The Latest
Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound Announce Film Composers and Independent Filmmakers for July Music and Sound Design Labs
Music and Sound Design Lab 2015Credit: Lauren Janney
Music and Sound Design Lab 2014Credit: Brandon Joseph Baker
Music and Sound Design Lab 2015Credit: Rob Williamson
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound today announced the composers and directors selected for the Sundance Institute Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound . This will be the fourth year the Music and Sound Design Labs take place at the Skywalker Ranch in northern California. Half of this year’s composing Fellows are women, extending the Institute’s commitment to female artists to a creative branch of filmmaking with an especially low percentage of women represented.
Behind the Scenes of HITS’ “Pay What You Want” Release
With a heady mix of naivety and cockiness, around a year ago, we (Honora) made a move into distribution (read about Honora’s recently announced involvement with the pilot program BitTorrent Now here). David Cross’ feature directorial debut HITS premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and on its opening night we fielded (what in retrospect) was a generous offer from a well-known distributor. The offer included a plan that would see the film theatrically distributed in 10 major markets with a reputable distributor brand behind it.
Nate Parker to Receive Sundance Institute Vanguard Award at NIGHT BEFORE NEXT Benefit, August 11
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced it will present its Vanguard Award to filmmaker and actor Nate Parker at NIGHT BEFORE NEXT, a summer celebration benefiting the Institute and its artists on the eve of Sundance NEXT FEST at the iconic Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, August 11. Parker’s directorial debut, The Birth of a Nation, premiered to great response at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize. The Vanguard Award will be presented to Parker during the cocktails and dinner portion of the evening.
Seven Docs to Watch if You’re Mad as Hell About the Orlando Shootings
Like a lot of people, I’ve spent much of the past week thinking about the recent attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando—the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Sundance Institute Brings $143.3 Million in Economic Activity and $72.5 in Gross State Product to Utah with 2016 Sundance Film Festival
Park City, Utah — Sundance Institute today announced that its 2016 Sundance Film Festival, which took place in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah in January, generated an overall economic activity of $143.3 million and gross domestic product of $72.5 million in the State of Utah, according to the independent annual economic and demographic study conducted by the University of Utah’s Kem C.
Sundance Q&A: How a Tickling Competition Became an Investigative Thriller
You’d think that a film called Tickled would offer a light, escapist, mirthful time at the theater. But while this World Documentary Competition feature is often very funny, and starts off as an uproarious investigation into an obscure and frankly amusing fetish, it quickly veers into very darker territory. Provoked by insulting and homophobic responses to requests for an interview, New Zealand directors David Farrier and Dylan Reeve press deeper into a surprisingly disturbing subculture, led by several shady organizations perhaps run by the same mysterious person.
New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival: 10 Years of Changing Boundaries
Sundance Institute extends its celebration of the 10th anniversary of New Frontier this week with Virtual Reality: The New Frontier, running June 12–16 at the Walker Art Center. The presentation includes a lineup of works from the 2016 edition of New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival along with specially selected pieces by local Minnesota artists. In the April edition of Leonardo, the Walker’s Sheryl Mousley and our own Shari Frilot (New Frontier’s chief curator) shared an illustrated survey that revisits the sprawling work of New Frontier over the last 10 years.
Sundance Institute Receives Academy Grants to Support Artist Development Programs for Underrepresented Filmmakers
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today that it has been awarded two grants from The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to support professional training and development for emerging feature film artists from nontraditional backgrounds. The grants, which were made through the Academy’s Grants and Nicholl Fellowships programs, support the Institute’s 2016 Native Filmmakers Lab and the Feature Film Program’s June Screenwriters Lab.A $17,500 FilmCraft grant has been given to the Institute’s Native Program for its 2016 Native Filmmakers Lab.
Sundance Institute Names Projects for its Screenwriters Lab, Documentary Edit and Story Labs and New Theatre-Makers Residency
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute has selected 25 projects to participate in its Screenwriters Lab, Documentary Edit and Story Labs and new Theatre-Makers Residency, which will take place concurrently this summer in the mountains of the Sundance Resort in Utah. The confluence of these three artist development programs will provide Fellows the unprecedented opportunity to experience portions of the other Labs and will support a cross-pollination of creativity and personal expression across different storytelling forms.Under the guidance of established creative advisors, screenwriters will participate in individualized story sessions exploring their work-in-progress screenplays while documentary filmmakers in post-production embark on a rigorous exploration of story, structure, and character development.
Your Guide to a Summer of Movies that Britney Spears Would Find “Weird”
In the immortal words of pop empress Britney Spears: “Sundance is weird. The movies are weird – you actually have to think about them when you watch them.” Lest we forget, this erudite quote has been pinned to bulletin boards around Sundance offices for years.
Sundance Institute Presents 19th Annual Free Outdoor Film Screenings in Salt Lake City and Park City
(L-R) Photo credit: Instagram user @kerfuffleupagus; Photo credit: Instagram user @xebede; Photo credit: Instagram user @danibaum
Park City, UT — Trade your parka for a picnic blanket and join Sundance Institute for screenings of indie favorites under the stars in Salt Lake City and Park City this summer. Sundance Institute today announced 7 of the 8 Sundance Film Festival films that will be featured at the 2016 Sundance Institute Summer Film Series. For the first time ever, the Institute will be screening a 3D version of Under The Electric Sky outdoors at City Park.
Sundance Institute Selects Two Artists for Native Filmmakers Lab
Shane McSaubyCredit: Sundance Institute
2015 Native Filmmakers LabCredit: Babak Dowlatshahi
Willi WhiteCredit: Sundance Institute
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today the two emerging Native American storytellers who will participate in the 2016 Native Filmmakers Lab. Shane McSauby (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians)and Willi White (Oglala Lakota) will attend the Lab and receive guidance from esteemed Creative Advisors. After the Lab they will receive grants to fund the production of their short films, targeted support from a supervising producer and participation in the annual Native Forum at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Jonathan Dekel Offers Up 4 Universal Tips to Polish Your Screenplay
Last summer I started work on my first feature film, Checkout. It told the story of a man stuck in an old hotel on the outskirts of Istanbul, without the possibility of leaving. One year later I found myself stuck in an old hotel on the outskirts of Istanbul, without the possibility of leaving.
Sundance Institute Adds Two New Trustees
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced that filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) and theatre artist Lisa Kron (Fun Home) have joined its Board of Trustees.
Under the guidance of President & Founder Robert Redford and Board Chair Pat Mitchell, in close collaboration with Executive Director Keri Putnam, the 25-person Board is responsible for the governance of the nonprofit Sundance Institute.
Coogler and Kron join the Board as Artist Trustees, who are participants from Institute programs, including the Sundance Film Festival, artistic Labs and direct granting, who share with the Board their perspectives and act as liaisons to other Institute alumni.
The Future Is Female: Keeping Up With the Women at Sundance Fellows
As 2016 rolls on, Women at Sundance fellows past and present continue to pursue new creative endeavors and make headlines.Pamela Romanowsky’s award-winning film The Adderall Diaries was released this past March by A24, the company that brought you The Witch, Room and Ex Machina.Gabrielle Nadig recently returned from producing a short documentary in Alaska for Tribeca Digital Studios and Allergan’s #ActuallySheCan campaign.