This week, four filmmaking Fellows take their short film projects to the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico to participate in an intensive four-day workshop at the 2013 NativeLab.Ty Coughenour is a writer and director belonging to the Lummi Nation, a Native American tribe in western Washington state. Below he discusses developing a precocious passion for film as a child, how the Native tradition of storytelling informs his writing, and the genesis of his short film project A Good Day.

This week, four filmmaking fellows take their short film projects to the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico to participate in an intensive four-day workshop at the 2013 Native Lab. ʻĀina Paikai, a Native Hawaiian filmmaker from Oahu, is attending with his documentary short film project Da Frog. Paikai took a moment to share insights on his homeland’s burgeoning film culture, the value heritage plays in storytelling, and the catalysts that compel him to create.

Filmmakers Jeff Orlowski, Chasing Ice Patricia Riggen, Under The Same Moon (La Misma Luna) to participate
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 seven films, panel discussions and artist roundtables in Taiwan for the first time, May 22-26. Filmmakers Jeff Orlowski and Patricia Riggen will participate in the program. Sundance Channel Global is a supporter of the FILM FORWARD program in Taiwan which is hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan and CNEX Foundation.

Last month, Jason van Genderen’s ‘Red Earth Hip Hop’ was announced as the winner of the Nokia Music Short Film Competition and premiered at the Sundance London Film and Music Festival. This story was originally featured on Nokia.com.

Before becoming a writer-producer (and voice) on Family Guy and The Cleveland Show, John Viener wrote and directed some comedy shorts about messed-up white men. In Lighten Up, Viener also acts a man who must get a ride to the doctor for an unusual personal problem. And only his angry-white-guy buddy is available.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the four fellows and short film projects selected for the 2013 NativeLab Fellowship, a two-stage development program that provides continuous and direct support to Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaskan Native film artists. For the first stage, filmmakers participate in an intensive four-day workshop (May 20-24) on the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. The second stage brings Fellows to the Native Forum during the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in January and provides opportunities for them to meet and hear from film industry professionals.

Paula Vogel, Taylor Mac and Jackie Sibblies Drury to Work on Their Latest Scripts
Seven East African Theatre Fellows to Join the Lab
New York, NY — Sundance Institute today announced the seven projects selected to participate in the 2013 Theatre Lab, July 8-28 at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Artistic Director, and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Theatre Lab is the centerpiece of the Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program’s year-round work and is designed to support emerging and established artists and to create a place where their original work can be effectively mentored and challenged.
The seven playwrights selected for the 2013 Theatre Lab in Sundance, Utah are: Adam Bock (The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Jackie Sibblies Drury (Really Really Really Really Really), Taylor Mac (The Fre), Mona Mansour (The Vagrant), Qui Nguyen (War is F**king Awesome).

On May 18 in Los Angeles, the Sundance Institute Film Music Program will host the third annual ComposersLab: L.A. featuring a series of informative conversations and interactive networking opportunities with renowned composers and industry professionals.

As part of Hilton Worldwide’s support of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP), the winners of this year’s Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainability Fund & Award participated in interviews to talk about their documentary film projects. LightStay is Hilton Worldwide’s proprietary system for sustainability performance and a core foundation of the company’s global sustainability strategy. The fund and award will go towards supporting the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, as well as annually recognizing and awarding grants to up to five documentary film projects focusing on sustainability issues.

Event Takes Place June 5 in Los Angeles, Hosted by Tiffany & Co.
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) will be honored with the Vanguard Award, presented by Tiffany & Co. Actress Kerry Washington will present the award to Coogler at the third annual ‘Celebrate Sundance Institute’ benefit on June 5, 2013 in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the 13 projects selected for its annual June Directors and Screenwriters Labs, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 27 through June 27. Under the leadership of Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Institute’s Feature Film Program, and the artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag, the Fellows selected for this year’s program include emerging filmmakers and projects from the United States, Europe, Mexico, Peru and Somalia.
At the Directors Lab, Fellows work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors, professional actors and production crews to shoot and edit key scenes from their screenplays.

Eliza Hittman’s Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight bristles with the kind of authenticity and longing that most feature films struggle to communicate. With a clarity of vision, the short details a Russian teen in Brooklyn who makes an unimaginable choice in order to protect her aging father. Hittman’s natural gifts for honing in on inner teenage struggles blossomed with her debut feature It Felt Like Love, a similarly toned character study that brings out rarely-represented NYC environments.