Category: News

Casting JonBenet
Credit: Michael Latham

The Workers Cup
Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Patti Cake$
Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Park City, UT — Sundance Institute convenes a full slate of provocative and agenda-setting independent films at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, beginning with today’s announcement of the 66 films selected for U.S. Competition, World Competition and NEXT, as well as a slate of environmentally focused programming under the Festival’s The New Climate program.

Los Angeles, CA — Four stories of family, gender, female empowerment and migration comprise the projects supported by Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program at its two-week Lab at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), taking place December 4-18. Dedicated to the creation and development of new musical theatre work, the Lab’s projects are cast individually, rehearsed daily and benefit from concentrated, uninterrupted time and resources.Theater makers representing a range of cultures come together to nurture and develop their projects, which draw inspiration from culturally specific storytelling techniques (Club Diamond) and modern geopolitics (36 Abbas Street, Haifa) as well as from films (Teeth, based on the 2007 independent horror film; Ma Vie En Rose, from the creators of Spring Awakening and based on the 1997 film).

“What’s Next?” That’s the question posed to filmmakers ages 18-24 by the Sundance Ignite x Adobe Project 1324 Short Film Challenge. 376 emerging filmmakers answered this question with 1-8 minute narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated short films. The films covered topics as wide ranging as dystopian futures, recovering from trauma, puberty, the afterlife, and the power of art — just to name a few.

Central London, 22 November 2016… Sundance Institute and Picturehouse are delighted to announce that the Sundance Film Festival: London will return to Picturehouse Central from 1-4 June 2017. The festival will feature the international and UK premieres of films from the 2017 edition of the renowned Sundance Film Festival which takes place 19-29 January in Park City, Utah, U.S.

Sundance Institute is thrilled to announce its fifth annual class of Women at Sundance fellows, a diverse group of filmmakers working as producers and directors in the documentary and narrative fields.This fellowship supports emerging and mid-career filmmakers as they strive to create sustainable careers in a highly competitive environment. Beginning with a daylong group orientation, Sundance Institute program staff work with fellows to help them define clear and realistic goals for the fellowship year.

Going into Sundance Institute’s Charlotte Screenwriters Intensive, I expected to receive general responsibilities and considerations of storytelling. Little did I know that advisor Joan Tewkesbury would take us on a journey through the center of the earth.The Fellows first shared names and loglines like a pack of speed daters milling about the earth’s surface.

Regardless of our political views, the results of this election rocked many of us, taking us by surprise. Win or lose, the rhetoric of divisiveness during the campaign was made manifest by a vote that tore our country in half, with each side barely recognizing the other.Let’s bravely stride into this breach to understand the anxiety and fear that have motivated both parts of our electorate this year — never to excuse hatred and bigotry, and always as allies with those whose voices are overlooked.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute has selected 18 creators of short form digital series for its inaugural Sundance Institute | YouTube New Voices Lab, November 10-12 at YouTube Space Los Angeles. Through hands-on workshops and story meetings with showrunners and industry leaders, the New Voices Lab will cultivate a growing group of emerging creatives who are shaping the form and content of episodic storytelling. The New Voices Lab is part of Sundance Institute and YouTube’s ongoing commitment to supporting independent creators working in narrative forms.

People’s Republic of Desire
Credit: Jinyang Cheng

Mudflow
Credit: Michael Crook

United Skates
Credit: Chris Vanderwall

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute has awarded over $1 million to documentary projects and artists at the forefront of global nonfiction storytelling, whose subjects and forms reflect the inclusive range of the Institute’s mission.

Subject matter ranges from police violence, natural disasters and income inequality to family legacy, trans rights and education in the developing world. Works originate in 10 countries on six continents, and teams include Academy Award® winners and nominees (Frederick Wiseman, Cynthia Wade, Rebecca Cammisa, David France, Matthew Heineman), a Guggenheim Fellow (Julia Bacha) and a MacArthur Fellow (James Longley) alongside first-time filmmakers and creators (including Tim Hawkins, Dyana Winkler, Yu Gu, Mike Milano,Sandra Salas, Hope Litoff, Damon Davis and Sabaah Jordan).

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the 11 original projects selected for its third annual Episodic Story Lab. The spec pilots, which range from dystopian sci-fi to historical comedy, explore themes of personal and social identity, family dysfunction, political extremism, and the limits of human understanding. The Episodic Story Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round support program for emerging television writers.

Heather Rae, a Sundance-supported producer and the director of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival documentary selection “Trudell,” was recently on the ground with other Native filmmakers, Cody Lucich and Ben Dupris, at Standing Rock in North Dakota telling their story of the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The following is an account of their time protecting Native lands.

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Since April of this year, Native people from all over North America have been gathering on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their fight against a pipeline proposed to traverse treaty land and impede their water source, the Missouri River.

This post was originally published July 14 and has been updated with Emmy winners in bold.The 2016 Emmy Award nominees were announced today and honored a number of Sundance-supported films, including five nominations for Matthew Heineman’s perilous journey exploring Mexican drugs lords in Cartel Land, and six nominations for the sweeping portrait of Nina Simone in Liz Garbus’ What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction ProgramCartel Land (winner)Mapplethorpe: Look At The PictureWhat Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Directing For A Nonfiction ProgramMatthew Heineman, Cartel LandLiz Garbus, What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program Cartel Land What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Sound Editing For A Nonfiction Program (Single Or Multi-Camera)Cartel Land (winner)What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special Becoming Mike NicholsListen To Me MarlonMapplethorpe: Look At The PicturesWhat Happened, Miss Simone? (winner) Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking (two winners)The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the RevolutionCartel Land (winner)Jim: The James Foley Story (winner)Racing Extinction Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera)What Happened, Miss Simone? Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Supporting Role11.22.