The Latest
If You Want Your Stories to Change the World, They Have to Belong to the World
The Skoll World Forum happens in Oxford every April; it is a gathering of over 1,000 social entrepreneurs who are leading organizations that are changing the world, at tremendous scale. From global health to child trafficking, literacy to poverty, climate change to global corruption — the commitment, vision and passion of this community is breathtaking. Every year I meet someone who just picked up her Nobel Prize, or just had lunch with the Dalai Lama, or just helped lead the movement that created 1,000 new health centers in India and is now headed to Africa to do the very same thing.
Filmmaker Dawn Porter on Why She Made ‘TRAPPED,’ a Documentary on U.S. Abortion Rights
Thirty percent of American women will have an abortion in their lifetime. Nearly half of these women live at or below the federal poverty line, and they’re four times more likely to be women of color. Startling statistics like these are why I’m making the documentary TRAPPED.
“Fun Home” Nominated for 12 Tony Awards
It was a prolific morning for Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori’s Fun Home, which garnered 12 Tony Award nominations today, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Kron and Tesori’s adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name was developed in part at the 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab. After a critically acclaimed run Off-Broadway in 2013-2014, Fun Home made its Broadway premiere on April 19 at Circle In the Square Theatre.
Film Financing 101 with ‘Hellion’ Director Kat Candler
Last week’s Female Filmmakers Initiative Financing Intensive was exactly that—intense. But greatly so. It was a jam-packed day of intimate round tables, case studies, disheartening research coupled with empowerment coaching and Q&As with venture capitalists, financiers, and digital media leaders.
Your Favorite Sundance Films Have a New State-of-the-Art Home
Lebec, California. I’d never been there, and as I drove north from Los Angeles, I worried that I’d miss the freeway exit. Fifty-seven miles came and went, but the surrounding hillside looked nothing like where I was supposed to be.
Contemplating the Cut: Jonathan Oppenheim on the State of the Nonfiction Film Editor
On April 18, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship hosted a half-day of panel discussions with a gathering of documentary film editors, directors, and producers to discuss the art of editing. The goal of the day and future events is to shine a light on the role of the editor in the filmmaking process, build community, and celebrate an underexplored and often misunderstood collaboration between director and editor. The day began with a keynote from Jonathan Oppenheim (Paris is Burning, The Oath), included here.
Sundance Institute Announces Nine Projects Selected for 2015 Theatre Lab at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, July 6-26
New York, NY — Sundance Institute today announced the nine projects selected from 827 submissions for its 2015 Theatre Lab at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, July 6-26. Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round work with the theatre community and is one of 24 residency Labs the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.
The Theatre Lab supports both emerging and established theatre-makers developing new work for the stage, with a focus on assuring that the playwright’s deepest impulses and visions can be realized.
4 Tips to Help Screenwriters Find Their Story
To paint the picture: it’s 9:28 a.m. on a Saturday in Miami.
Sundance Institute Announces 2015 and 2016 International Film Festivals In Hong Kong and London
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute announced today that it will continue its film festivals in Hong Kong this year and London next year, with selections for each largely drawn from the Institute’s renowned Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A.
17 Environmentally Conscious Films We’re Watching This Earth Day
The way I tend to contemplate environmental protection is analogous to the way I think about investing in a retirement plan. Is it convenient or instantly gratifying? No. Is it necessary? Most likely.
Sundance Institute And Women In Film Los Angeles Unveil Groundbreaking Study On Careers Of Female Directors
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles, co-founders of the Female Filmmakers Initiative, unveil Phase III of a groundbreaking study that reveals the barriers and opportunities in the careers of female narrative film directors after premiering a film at the Sundance Film Festival. The study, authored by Dr. Stacy L.
Meet the 2015 Sundance Institute Miami Screenwriters Intensive Fellows
This weekend, Miami welcomes the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive, supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
‘True Story’ Director on Casting James Franco: “He’s Playing With What It Means to Be a Movie Star”
Journalistic ethics and the relationship between storytelling and the truth are at the forefront of True Story, a compelling cat-and-mouse drama that marks the debut feature from acclaimed theater director Rupert Goold. The film, which premiered out of competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, stars Jonah Hill as Mike Finkel, a disgraced New York Times reporter, and James Franco as Christian Longo, who’s been arrested for the murder of his wife and children. The director, who also adapted the screenplay from Finkel’s memoir, True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa, acknowledged the importance of casting the right actors, for what is essentially a two-hander.
Sundance Institute to Host Summer Film and Music Festival in Downtown LA
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced it will host Sundance NEXT FEST August 7-9, 2015, for the second year at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The weekend-long summer festival celebrates the renegade spirit of independent artists by pairing five new independent films with either a special music act that shares a complementary artistic sensibility or conversations between the filmmakers and those who inspired them.
This will mark the festival’s third year in Los Angeles.
Sundance Institute & New York University to Host Workshop on Music in Film & Television on May 9
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and New York University (NYU) Steinhardt’s Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions today announced they will host Sundance Institute Film Music Program at NYU: Steinhardt, a day-long workshop for composers, filmmakers, students and other industry professionals interested in music in film and television on Saturday, May 9 at the Fredrick Lowe Theatre (35 West 4th Street, between Greene Street and Washington Square East). This marks the first collaboration of its kind between the Institute and NYU Steinhardt and the Institute’s first-ever film music workshop in New York. For more information and to purchase tickets ($20 each), visit http://2015filmmusiclabnyu.