The Latest
NativeLabs and #ArtistServices Unite
Since the founding of Sundance Institute there has been a commitment to supporting Native American filmmakers in developing their work through the Labs and screening films at our Film Festival. Since the early years of the early ’80s as a fledgling community of filmmakers paved the way for newer generations, there have been constant shifts in the way films are funded, made and seen. Tenacity has been at the core of existence for those few Native filmmakers who have actually made a feature film and taken it out into the marketplace.
The Reality of #ArtistServices (or a Doc’s POV)
1989, 2002, 2004: Doc lovers will recognize the dates as the years that Michael Moore released the films Roger and Me, Bowling for Columbine, and Fahrenheit 911. Box Office Mojo grosses list $6.7 million, $21 million and $120 million respectively, give or take some change.
Us vs. Them: Film Producer Reid Carolin on Getting Creative with Distribition
Reid Carolin is a producer, screenwriter, and co-founder of Constellation, a startup digital exhibition platform launching this summer. He produced and developed Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss (2008), and wrote and produced Earth Made of Glass (2011), a documentary on Rwandan president Paul Kagame. His upcoming films include Jamie Linden’s Ten Year and Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike, written and produced by Carolin.
Our Obligation To Share
Hope has produced more than 60 films, including three Sundance winners and the first features of Michel Gondry, Hal Hartley, Nicole Holofcener, and Ang Lee. Among his recent films, Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene won the Sundance Directing Award, and Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse is headed for fall festivals. He cofounded HammerToNail.
In Awe in East Africa
Philip Himberg is Producing Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. He is currently at the Theatre Lab on Manda, a two-week exchange and development program providing East African artists with guidance in their creative development toward final production.Bounding over the waves of the Indian Ocean under a moonless sky, no lights on our little boat.
Kickstarting Sundance
Yancey Strickler is the cofounder of Kickstarter, the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. His writing has appeared in New York Magazine, Pitchfork, Spin, and the Village Voice, among other publications. He lives in New York City and has personally backed more than 400 Kickstarter projects.
Strand Releasing’s Marcus Hu on the Story of the ‘Uncle Boonmee’ Poster
Strand Releasing was formed in 1989, and its goal has been to fuse quality art films with commercial product. They have produced ten feature films including Gregg Araki’s The Living End, Grief, Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss, Psycho Beach Party, and more. They have distributed the works of such renowned international artists, and they have a vibrant home media library with over 300 titles from their 22 years in business.
#ArtistServices: What I See After 30 Years
We just celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Feature Film Program Labs which started with the June Filmmakers Lab in 1981. Over these years, we’ve had the privilege of providing an immersive creative experience to hundreds of artists whose films have transformed the independent landscape and had a significant impact on audiences around the world. More recently, the Feature Film Program evolved to establish a year-round support system for independent filmmakers beginning at the script stage and continuing through distribution with Labs, granting, and ongoing creative and strategic support.
Welcome to #ArtistServices
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has appeared in a number of films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival including Manic (2001), Brick (2005), Mysterious Skin (2004), 500 Days of Summer (2009), and Hesher (2010) and his short film Sparks played in 2009. His project hitRECord.org was featured at the 2010 Film Festival’s New Frontier performances and installations.
Russ B. Collins on Forging a Future for Arthouse Cinemas Around the World
Russ B. Collins has served as executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor since 1982. The restored 1920s-era movie palace is a participating venue of Sundance Institute’s Art House Project and Sundance Film Festival USA.
Adventures in Specialized Distribution: ‘We Were Here’
Red Flag Releasing is an independent distribution company owned by Paul Federbush and Laura Kim. The former Warner Independent Pictures executives shepherded films such as March of the Penguins, Good Night, and Good Luck and Paradise Now. Federbush also worked as a production executive on Slumdog Millionaire.
Theatrical 2000!
Mike Plante started Cinemad as a film zine in 1998, which continues as a blog and podcast at iblamesociety. He has worked at Sundance Institute since 2001 in a variety of roles and had some strange times working at CineVegas. He also helps run Cinemad Presents, a distributor bringing unusual films to unusual venues.
On The Road with Range Life Entertainment
Todd Sklar loves coffee. In early 2008, he founded Range Life Entertainment, a privately-held film exhibition and marketing company, which tours independent films across the country on a bi-annual basis. Focusing on event-based screenings and niche marketing, Range Life currently programs over 120 events per year, while also producing original content, and continuing to parade dive bars and karaoke rooms across the U.
Will Independent Films Benefit From Digital Projection Conversion?
Every year for the past five ShoWest confabs (the annual movie theater owner convention in Las Vegas) has been dubbed the year of “digital cinema.” For movie theater owners, the decision to buy digital projection equipment for their new build locations made sense, but spending $100K per booth to replace perfectly good 35mm equipment in existing theaters was not worthwhile. Progress was slow.
Adventure in Full Swing
Philip Himberg is Producing Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. He is currently at the Theatre Lab on Manda, a two-week exchange and development program providing East African artists with guidance in their creative development toward final production.
Theatre Program Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg.