Category: News

Following what’s felt like an unusually protracted Sundance Film Festival offseason, and one marked by what Festival Director John Cooper calls a “rejuvenated idea” of the 24-hour news cycle, the 2018 program announcement arrives at a pivotal time for audiences and artists. If we approach 2018 still processing the tumult and instability of the past year, this year’s program of films are primed to serve as a careful distillation of the times – and a representation of what that looks like across a broad spectrum of voices.
Below, John Cooper and Director of Programming Trevor Groth walk us through another year of intense decision-making and shed light on the tapestry of voices that will come to define the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

110 Independent Films From 29 Countries

(Top, L-R) The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Credit: Jeong Park, Anote’s Ark, Credit: Matthieu Rytz; Search, Credit: Juan Sebastian Baron.
(Bottom, L-R) King In the Wilderness, Credit: Flip Schulke Archives/Getty Images, The Kindergarten Teacher, Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute, Half the Picture, Credit: Ashly Covington.
Park City, UT — Sundance Institute showcases bold, independent storytelling at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, beginning with today’s announcement of feature films selected across all categories.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Adobe Project 1324 announced the newest round of 2018 Sundance Ignite
Fellows today, chosen from a global crop of more than 800 applicants. The fifteen 18-to-24-year-old filmmakers selected
to participate in this one-year fellowship hail from five continents, with creative groundings spanning from television
writing to documentary photography to narrative short films.

“These fifteen remarkable emerging artists are truly on the forefront of what’s next in our culture, and
we are thrilled to help them reach the next level with their fresh voices and unique perspectives,” said
Meredith Lavitt, Director of Sundance Ignite.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute’s Art of Nonfiction Initiative welcomes four Fellows and five Grantees, as well as three Nonfiction Critics Fellows, in its third year of granting key creative and financial support to inventive nonfiction storytellers working in the field today.
“This year’s Art of Nonfiction cohort, expanded to include writing fellows, signals our commitment to supporting artists in getting inventive nonfiction work made, seen and situated within the culture.” said Tabitha Jackson, Director of Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today that Charles D. King and Donna Gruneich will join the Institute’s Board of Trustees. Under the guidance of President & Founder Robert Redford and in close collaboration with Board Chair Pat Mitchell and Executive Director Keri Putnam, the new Trustees will bring deep experience in philanthropy, media strategy, finance and film production to the Institute’s governance.

Los Angeles — Sundance Institute will continue producing artist development programs in eight U.S. cities, with funding from the John S.

With support from the GRAMMY Museum, Sundance Institute has digitized more than 700 audio and video recordings, pages of sheet music, photographs, and other documents from the early days of its Film Music Program—including seminal work in independent film composition from as early as the 1980s.
A few highlights of the catalogued items include a 1987 recording of a conversation with Brave Little Toaster composer David Newman and director Jerry Rees, and 1988 video of a panel on the philosophy and methods of composing for low-budget films, among many other gems. The project also uncovered correspondence with Robert Redford regarding the founding of the Film Music Program, as well as early newsletters and reports that give insight into the successes and challenges of the program’s beginnings.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute has selected 10 original independent pilots for holistic support at its fourth annual Episodic Lab. With topics ranging from awkward family dynamics to the rippling-effect of crime on a community, the scope of this year’s projects, and the diverse backgrounds of their creators, speaks to the Institute’s broad and visionary support of the episodic format; the Episodic Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round support program for emerging television writers.Beginning with the Lab, Fellows will benefit from customized, ongoing support from Feature Film Program staff, Creative Advisors and Industry Mentors, led by Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, Michelle Satter, and Senior Manager of the Episodic Program, Jennifer Goyne Blake.

Three artists created a future Los Angeles as part of the Sundance Institute New Frontier World Building Residency. Join the artists for a presentation of their project on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.

Before you decide to embark on making a documentary — a process that often takes years, drains your savings, and tries the patience of your friends and family — ask yourself this simple not-so-simple question: Does your film want to get made?

That’s one of the questions filmmaker and Stanford professor Jan Krawitz urged the crowd of would-be filmmakers to consider at the Sundance Institute/Knight Foundation Documentary Workshop at the Hammer Theatre in San Jose, CA, this past August.

Before you shoot even a minute of film, consider, Krowitz suggested, “Does this want to be a film? Not an article? A dance? A painting?”

Krowitz was onstage having a conversation with Richard Ray Perez, the Sundance Institute’s Director of Creative Partnerships, Documentary Film Program before a screening of Perez’s 2014 film Cesar’s Last Fast. The hundred or so guests at the Hammer listened in and asked questions as Perez explained how he discovered that Last Fast, the dramatic story of Latino labor rights activist Cesar Chavez’s dramatic final act of consciousness-raising, was, most definitely, a film.

Los Angeles, CA — A diverse range of projects and artists on the frontlines of nonfiction storytelling received nearly $2 million in grants from Sundance Institute, furthering their work across a broad array of subjects and forms.

Works originate in 26 countries and six continents, and teams include Academy Award© nominees (Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, Richard Rowley, Jon Else and David France), and first-time feature filmmakers (Cody Lucich, Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas, Nadia Shihab, Bing Liu, T Cooper, Sandi Tan, Hana Mire, Jon Kasbe, Jonathan Bogarín, Elan Bogarín and Paula Eiselt). Funding for audience engagement goes to series including The Keepers and films such as The Force, Sembene! and The Death and Life of Marsha P.

Tearrance Chisholm

Chico Colvard

Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.

Reinaldo Marcus Green

Paola Lázaro

Jhane Myers

Jesi Nelson

Shawn Peters

Tayarisha Poe

Sharyn Steele

Amelia Winger-Bearskin

Los Angeles, CA — Eleven diverse independent artists have been selected to receive support
from the 2017
Sundance Institute | Time Warner Foundation Fellowship. These Fellowships and
accompanying grants are part of the non-profit Institute’s year-round efforts to discover and support
independent artists from diverse backgrounds in getting their work made and seen by a wide audience.