Category: Creative Distribution Initiative

Peter Sillen is a New York–based documentary filmmaker whose documentary shorts Speed Racer and Branson: Musicland USA screened at the 1994 and 2003 Sundance Film Festivals, respectively.Jesse Bernstein was a brilliant, complex, and troubled individual. He lived a more colorful life than most people ever dream of.

As we all know, the challenges in making independent films have always been there and will continue to be there. It wouldn’t be independent if it were easy. In many ways, the burden lies squarely on the producer’s shoulders – how to nurture great material, how to piece together financing, how to inspire a army of contributors along every step of the way, and how to get the film made (and made well) and out into the world.

Since 1981, Sundance Institute has supported more than 6,000 artists who have brought original stories and authentic voices to the screen and stage. Our primary commitment has always been to support the development of independent film and theatre and to expose it to audiences – in any way possible.
 Recent advancements in technology, marketing, distribution and the emergence of crowd funding have created new opportunities for audiences to experience your work.

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.

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.

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.

I really believe what we’re doing for short films here at Sundance Institute is unparalleled anywhere else. We love the short form, respect it terribly, and have tried to grow our program into something that is solid, educational, and above all else, pretty unique. While some may have a preconceived notion that shorts are the redheaded stepchildren to a film festival, we at the Institute couldn’t disagree more.

While the programs of the Sundance Institute all had their start in and around Park City, Utah, they also have a life in locations throughout America and the world at large. From screenings and script readings to musical performances and discussions, Sundance Institute Public Programming Events showcase work supported by Sundance Institute and allow audiences to step into the world of Sundance Institute Artist Programs from their very own communities.
The Public Programming Event you’re probably most familiar with is our SundanceUSA program.

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 Sundance Institute Alumni! We’re so pleased you could join us here at our newest and greatest tool for communicating directly with alumni. One thing we hear again and again from Filmmakers and Fellows is that Sundance is more than a Festival, or a Lab, or a Grant. It’s a community, a family.

Mark Kitchell is best known for “Berkeley in the Sixties,” one of the defining documentaries about the protest movements that shook America during the 1960s. He produced, directed and wrote the film, led a huge archival research effort as well as a successful distribution campaign. In the twenty years since that film, he has worked in non-fiction television, made films for hire, taught at UC Santa Cruz, done various freelance production work and developed “A Fierce Green Fire.

Tin Dirdamal is a Mexican filmmaker and Sundance Institute alum whose documentary DeNADIE took home the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2006 Festival. He used Kickstarter to fund his 2014 project, Death in Arizona.I arrived in Bolivia from Mexico some years ago, both fascinated and compelled by a small city that fought a war over water.