The Latest
Writers and Creative Advisors Selected for Inaugural Drishyam | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in Goa, India April 12-16
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Drishyam today announced the artists and creative advisors selected for the inaugural Drishyam | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in Goa, India April 12-16. The Lab supports emerging filmmakers in India, as part of the Institute’s sustained commitment to international artists, which in the last 25 years has included programs in Brazil, Mexico, Jordan, Turkey, Japan, Israel and Central Europe.
The Lab is a five-day writer’s workshop that gives independent screenwriters the opportunity to work intensively on their feature film scripts in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking.
Sundance Institute Brings Free Filmmaker Workshop and Film Screenings to Minnesota April 28 – May 1
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute, host of the renowned Sundance Film Festival, announced today that it will host a free filmmaker workshop and film screenings and discussions in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Northfield, Minnesota April 28 through May 1, with support from the John S. and James L.
Kamal Sinclair: Impostor Syndrome, Anyone? Oh, Everyone?
A few months ago, I was standing in the middle of the New Frontier exhibition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival with people swirling around me, clamoring to get into the virtual worlds our storytellers had created inside the various headsets offered in the space. The artists and technologists curated by Shari Frilot (co-director and curator, New Frontier) for this exhibition are some of the most exciting innovators of our time with intimate knowledge of the software and hardware that will shape our lives in ways we can hardly imagine today.
I was giving tours of the space from the moment the doors opened, until the moment they shut to artists, curators and producers; technology, gaming, and film executives; venture capitalists, major foundation and non-profits heads; even Ferguson activists…repeating my self-authored talking points over and over again.
Now Playing: James Franco and Jonah Hill Play Cat and Mouse in ‘True Story’
While we lament a dearth of Sundance-supported releases hitting theaters this month, April is still apt for film viewing from the couch with a gathering of great stories coming to DVD, Blu-Ray, and On Demand. Among the small batch of theatrical releases, Rupert Goold’s True Story—yes, based on a true story—follows disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) and convicted murderer Christian Longo (James Franco) in a tale of journalistic ethics and unlikely relationships. And if you’re so inclined to do your viewing from home, check out 9 #ArtistServices titles newly available on Netflix and a crop of indies coming to DVD and Blu-Ray.
Sophie Hyde’s ’52 Tuesdays,’ an Audacious Drama Scripted and Shot Over 52 Weeks
This article was originally published following the premiere of 52 Tuesdays as part of the World Dramatic Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.On the heels of Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in-the-making drama Boyhood, another film from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been made under a similarly innovative process. For her directorial debut 52 Tuesdays, Sophie Hyde shot her film exclusively on Tuesdays for 52 consecutive weeks, giving actors their scripts only a week in advance and only for the scenes that involved their characters.
Louie Schwartzberg on Why He Made His Documentary ‘Fantastic Fungi’
After 40 years of filming, studying and advocating for nature, I still have one question I think about every day: If pollination is the foundation of life on our planet, what supports the very plants that are pollinated, giving them the power to convert light energy into food, fuel, medicine, and shelter?The surface-level answer is soil (sorry for the pun). But that’s only the beginning of the truth. Let’s dig a little deeper.
15 Celebrated Sundance Screenwriters Lab Alumni
There is a well-known refrain imparting that it takes some “breaking down” to build something (or someone) up—figuratively speaking, of course. At the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, that notion is nothing short of creed. It’s become a not-so-veiled secret of the lab that, contrary to its name, writing is strongly discouraged, if not altogether forbidden.
Q&A: The Zellner Bros. on ‘Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter,’ Their Ode to Exploration
To this day, David and Nathan Zellner talk about epic odysseys and unexplored lands in a wistful tenor. It’s as if they lament losing their curiosity to GPS devices and Google Maps. “There’s no real mystery left with the world anymore,” says Nathan Zellner.
23 Hacks for Optimizing Your Independent Film Release
Within the past several years, the emergence and maturation of lightweight, user-friendly technology platforms like Quiver Digital, Vimeo, and VHX has made distributing films easier than ever. As new technologies and distribution approaches continue to disrupt conventional release windows, funding cycles, and acquisition deals, how do indie filmmakers navigate this shifting landscape while balancing audience engagement and revenue?Our #ArtistServices team presented at #SXSW in 2015, and they took a look at the obstacles and opportunities, successes, and failures that come out of self-distribution. Their panel (“Hacking Technology for Your Indie Film Release”) was about what it takes to get your film seen in an overcrowded marketplace by using technology as your secret weapon.
#TBT: ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’
Don’t look now, but it’s been 17 years since John Cameron Mitchell premiered and starred in his raucously eccentric musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Off-Broadway. In the ensuing years, Mitchell worked to refine the film adaptation of Hedwig at the 1999 Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Labs before eventually premiering the film at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. There, Hedwig immediately enticed audiences and garnered instant “cult classic” designations from critics while also winning the Audience Award and the Directing Award.
In Memory of Filmmaker Richard Glatzer, 1952-2015
Sundance Institute mourns the loss of Richard Glatzer, whose feature film Quinceañera, written and directed with his long-time creative partner and husband, Wash Westmoreland, won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His comedy, Grief, also premiered in competition at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.
Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmorelandat the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
Help Find the ‘Lonely Whale’ with Adrian Grenier and Josh Zeman
Hello! Can anybody hear me? Is anybody out there—listening? Radio silence…
Albert Maysles, Renowned Documentarian and Sundance Veteran, Dies at 88
Renowned documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, a visionary in the realm of cinema verite who directed no less than five Sundance Film Festival selections, died Thursday evening. He was 88.
Albert Maysles and his brother David Maysles are best known for spearheading the American cinema verite movement with films such as Salesman, Grey Gardens, and Gimme Shelter.
4 Knight Fellows on How Community Shapes Their Creativity
Sundance Institute annually selects up to four artists from the eight Knight resident communities to attend the Sundance Film Festival. These artists reflect Sundance Institute’s commitment to developing and nurturing the next generation of creative voices. Knight Fellows were in residence for five days during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where they participated in a specially curated program.
March Now Playing: ‘It Follows,’ ‘Kumiko,’ and more
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, the Zellner Brothers’ mythical, Fargo-influenced drama leads a batch of Sundance-supported releases hitting theaters this month. Kumiko premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and screened at last summer’s Sundance NEXT FEST. David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows, a brazenly creepy teen horror also comes to the screen after premiering at Cannes and screening in Sundance’s Midnight section.