RABAT, MOROCCO (September 23, 2011) – Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, a Sundance Institute initiative in partnership with U.S. federal cultural agencies, will be presented in the Kingdom of Morocco September 27-30, in collaboration with the U.

Ben Goldberg is a composer and clarinetist who participated at the 2011 Documentary Composers Lab. He is also a member of the Tin Hat Trio and the New Klezmer Trio.My band Tin Hat played a couple of concerts at the 2011 Sundance Festival.

Park City, UT — Sundance Film Festival locals-only options are back again! Each year, approximately 7,500 Utahns participate in the Sundance Film Festival with exclusive access and priority availability only offered to Utah residents. Festivalgoers must first register at www.sundance.

New York, NY — The Sundance Institute Theatre Program has awarded a commission to playwright Lemon Andersen for completion of his new play, ToasT. The $4,500 commission represents a portion of support for Mr. Anderson, complementing his residency last season at the Sundance Institute Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation.

George S. Clinton is an Emmy and Grammy-nominated film composer who began serving as a creative advisor at the 1999 Composers Lab. His credits include Austin Powers in Goldmember, the Santa Clause 2, and Salvation Boulevard, among others.

Kristen Baum is a Los Angeles-based film composer and pianist who participated as a Fellow at the 2011 Feature Film Composers Lab. She wrote additional music for The Book of Eli and composed scores for independent films including Kicked Out, Echo, and Porcelain, among others.Heaven.

New York, NY — The Sundance Institute Theatre Program is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, which will return to the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah for the first time since 2009. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director, and Associate Director Christopher Hibma, the three-week Lab (July 9-29, 2012) is the centerpiece of the Theatre Program’s year-round work and is designed to develop emerging and established artists and to create a place where their original work can be effectively mentored and challenged.
“Returning to the Sundance Resort follows exciting renovations to our familiar and beloved environment in Utah,” said Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg.

PARK CITY, UTAH — For one night only, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival will extend beyond Utah to visit nine cities and theaters across the country. As part of Sundance Film Festival USA, on the second Thursday of the Festival (January 26), filmmakers will travel from the Festival in Utah to the nine cities, courtesy of Official Airline Sponsor Southwest Airlines. In each city, the filmmaker will introduce and screen their film and participate in a Q&A with the audience.

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (September 12, 2011) — Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, a Sundance Institute initiative in partnership with U.S. federal cultural agencies, will present a broad spectrum of film screenings and workshops in Jackson and Piney Woods, Mississippi September 26 – October 8, in conjunction with the historic Piney Woods School, the Mississippi Film Office and Crossroads Film Society.

Ramona Emerson is a Navajo filmmaker from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She participated in the 2010 Sundance Institute Native Filmmakers Lab with her project Opal, and is now using Kickstarter to fund the final stages of the film’s production. Opal has been a journey.

“The site was a place that had itself experienced a deep loss, and it was healing,” Rebirth director Jim Whitaker said about Ground Zero. Whitaker decided to document that healing process by creating Rebirth—a documentary about the trauma, grief, and recovery of five individuals who suffered personal loss in the tragedy.Process is at the heart of Rebirth as it explores through time-lapse photography the changes at Ground Zero—the transition from a disaster area to a search and rescue operation and then to a rebuilding project—and as it documents, also in time-lapse fashion in the form of yearly interviews, the progression of its human subjects.

New York, NY — The Sundance Institute Theatre Program today announced the three projects selected for its 2012 Theatre Lab at White Oak in Yulee, Florida. The Lab provides creative support and direction for innovative musical theatre projects and ensemble-generated projects, which have unique needs for collaboration and rehearsal time. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director of the Theatre Program, and Associate Director Christopher Hibma, the two week Lab (October 30 – November 13, 2011) is produced in partnership with the Howard Gilman Foundation.

David Becker participated in the Sundance Institute Independent Producers Conference for his film Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts, which went on to air nationally on PBS. He also coordinated the restoration and re-release of Barbara Kopple’s landmark documentary Harlan County, USA, which screened at the 2005 Festival.I’m writing from upstate New York, where the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene can still be seen all around: uprooted trees, downed power lines, the mud and mess left behind by flooded rivers.