Category: News

Frances Bodomo | Annie Silverstein | César Cervantes | Kibwe Tavares | Eva Vives | Sandhya Suri | Pippa Bianco | Boots Riley

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute has selected eight first-time filmmakers for its signature Directors Lab, which helped launch the careers of award-winning filmmakers Cary Fukunaga, Dee Rees, Marielle Heller, Benh Zeitlin and Quentin Tarantino. Taking place May 30-June 23 in the mountains of Sundance Resort in Utah, the annual Lab supports the next wave of independent filmmakers exploring new ideas and shaping the future of storytelling.

At the Directors Lab, under the leadership of Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter, Labs Director Ilyse McKimmie and the artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag, the Fellows will work with an accomplished group of creative advisors, professional actors and production crews to shoot and edit key scenes from their screenplays.

There is a quote that routinely makes the rounds online through inspo posts and Instagrams. It’s attributed to Lily Tomlin on any number of quote-aggregator sites, meaning it almost definitely was never uttered by Lily Tomlin. Reflecting on some unknown injustice, the pithy little line says, “Somebody should definitely do something about that.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today a new initiative for films and emerging media projects exploring stories related to the urgent need for action with regard to the environment, conservation and climate change. Building on more than three decades of the Institute’s championing of independent stories focused on the environment, these grants to support new projects are led by founding support from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and include additional support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Kendeda Fund, Discovery Channel, Code Blue Foundation and the Joy Family Foundation.

Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “We want this financial and creative support to stimulate the next wave of independent film and visual storytelling that inspires action on one of the most urgent issues of our time: the long-term, sustainable health of our planet.

“I had friends who had bruises on their faces because [they were] fighting to escape child marriage.”
That’s how writer, rapper, and activist Sonita Alizadeh initiated a candid conversation with Tabitha Jackson (Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program) at the 2016 Skoll World Forum Closing Ceremony. Sonita, whose story is the subject of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary of the same name, preceded the conversation with a performance of her song “Brides for Sale.

Picturehouse Central, 20 April 2016 — Sundance Institute and Picturehouse announced today the programme of feature films, short films and panel discussions for the Sundance Film Festival: London, taking place 2-5 June at new host venue, Picturehouse Central, in the heart of the West End. Festival passes will be available at sundance.org/london on Thursday 5 May and individual tickets will be on sale from 9:00 a.

Walking into Youtube Space LA was a return to kindergarten. Brightly colored buildings in the “Silicon Beach” office park welcomed us as we checked in using tablets. “Shouldn’t Google already know where I am, I just used Maps to get here,” I joke to the check-in table, a cover for the intimidation I felt as a filmmaker entering FREAKING GOOGLE, the heart of the tech world.

(L-R) Greta Gerwig and Miranda July, Credit: Frazer Harrison; Sundance NEXT FEST Marquee, Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez; Toro y Moi and Neon Indian, Credit: Frazer Harrison.
LOS ANGELES — The Sundance Film Festival sheds its bulky sweaters and mountain parkas to reveal Sundance NEXT FEST, August 12-14 at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles.

New York, NY — Sundance Institute today announced the acting company, dramaturgs and creative advisors participating in its pilot Theatre Lab in the MENA region, including Sandra Oh, Hoon Lee, Deanna Dunagan, Hala Omran and Raeda Taha. The Lab, held in Morocco next month, is part of the Institute’s international cultural exchange programs for independent artists and will kick off a new, multi-year commitment to support artists from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). For the Lab, the Institute will provide promising, fresh voices from the U.

Slithering Screens is a special selection of original cinematic works that premiered in the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier program over the past decade, presented in five distinct programs over five consecutive nights at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
In addition to live experiences at MoMA, a selection of virtual reality works will be made available on the Sundance VR app for Google Cardboard from April 25 to May 5. Limited artist-edition Cardboard VR goggles designed by Yung Jake will be given away to Slithering Screens attendees each night.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Drishyam Films today announced the artists and creative advisors selected for the second Drishyam | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in Udaipur, India April 4-8. The Lab supports emerging filmmakers in India, as part of the Institute’s sustained commitment to international artists, which in the last 25 years has included programs in Brazil, Mexico, Jordan, Turkey, Japan, Cuba, Israel and Central Europe.Now in its second year, the four-day Lab is a creative and strategic partnership between Drishyam Films and Sundance Institute, and gives independent screenwriters the opportunity to work intensively on their feature film scripts in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute announced today the free Sundance Film Forward film screenings and discussions it will bring to Omaha April 12-14. Local artists, students, and film lovers are invited to attend free public events at Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater and Joslyn Art Museum. Private screenings for area students are planned for a range for venues.

One of America’s most contentious and polarizing issues once again hinges on an upcoming Supreme Court decision. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, one of the most consequential and closely watched abortion cases in years, addressing the length to which states can go in regulating abortions without violating a woman’s constitutional rights.