It’s easy to get lost in the grand, occasionally ostentatious, festivities that accompany the Fourth of July. But at the heart of the nation’s revelry is a collective nod to the freedom we enjoy as American citizens. On the eve of Independence Day, we take a look at five Sundance-supported films that embody the true ethos of independent filmmaking.

Puerto Rico has fallen in love with Film Forward. On its first visit to Puerto Rico, in 2011, the program reached a wide audience, with a touch of fanfare and glitz. The first event alone attracted more than 700 people and featured a jazz player and a “red carpet”! That year, both in San Juan and Ponce, the public responded with great enthusiasm to the opportunity of viewing independent films and discussing them with each other and with our wonderful Sundance Institute guests.

The Fall 2013 granting round for the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund is in full swing. Applications are trickling in to our LA office, and we are eager to begin learning about the projects and stories that documentary filmmakers around the globe are working on. As projects arrive, so do the questions.

Writer-director-producer Jenni Olson has been programming, researching, collecting, creating, and writing about lesbian, gay, bi and transgender (LGBT) film since 1986 and is one of the world’s leading experts on LGBT cinema history. Her debut feature film, ‘The Joy of Life,’ premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and went on to play a pivotal role in renewing debate about the need for a suicide barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge. She is seeking funding through Kickstarter to complete her latest project, ‘The Royal Road.

New York, NY — Sundance Institute and the LUMA Foundation today announced that the two organizations will collaborate to host the Sundance Institute | LUMA Foundation Theatre Directors Retreat at Domaine de l’Armellière, July 29 – August 9, in Arles, France. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program, Producing Director Christopher Hibma and Program Associate Anne Kauffman, the Retreat will be the first theatre director-centered residency at the Institute.
The Retreat will complement other initiatives of the Theatre Program by providing specific resources to directors in the field, including meeting the identified needs for more opportunities to exchange ideas and practices with other mid-career, freelance directors.

Self-distributing filmmakers often face the challenge of procuring funding to support their film’s campaigns – particularly if their goal is to inspire social change. It’s a long-term game and money often isn’t seen until months or even a year after originally sought after.
However – when that money comes in, you’d better be ready!
Early this year, First Generation directors Adam and Jaye Fenderson were offered a grant to finance a 7-10 city screening tour across low-income high schools in New England.

Park City, UT — Sundance Institute today announced that the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, which took place in Park City, Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah in January, generated an overall economic impact of close to $70 million for the State of Utah, according to the independent annual economic and demographic study conducted by the University of Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the David Eccles School of Business (BEBR).
The Economic Report, posted in full on the Sundance Institute website, also found that the 2013 Festival: supported over 1,407 jobs; generated over $56.8 million in international media exposure; provided nearly $5.

Each year at our ShortsLab workshops connect attendees with a vibrant group of filmmakers, actors, and talent behind the camera in a day-long series of panel discussions and Q&A sessions. On July 14, join us for ShortsLab: NYC at BAM and learn new tools to advance your own filmmaking pursuits. Included in the “Short to Feature” panel are two filmmakers who were able to make successful short films that led to feature films soon after.

An exciting possibility in New Frontier storytelling is gaining a better understanding of our shared reality—aka “truth.” One person’s story is true, but it’s only a piece of the whole. Without their story, “truth” cannot be understood; and with only their story, “truth” cannot be understood.

Those familiar with the work of 2013 Directors and Screenwriters Lab fellow K’naan—as a poet, rapper, singer, and instrumentalist—shouldn’t be surprised by his latest creative endeavor: filmmaking. K’naan’s penchant for storytelling has seen him shift fluidly from hip-hop musician to children’s book author to screenwriter and filmmaker. After participating in the January Screenwriters Lab earlier this year, K’naan returned to Sundance Resort this June to continue to flesh out this project Maanokoobiyo, a tale that follows a Somali orphan as he embarks on a harrowing journey across the war-torn African nation in search of his last surviving relative.

The oft-discussed parallels that bridge Zal Batmanglij’s debut feature, Sound of My Voice, to his sophomore effort, The East, nearly undermine both. Perhaps it’s the burden of creating worlds on screen so vividly unique that they can only be compared to one another. But for all those similarities—the “thriller” label, Brit Marling, cult culture—Batmanglij’s captivating follow-up is an entirely new experience, and one that showcases his evolution as an exciting young filmmaker.

Meredith Danluck is an artist, filmmaker, and 2013 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Lab Fellow working on her project State Like Sleep. Earlier this year, she showcased her four-screen film installation North of South, West of East as part of the New Frontier exhibition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Below, Danluck offers up some details about her screenplay that probes the disorienting worlds of deception and loneliness, the perceptive work of the Creative Advisors at the Labs, and how she plans to infuse this experience into her future projects.