soon,
two novels,
Sarah and The
Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
, were published to great acclaim and
even greater fanfare.

‘Possibilia’: The Daniels’ Interactive “Non-Breakup Breakup Story”

The self-proclaimed “non-breakup breakup story” Possibilia is an interactive experience that’s “set in the multiverse … whatever that means.” In a choose-your-own-adventure–like encounter, the viewer takes an active role in the story of a young couple as they contemplate breaking up.
Alex Karpovsky and Zoe Jarman star as Rick and Pollie, who, depending on the scenes you choose, are found either fighting on the front lawn to stay together or resignedly discussing the inevitable at the kitchen table.

Sundance Institute And Jaunt Studios Announce Latest Additions To VR Residency Program

Suggested Release: #NewFrontier: @SundanceLabs and @JauntVR Announce Latest Additions to VR Residency Program bit.ly/SI-news

Los Angeles, CA – Sundance Institute and Jaunt Studios announced today their latest class of creatives, at the forefront of innovation in media and entertainment, to join the Sundance Institute New Frontier | Jaunt VR Residency Program. Daniel Arsham, Yung Jake, and Lily Baldwin & Saschka Unseld will participate in the six-month program designed to empower artists on the cutting edge of storytelling.

Robert Redford Turns 80: Revisit His Words of Wisdom

To much of the world Robert Redford is Roy Hobbs, Bill McKay, Jeremiah Johnson, or invariably, The Sundance Kid. He is an artist, an activist, and a creative leader. But Robert Redford also inhabits another world, one where he’s known simply as “Bob.

Nate Parker Has a Galvanizing Message for Young Filmmakers

After receiving Sundance Institute’s annual Vanguard Award to kick off NEXT FEST, Birth of a Nation writer/director/actor Nate Parker went off script to channel his attention and remarks towards a handful of Ignite Fellows—a group of 18-to-24-year-old filmmakers supported by the Institute with year-round mentorship. Parker’s message should resonate with all artists who’ve fought to have their voices heard, and the filmmaker’s own trajectory—tales of driving around in a rundown Honda Civic with no A/C included—are a revitalizing reminder the journey is almost never without peril. Check out excerpts from his moving speech below.

Nate Parker and The Birth of a Nation Team Announce New Fellowship for Young Filmmakers at Sundance Institute Benefit

Click HERE for Photos (Credit: Ryan Kobane/Sundance Institute)
Click HERE for Video
Additional Photos at Wireimage.com

Los Angeles, CA — Nate Parker and the cast, Producers, and Executive Producers of The Birth of a Nation are investing in the next generation of diverse independent creativity with the Sundance Institute | The Birth of a Nation Fellowship for 18-to-24-year-old filmmakers participating in the Institute’s Ignite program. Parker shared details at Sundance Institute’s NIGHT BEFORE NEXT benefit at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles this evening, where he also received the Institute’s annual Vanguard Award presented to him by actor and Sundance alum Michael B.

Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas On Creating Our New Favorite Father-Son Duo

There’s something almost therapeutic about Morris From America. It would be remiss to owe the film’s charming qualities to its pastoral German landscape, so we’ll just tip our hat to writer and director Chad Hartigan for an unfamiliar coming-of-age narrative, one that confronts race while providing a respite from violence (and no surprise that he must take us to Europe to do so). At the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Morris From America quickly became known as the attractive vehicle for one of this year’s most salient breakout actors in Markees Christmas, who plays the aspirational rapping teen ‘Morris.

Sundance Institute and Time Warner Foundation Select 12 Fellows for 2016 Artist Support Grants

Suggested Tweet:12 Fellows Selected by @SundanceLabs and @TimeWarnerFdn for 2016 Artist Support Grants Fostering Diverse Filmmakers bit.ly/sndnc-newsLos Angeles, CA — Twelve diverse independent artists will receive support from the 2016 Sundance Institute | Time Warner Foundation Fellowship Program. These Fellowships and accompanying grants mark their 10th anniversary this year and are part of the Institute’s year-round efforts to discover and support independent artists from diverse backgrounds in getting their work made and seen.