The Latest

Sundance Institute Selects 13 Projects for 2012 June Directors and Screenwriters Labs
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 28 through June 28. Under the leadership of Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Institute’s Feature Film Program, and the artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag, the projects selected for this year’s program include emerging filmmakers and projects from the United States, Italy, Romania, Australia, Algeria, France, Chile and the UK.
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.

Sundance Institute to host public ShortsLab filmmaking workshops in New York, Seattle and LA
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced it will host its popular series of one-day, public ShortsLab filmmaking workshops in New York, Los Angeles and for the first time, Seattle. This series marks the third year of ShortsLab programming for the Institute. Tickets are available at http://www.

Sundance Institute and Hammer Museum Host Free Public Screening of Work-In-Progress Documentary Fil
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute with Hammer Museum will host a free, public, work-in-progress screening of Cooked by award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand on Wednesday, May 16, 7:00 p.m. at Hammer Museum.

Inside the Sundance Institute Istanbul Screenwriting Lab: A Fellow’s POV
Paris, France — Throughout the years, everything I had heard about the Sundance Labs had been completely appealing. I had viewed them from a distance with great interest and curiosity. The closer encounter happened through !F, (the Istanbul International Film Festival) early this year.

Bran Nue Dae Hits Home with Imperial Valley Students
Imperial Valley and Australia would appear to be in diametric contradiction to one another. One resides in the Northern Hemisphere, while the other sits well below the equator. One is home to a Spanish-speaking majority, and the other’s national language is English.

Our Return to Morocco
On the heels of an incredible Imperial Valley program currently under way, FILM FORWARD journeys to the Kingdom of Morocco for the second year with our strong repeat Program Collaborator, the U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

Filmmaker Jessica Oreck on How She Came to Make ‘Aatsinki—The Story of Arctic Cowboys’
Jessica Oreck is a filmmaker whose work focuses on issues of ethnobiology. Her first feature, “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo” was released in the US and UK in 2009. Her short film “Venus” played the Sundance Film Festival in 2011.

Reverse Angle: A Programmer Looks Back at Sundance London
It’s officially over. I’m back in our LA office finally able to process what happened over my five hectic days in London. Things can get pretty intense when you’re in “festival mode” so it always takes a little time before you can look back and understand what really just happened.

Five Independent Films Supported by Sundance Institute Now Available in the UK
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced five films supported by the Institute that are now available to rent and download in the UK, on iTunes and SundanceNOW. The films include Independent Spirit Award Winner Obselidia and New York Times Critic’s Pick Lord Byron. These projects are among the first to participate in the Institute’s Artist Services program, which provides Institute artists with exclusive opportunities for creative self-distribution, marketing and financing solutions for their work.

First-Ever Sundance London Film and Music Festival Comes to a Close
London, 30 April 2012 — The first-ever Sundance London film and music festival came to a close last night, capping off four days of film screenings and music performances hosted by Robert Redford, Sundance Enterprises, Sundance Institute and AEG Europe, with the support of Presenting Partner Sony Entertainment Network. The festival closed with an intimate performance by Rufus and Martha Wainwright following the World Premiere of Sing Me The Songs That Say I Love You ~ A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, Lian Lunson’s film about the music of their mother, folk singer Kate McGarrigle.
Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute, said: “Sundance London marked our first time hosting an event in the UK, and we are grateful to all our supporters and collaborators for the reception we received.

Sundance Institute Returns to Morocco With Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue From May 7 to 1
Rabat, Morocco— Sundance Institute in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Morocco will present FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue in cities throughout the Kingdom of Morocco from May 7 to 12, 2012.

Sundance London: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Comes Full Circle with Farming
We’re launching our coverage of the Sundance Film Festival’s journey across the pond at Sundance London with a series of on-the-ground interviews with filmmakers and musicians participating in the celebration of film and music.
English actor and Sundance alum Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, Oz, G.I.

Sundance London Programmer’s POV: Quality Cinema Knows No Boundary
Going into Sundance London, the programming staff headspace echoed the overarching theme of Terrence Nance’s “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” (playing here at SDL): Complications can arise when expectations meet reality. We’ve had decades to build a sense of trust with our Park City audience. We know their taste and they know ours.

Twice Is Nice: Gina Rodriguez on Filly Brown’s Second Sundance Premiere
We’re launching our coverage of the Sundance Film Festival’s journey across the pond at the Sundance Film Festival: London with a series of on-the-ground interviews with filmmakers and musicians participating in the celebration of film and music. Filly Brown premiered at Day 2 of Sundance: London.Gina Rodriguez, who dazzles as the strong-willed hip-hop artist in Filly Brown, couldn’t help but manage her expectations for the film’s Sundance: London premiere on Friday.

Sundance London: Harmony Filmmakers Tune Into Prince Charles’ Efforts to Save the Planet
There are few pinch-yourself moments in a filmmaker’s career as potent (and head-spinningly daunting) as being anointed by the future King of England to capture his legacy on film. But when filmmakers Julie Bergman Sender and Stuart Sender managed to keep their wits about them when His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales asked them to collaborate with him on a feature documentary capturing his pioneering work to protect and presere the environment. Three years and several royal tea services later, the Senders have come to Sundance London bearing the fruit of that collaboration in the form of Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World, which follows Prince Charles around the globe as he collaborates with ground-breaking artists, architects, and business leaders to heal the world.