In my (minimal) experience as a filmmaker who’s traveled the festival circuit a bit, I’ve found that you go through all kinds of screenings for your own film—full ones, indifferent ones and empty ones with a handful of people. I’ve had my share of empty halls and have come to accept the disappointing ones as part of the learning curve.But, having said that, I’ve also had my share of great screenings.

Stacy Peralta is a Sundance Institute Alumni Advisory Board Member and the director of three Sundance Film Festival documentary selections (Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants, and Made in America). Below is a composite of the most frequently asked questions he’s received during his filmmaking career.
What’s it like to get your film into the Sundance Film Festival?
Peralta: As a filmmaker, it’s been the best experience I’ve ever had.

Marco Williams has directed four Sundance Film Festival selections including In Search of Our Fathers (1992), Two Towns of Jasper (2002), Without a Pass (2002), and Banished (2007). He is using Kickstarter to fund the final stages of his most recent project, The Undocumented, which exposes the annual recovery of dead bodies and skeletal remains of those who attempt to cross into the United States through the Sonora desert.When I started filming The Undocumented, I decided to keep a production diary.

From September 24th to October 1st, I traveled to Morocco as part of the Film Forward program. I had never been to Northern Africa or to an Arabic country so I was very excited about the trip. I left New York on Saturday night and after changing planes in Paris arrived in Rabat the capitol of Morocco on Sunday afternoon.

Day one of Film Forward in Mississippi was spectacular. So much so, that this blog post is tardy because there was not a moment to spare. First the hospitality of our host and partner collaborators—The Piney Woods School and Jackson State University—who have kept us well-fed and comfortable, and made to feel extremely welcomed.

We’re taking you back to our roots. Our new Sundance Institute Archives Tumblr blog offers a glance back at Quentin Tarantino as a burgeoning young director, a pre-stardom Mark Wahlberg at the 1995 Festival, and much more. It’s American Archives Month, and we invite you to explore the history of Sundance Institute through our collection of photographs and images.

“Part of my being here is thanks to the Freedom Riders” —Stanley Nelson
On a warm September Wednesday, Stanley Nelson and I took a livery service from his office in Harlem and arrived in The Bronx just as school was getting out. The mix of young people hanging out talking reflected the cultural make-up of the only New York borough where Hispanics / Latinos make up more than half of the population of 1.3 million; and one third of the population is black.

Film Forward Morocco kicked off in Tangier, a city whose legendary charm first captivated me at the age of 15 when my family ferried over from Gibraltar. We were touring the south of Spain, my parents continually pointing out all the ways in which Arabs influenced Spanish language, custom, architecture—you name it. Though I was amazed, my eyes were perpetually rolling, only because at that age, you simply can’t give your parents the satisfaction of knowing they’re having an impact on you.

It was a whirlwind trip to Morocco for Film Forward: five days, five cities, screenings, workshops, heated discussions, idea exchanges, and meetings with the Moroccan filmmaking and festival communities. (And, I can’t lie, a couple of quick forays into the Bazaar were indulged. Shhh… don’t tell.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced a new fellowship program with Indian Paintbrush that will provide grants to filmmakers supported by the Institute’s Feature Film Program. In each of two years, five or more filmmakers who have been selected for the Feature Film Program’s Directors, Screenwriters or Producers Labs will receive a grant to support the development, pre-production, post-production, distribution and/or marketing of their work. The first Indian Paintbrush Fellows were also announced today.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the New Frontier Story Lab, a new initiative to support artists and creators developing projects that explore the convergence of film and new media technologies. The six projects selected for the inaugural New Frontier Story Lab, October 23-28 at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, were also announced.
The New Frontier Story Lab will focus on supporting projects that have original stories and engage audiences in innovative ways, across multiple platforms.

I will never forget the moment we walked into Abi bakr Errazi Junior High in Jaama Mezouak, Morocco, for Cherien Dabis’s screening of Amreeka…Jaama Mezouak, is sadly known for being one of the toughest and worst neighborhoods in the world, a place that breeds terrorists, and where the 2003 Madrid subway terrorists came from. In more ways than one it fits Film Forward’s definition of “underserved.” These students are economically, socially and culturally disadvantaged.

A few years ago, we saw a new kind of storytelling beginning to emerge. As artists started to meld film with art and technology, their work gave rise to a new hybrid medium that continues to evolve. Through their work, these artists have shown us that cinema can extend beyond theatres, art can escape museums, and that emerging technologies can be harnessed to bring storytelling into daily life.

One year ago, family, friends, and industry colleagues mourned the loss of Sally Menke, an award-winning film editor and an inspired mentor to Sundance Institute filmmakers. To honor her memory, her husband and their children created the Sally Menke Memorial Editing Fellowship at Sundance Institute. With the generous support of her large community of friends, the Fellowship started this year.