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How to Save Indie Distribution in 5 Easy Steps
Straith Schreder is the Director of Content Strategy, BitTorrent, Inc., which has worked with Drafthouse Films on its BitTorrent Bundle, which Chief Content Officer Matt Mason spoke on at #ArtistServices San Francisco Workshop. Below, Schreder outlines the ways in which Drafthouse Films is an indicator of where independent distribution is headed and highlights five ways that Drafthouse Films gets the new distribution model right.
5 Things You Should Know: Directors Lab Fellows “Daniels” on Crass Humor
“It’s gonna be our Apocalypse Now, where we disappear into the forest for weeks and lose our minds and discover who we are as men,” say Daniels, the lone directing duo at this year’s Sundance Institute Directors Lab, where they’re joined by seven other nascent writer-directors and their projects. But Daniels (never to be preceded by “the,” they assure me), made up of longtime music video collaborators Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, have developed a symbiosis that renders them more operative together than apart. And while yes, it’s a testament to Aristotle’s “sum of its parts” philosophy, it has also yielded dividends in the form of countless industry accolades, from their Grammy nomination for Foster the People’s “Houdini” to countless Vimeo Staff Picks.
Native American Filmmakers on the Importance of Representation in Hollywood
Last month, the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program kicked off its annual fellowship with a rigorous four-day workshop on the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. In May, we chatted with Native Hawaiian filmmaker Christopher Kahunahana (Karaoke Kings) and Carmen Tsabetsaye (Puebloan in Praha) about their respective projects and their orientations as Native and Indigenous artists. Now we round out our coverage by exploring two disparate stories from fellows Daniel Flores and Missy Whiteman, both of which straddle issues of gender identity, depression, and the challenges of reclaiming Native American storytelling.
Sundance Institute Selects 20 Fellows for 2014 Documentary Edit and Story Labs
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute today announced the selection of 20 Fellows representing eight documentary film projects to participate in the 2014 Documentary Edit and Story Labs, June 20-28 and July 4-12 at Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah. These are part of 10 residential Labs hosted by Sundance Institute this summer, collectively representing 15 weeks of residency support and mentorship for the most promising new independent film and theatre projects from the United States and around the world.
Built upon the immersive Lab model launched in 1981 by Sundance Institute President & Founder Robert Redford, each session of the Documentary Edit and Story Labs brings together director and editor teams with world-renowned documentary filmmakers and Sundance Institute staff to support creative risk-taking around issues of story, dramatic structure and character development.
Theatre Program Alumni Triumph During Awards Season
Last week, the 68th annual Tony Awards marked the unofficial coda to theater awards season with a triumphant evening for Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak’s musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. But often the zenith of a project’s creative life tends to eclipse its own fascinating journey, like Gentleman’s voyage since participating at the 2006 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab. That raucous black comedy, along with a handful of other award winners below, each at some stage participated in the Theatre Program’s three-week play development retreat designed to support the creation of new work by playwrights, directors, composers and librettists.
6 Sundance Alumni Paving the Way in Episodic Storytelling, from Cary Fukunaga to Jill Soloway
Earlier this year, Sundance Institute announced the formation of the Episodic Story Lab dedicated to supporting writers and creators of series for television and online platforms, and just yesterday, we revealed the 10 writers selected for the inaugural Lab taking place at the Sundance Resort from September 27 through October 2. Every applicant for the program was required to submit a spec pilot and series overview as the basis of their creative work at the Lab. The selected writers are Desiree Akhavan (Switch Hitter); Peter Biegen (Small Change); Nate Crocker (Scar Tissue); Katori Hall (The Dial); Barry Jenkins (Radical); Nick Keetch (Borderline); Lisa Kron (The Schaeffers); Crystal Liu (The White Sheep); Heather Marion (Bury Me); and Matt Young (Still).
Is College Worth It? Andrew Rossi Investigates the Alarming Cost of Education in Ivory Tower
Documentary filmmaker Andrew Rossi is drawn to worlds that at first seem impenetrable. In his previous film, the riveting Page One: Inside the New York Times (which premiered at Sundance in 2011), Rossi obtained a “fly-on the-wall” look at the newspaper industry in a state of transition and turmoil. Now, with his latest documentary Ivory Tower, Rossi departs The Grey Lady’s sanctified headquarters for the hallowed halls of Harvard to find an explanation for the staggering cost faced by Americans in pursuit of higher education.
Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound Select Independent Filmmakers and Film Composers
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound today announced the independent directors and composers selected for one of two Sundance Institute Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound. This will be the second year the Music and Sound Design Labs take place at the Skywalker Ranch in northern California. This is one of 10 residential Labs hosted by Sundance Institute this summer, collectively representing 15 weeks of residency support and mentorship for the most promising new independent film and theatre projects and artists from the United States and around the world.
5 Sundance-Supported LGBTQ+ Films (That Aren’t Actually LGBTQ+ Films)
Each June for the past few years, we’ve spent some time looking back on the LGBT characters we know and love (see here and here and the 13 million Google results for ‘Sundance gay’) in celebration of LGBT Pride Month. But what about our heterosexual allies and friends, many of whom have helped us get where we are today? In their honor and as a nod to the heterosexual characters who have entertained us on screen, here’s a list of five gay-friendly films that don’t actually have any LGBT content. Heathers (1989)High school is a complicated time for everybody (hang in there, kids – it really does get better), but for those of us who are LGBT, it can be especially difficult as we start to figure ourselves out.
Q&A: Michael Tully’s Homage to the ’80s, ‘Ping Pong Summer’
A lot of filmmakers have passion projects. They’ll have scripts that remain on the docket for years, waiting for right time and the right financing to realize an ambitious or personal vision. But there’s never been a gestation quite like the one for Ping Pong Summer.
Glenn Close and Damien Chazelle Honored at Sundance Institute New York Benefit
Throughout Glenn Close’s distinguished career—she’s received an Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award, plus six Academy Award nominations for acting—she has been a fierce advocate for independent film. As part of last night’s Sundance Institute Celebration benefit, Glenn was honored with the Vanguard Leadership Award for her ongoing commitment to the indie film community. Also recognizing the emerging guard, Sundance Institute honored filmmaker Damien Chazelle with the Vanguard Award, Presented with The Lincoln Motor Company.
Sundance Institute Presents 17th Annual Free Outdoor Summer Screening Series in Salt Lake City and P
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute today announced six of the seven films that will be featured at the 2014 Sundance Institute Summer Series of free outdoor film screenings and invited the Utah community to vote online through August 15 for the seventh film, which will screen August 27.
Now in its 17th year, the free series kicks off July 8 at Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden and July 25 at City Park in Park City. All films have screened at the Sundance Film Festival or have been supported through an Institute program.
Courageous Stories: The Rocket Director Kim Mordaunt in Bosnia & Herzegovina
The Banja Luka Youth House screening was a special one for me. Firstly, a young woman, Natasa Maric, talked about the “loss” and “broken promise” from the dam corporation that relocate Ahlo and his family. Natasa and her teacher Alma told me that the older people of communities near Banja Luka had also been displaced by dams – also the victims of broken promises.
Now Playing: Obvious Child and Ping Pong Summer Round Out a Droll June
“Remember from before when we did sex to each other?” asks Jenny Slate’s character in Obvious Child, a rom-com redux that follows one crude comedian’s ungainly reaction to being “dumped up with.” After making waves in the NEXT section at this year’s Festival, Obvious Child makes its formal theatrical debut this month alongside another NEXT standout and charismatic ’80s throwback Ping Pong Summer. William Eubank’s The Signal offers a change of pace in the form of a striking sci-fi drama that delivers the tension of a classic hostage thriller, and there’s even more to discover in this month’s Now Playing blog.
Filmmaking as Therapy: 4 Questions with Native Lab Fellow Carmen Tsabetsaye
Last week the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program kicked of its annual fellowship with an intensive four-day workshop on the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. In our second encounter with this year’s fellows, we chatted with filmmaker Carmen Tsabetsaye (Zuni/Zia Pueblo) about the therapeutic possibilities in filmmaking, how tragedy has informed her project Puebloan in Praha, and the international misconceptions about native cultures in America. Can you offer a brief description of your project and your personal connection to—or why you’re compelled to tell—this story?My project is Puebloan in Praha, and it is the story or a young pueblo girl who moves to Prague after the death of her brother.