It’s been nearly a full week since leaving Los Angeles on my second trip as a field producer with #FILMFORWARD. Still, in some ways, it seems I’ve not yet left the classroom at Roosevelt High School in Seattle where the post-screening conversation led to a surprisingly well-informed discussion around the current situation in Syria. With an endless stream of tweets, breaking news headlines and even a Presidential address, suddenly it’s near impossible to ignore a place I’ve never been, thought much about, or connected with.

September 5, 2013The morning of September 5th is grey and rainy in the Pacific Northwest. I scroll through my twitter feed first thing, taking in the update on the Syria crisis. The photo that seems to be spreading all around the social media networks this morning is of a line of Syrian rebel fighters standing above a crouching row of Syrian soldiers who are shirtless and have guns pointed at their heads.

The Town Of Runners gives a unique insight into the ambitions of young Ethiopians living between tradition and the modern world, as they try to run their way to a different life. 
Here the film’s director, Jerry Rothwell, talks connecting with FILM FORWARD audiences and participating in dialogues around dreams—and how the support, or lack of, from a community can effect a person’s ability to achieve them.
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September 4, 2013I’m on the plane to Seattle and feeling ready for four days of screenings with the FILM FORWARD program. Looking out the window over California, the skies are clear. It has been hot, hot, hot in LA, but the captain tells us that in Seattle it’s raining.

Shot right before the uprising in Syria erupted, The Light in Her Eyes offers an extraordinary portrait of a leader who challenges the women of her community to live according to Islam, without giving up their dreams. 
As part of FILM FORWARD: Washington, co-director Julia Meltzer discusses how film can change perceptions, the relevance of her film given the recent news around Syria, and how as filmmakers, connecting with audiences in a deeper way is essential to their role as storytellers.
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The fall and winter seasons at Sundance Institute also happen to herald submission deadline season for filmmakers. From an array of fellowship and grant opportunities to a pair of late film submission deadlines for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, we’ve compiled a list of key dates for filmmakers across the next month.    
November 4, 2013 – Creative Producing Fellowship and Lab Submissions Open
A year-long program designed to nurture emerging producers with project-specific support through Labs, grants, and long-term advisor relationships.

In 2010, the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship was created at Sundance Institute by the late film editor’s husband, Dean Parisot, and their children. Menke was an award-winning film editor (Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction) and served as a long-time Creative Advisor at the Institute’s Directors Labs. Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Feature Film Program, noted that this fellowship was “the perfect way for Sundance Institute to honor the memory of Sally Menke and provide a meaningful, in-depth learning experience for a next generation of visionary film editors.

The views expressed here are entirely my own. If you are already down with PanelPicker and smartly deduced that we want your vote, just click here. If you’re unfamiliar with PanelPicker, read on below.

1.  CARVE OUT DIY DIGITAL:
Distributors and Foreign Sales companies alike often want ALL RIGHTS and including ALL DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS.
No matter what, at least CARVE OUT the ability to do DIY Digital Distribution yourself with services such as: EggUp, Distrify, Dynamo Player, and/or TopSpin, off your own site, off your Facebook page, and also directly to platforms.

Sundance Institute’s #ArtistServices project has helped both newcomers and pros navigate an ever-changing independent film landscape. Producers and Directors now conceive, strategize and deploy creative control of their work in the modern micro-cinema age. Raising over $5 million-dollars on Kickstarter and empowering the self-release of 80 independent films since launching in 2010, Sundance Institute staffers Chris Horton and Joseph Beyer will host this first-ever NYC workshop in collaboration with IFP’s Independent Film Week and enforce a Truth-Only Chautauqua of where this movement is going.

Sundance Institute and U.S. Federal Cultural Agencies Collaborate with the Maine Office of Tourism, Town of Monson, Mount Desert Island High School and Bangor High School To Host Free Screenings, Discussions and Workshops
Maine is The Last Stop for Third Year of FILM FORWARD
 
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities announced today that FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue will host free screenings of eight films, moderated discussions and panel discussions for the first time in Maine, September 30 through October 4.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the appointment of Dave Ginsberg as Chief Technology Officer, responsible for the Institute’s technology-related resources, workflow and staff in areas including production, exhibition, and IT services. Ginsberg will be based in the Institute’s Los Angeles office and begins tomorrow.
In recent years, the Institute has expanded its focus on technology to better support its community of artists and audiences worldwide, and to protect and share its digital assets and archive materials spanning the Institute’s more than 30-year history.