I did not know what to expect as the plane approached Beijing. I had last visited 16 years ago, so there was no way I could have anticipated the massive changes that have occurred. One of the most striking first images was seeing cars everywhere and smog to go with it.

Xin Sheng is a junior student at the Communication University of China in Beijing. She is the student journalist of the American Embassy in China and has internship experience at many large media organizations including the Xinhua News Agency. She loves movies, especially documentaries, and hopes to work as a journalist in the future.

New York, NY — Sundance Institute today announced four projects and a total of 13 artists selected for its second Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in East Africa, taking place July 17-31, 2011 on the island of Manda off the coast of Kenya. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program, and Roberta Levitow, Artistic Associate, the Lab will provide artists with guidance in their creative development toward final production. Sundance Institute Theatre Lab on Manda is made possible through the generosity of Wayne McGregor CBE who has provided his Manda studio, Akili, as rehearsal and convening space for the artists.

The flight from New York to Beijing was a bit intense, but the cramped seat and crowded arrangement were nothing compared to what greeted me once I hit the ground. China can handle more traffic than anywhere I have been. People flow on top of each other, no distinction if they are in a car, bike, or on foot.

My what a treat I’ve had! I’m just returning from a rewarding trip to Nashville where I was invited to screen my film Son of Babylon for the local community as part of the fantastic Film Forward program. I experienced a true ‘cultural exchange’..

It’s a beautiful spring morning, and we’re on day five of our excursion to Nashville, Tennessee. With our local partners – the amazing team of the Belcourt Theatre’s Stephanie Silverman, Toby Leonard, and Allison Inman – we’ve already screeened a handful of Film Forward films including the special filmmaker presentations of Peter Bratt’s La Mission and Isabelle Stead’s Son of Babylon. While you couldn’t find two films more different in language, style, and geography, they nevertheless embody the best of cinematic storytelling – a specificity of character and story but with universal themes that resonate across boundaries of language and culture.

“We clapped, the walls clapped, the ceiling clapped. Ah, the joy of being here! The joy of theatre!” exclaimed Deborah Asiimwe, a specialist for Sundance Institute East Africa, regarding a final presentation at the close of the 2011 Theatre Lab at The Banff Centre. This pulse of emotion that is intrinsic to live performance can be felt throughout the many activities underway with the Theatre Program this month from the Lab to a photography exhibition to a work-in-progress performance.

The 2011 Theatre Lab has reached the end of Week Two in the Canadian Rockies. Here are some thoughts from Sundance Institute artists at The Banff Centre:
Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Lab participant Chita Rivera. Photo by Robert Petkoff.

Since many folks are unable to get to the big cities or small town resorts to attend indie film festivals, Film Forward brings the festival experience to communities that don’t usually enjoy that privilege. The cherry on top, of course, is that audience and filmmaker have a chance to engage in dialogue and interact after the screenings, just like they do at the big-time festivals.Yesterday we were at the Oasis Center, a nonprofit that serves LGBTQ+ youth here in Nashville.

Los Angeles, CA – Sundance Institute announced today ComposersLab: LA,  its first-ever One Day Composers Lab workshop for film music composers.  On May 21, 2011, the Institute’s Film Music Program will host ComposersLab: LA at the Downtown Independent Theatre in Los Angeles located at 251 South Main Street. The workshop is open to the public, and tickets are available for purchase on a first-come, first-serve basis.

We are so excited that Film Forward has finally landed in Nashville! Peter Bratt, director of La Mission, and Isabelle Stead, producer of Son of Babylon, both arrived Friday evening and were given a quick night to rest up before we hit the road running.Yesterday morning we began the day at the Edmondson Pike branch of the Nashville Public Library with a discussion on the Iraq’s Missing Campaign, a global initiative Isabelle began after seeing the massive number of loved ones in Iraq who are still searching for their husbands, sons, or other family members who were captured and imprisoned by Saddam Hussein’s government. Millions of Iraqis are caught in this quagmire, including the film’s lead actress whose husband has been missing for 20 years.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute invites filmmakers to participate in ShortsLab: Chicago, a day-long filmmaking workshop to be held at Columbia College Chicago on May 7. ShortsLab: Chicago will feature filmmakers and experts from the Sundance Institute community and Chicago’s respected film critics and industry professionals. Panelists include representatives from Sundance Film Festival, as well as SAG, Topspin Media, Kickstarter, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, Shorts International, Movieola, Chicago Short Film Brigade, Chicago International Film Festival, and Chicago Underground Film Festival.

Patricio Guzmán is a Chilean documentary film director internationally renowned for films such as The Battle of Chile and Salvador Allende. Guzmán’s relationship with Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program goes back to 1998, when he was awarded support for his documentary film The Pinochet Case, a story investigating Augusto Pinochet for crimes against humanity. One decade later, in 2008, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program was delighted to be able to support this exceptional international artist again, as the first North American support with a grant award for his new feature documentary Nostalgia for the Light.

Ramona Emerson was a 2010 Sundance Institute Native Program Fellow and participated in the 2010 Native Lab with her film Opal. Below, she discusses her 2011 Festival experience and the arduous task of finalizing her screenplay.“So… what is your film about?” It’s a question that dogged me from day two of the Festival on.