The Latest
Success Stories: How “Life Itself” Engaged a Community of Supporters
This blog originally appeared as part of VHX’s Success Stories series. Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, Life Itself explores the legacy of film critic Roger Ebert’s life. Directed by Steve James, the film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and simultaneously screened online exclusively for the film’s Indiegogo supporters.
Haunted Collection: 5 Spooky Sundance Films for Halloween
There seems to be a faction of horror flick aficionados who loathe anything less than gratuitous violence in their films. A caveat for those fans: while this list may not be for you, our prior years’ Haunted Collections do pander to your macabre desires—check them out here and here. For Halloween this year, we’ve culled our selections strictly from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, which featured a dynamic group of what we’ll call “horror-adjacent” films across various program categories—Competition, Spotlight, and of course the Midnight Section.
Introducing 13 New Frontier Story Lab Advisors and Their Innovative Work
Over the last six days the New Frontier Story Lab at the Sundance Resort has facilitated new conversations between an inspiring group of creative professionals about how to innovate the art and form of story.One of the biggest takeaways was the value of spending deep reflective time on story with artists coming from incredibly diverse disciplines. Many of the conversations focused on ways to evoke empathy in these new forms, how to give the audience presence or a feeling of being embodied, and how to co-create experiences within a community.
Sundance Institute and Knight Foundation to Host Artist Services Workshop in Miami on October 25
Miami, FL — Sundance Institute and Knight Foundation announced today the first Artist Services workshop in Miami will take place this Saturday, October 25 at O Cinema Wynwood. Miami-area filmmakers are invited to attend the free day-long workshop and join industry experts in a critical conversation around creative financing, digital distribution, guerilla marketing and independent theatrical distribution.
Featured speakers include: Dennis Scholl (Knight Foundation), Straith Schreder (BitTorrent Inc), Jeremy Schwartz (SquareSpace), Emily Eddey (Light Iron), Toby Halbrooks (Producer, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), Jessica Jalsevac (Gumroad), James M.
New Artist Development Programs With $1 Million in Knight Foundation Support
Los Angeles — Sundance Institute today announced that $1 million in new funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will bring artist development day labs to eight cities across the U.
Sundance Institute Announces Projects and Artists for Two Fall Theatre Labs
New York, NY — Sundance Institute today announced the projects and artists that will participate in its two Fall artist development programs: the inaugural Playwrights Studio at Flying Point in Water Mill, NY (October 19-26), as well as the two-week Theatre Lab (November 30 – December 14) for musical theatre, ensemble-generated projects and solo work at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the initiatives are among the Theatre Program’s five annual Labs and Residencies for theatre artists and part of the 24 artist residency labs across many creative disciplines Sundance Institute offers annually.
New this fall, the Playwrights Studio at Flying Point offers Theatre Program alumni an uninterrupted period of time and the space to work on their projects in a studio setting.
Festival Q&A: Kristen Stewart Stars as a Gitmo Soldier in the Taut Drama ‘Camp X-Ray’
First-time filmmaker Peter Sattler got the inspiration for Camp X-Ray, a gritty drama about soldiers watching over suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, after he watched documentary footage of a guard and a detainee discussing the books on a library cart.“It was the most surreal, absurd interchange I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sattler told the audience at the film’s Sundance Film Festival premiere last January. “I saw this vision of a two-hander, one room-type of movie where these two characters just talk.
Q&A: Andrew Ahn on ‘Spa Night,’ a Korean American Coming-of-Age (and Coming-Out) Story
After bringing his short Dol (First Birthday) to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Andrew Ahn returns with Spa Night, in which he sheds light on the recondite world of the Korean-American gay community. Ahn’s protagonist, a closeted Korean American teen, takes a job at a Korean spa, where he discovers a simultaneously terrifying and titillating world of underground sex. From there, he’s forced to starkly confront what it means to be gay and Korean American.
Creative Teams and Projects Selected for New Frontier Story Lab Oct 2014
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the six projects selected for the New Frontier Story Lab, October 22-27 at the Sundance Resort in Utah. Inspired by New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival and built on the renowned Sundance Institute Lab model, the Lab specifically supports artists innovating the art and form of storytelling at the convergence of film, visual art, media, live performance, music and technology.
The selected creative teams and projects are: Karim Ben Khelifa and Chloé Jarry (The Enemy), Dandypunk and Darin Basile (Heart Corps), Tracy Fullerton and Lucas Peterson (Walden, A Game), Braden King and Matthew Moore (Weather), Hasan Minhaj and Greg Walloch (Sakoon/Paint The Town) and Navid and Vassiliki Khonsari (1979 Revolution).
Jesse Moss On The Role of Empathy in Making The Overnighters
From Iraqi role-players to a demolition derby driver to an Ivy League impostor—provocative, unique, and emotionally compelling characters have always been central to Jesse Moss’s storytelling. The latest film by this award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer is no exception. The Overnighters, which recently premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Intuitive Filmmaking, follows a Lutheran pastor in the oil boomtown of Williston, North Dakota.
October Now Playing: Miles Teller Wields the Sticks in Whiplash
Five award winners from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival make their way to theaters this October, led by the Grand Jury Prize winner Whiplash, starring Miles Teller as a tenacious drum virtuoso training under the tutelage of a notoriously demanding mentor in J.K. Simmons.
Q&A: Hong Khao on His Wistful Sundance Drama ‘Lilting,’ Starring Ben Whishaw
There is a discouraging paradox that exists in today’s climate of connectivity. While we are ostensibly more connected than ever, we are perhaps becoming more socially inept. Lilting, director Hong Khao’s wistful drama starring Ben Whishaw and Cheng Pei-pei, flips that contemporary notion on its head in a poignant study of communication and personal connection.
Guest Blog: Detroiters talk Fruitvale Station
Shawntai Genell Brown is a freelance blogger, playwright, storyteller and poet living in Detroit, Michigan. She is sharing her experience of Film Forward: Michigan on her blog: Shawntai’s Spiral Notebook.
Last night at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History, Detroiters kept the moderator dancing the mic around the room, giving voices with something to say a chance with the talking stick.
Hong Kong Report: Sundance Directors’ Advice to Aspiring Filmmakers
Seven million people live in Hong Kong, an area that’s just half the size of Rhode Island. The waterfront skyline is a mashup of skyscrapers and mountains. The humidity makes the air heavy and still.
ArtistServices Miami Workshop: October 25th, 2014
Sundance Institute and Knight Foundation present:#ArtistServices Maimi Workshop
Sundance Institute and Knight Foundation invite you to enjoy exclusive access to the first annual #ArtistServices Miami Workshop free of charge. Join these unique conversations with industry experts as they discuss the latest technology, tools, and tactics in Creative Financing, Digital Distribution, Guerilla Marketing and Independent Theatrical Distribution. Stay tuned for presenters and full schedule to be announced.