Category: News

Los Angeles, CA — The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program | CNEX Workshop and Documentary Summit in Beijing end today, following four days (March 14-19) of programming designed to nurture documentary storytelling and encourage the diverse exchange of ideas. Ten Chinese documentary project teams from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan participated in the program, having been invited by DFP and CNEX staff.
The three-day Workshop began with a half-day orientation session and informal dinner hosted by CNEX.

Sundance Institute’s Film Forward project landed in Mumbai last week for an ongoing cultural dialogue between countries, sparked by the power of film to stimulate conversations that might not ever take place on their own.Filmmaker and Sundance alum Linda Goldstein Knowlton traveled to India with her personal documentary, Somewhere Between, a film that intertwines the stories of four teenage girls living in different parts of the U.S.

Ryan Gielen of marketing service company Believe helps explain how to best work the platform visited by 85% of Americans and hence enjoying an Alexa ranking of 3.How is YouTube best used for marketing indie films?The best use of YouTube is for audience building before, during and after the filming process.The perfect version of this would be a filmmaker who spends the year leading up to her shoot vlogging about the fundraising process, casting, producing, and any fears, hopes and challenges they’re facing.

London, 15 March 2012 — Sundance Institute and The O2 announced today the programme of eight short films that will screen at the inaugural Sundance London festival, taking place at The O2 from 26-29 April. These films screened in January at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah – the premier independent film festival in the United States. All eight short films will screen together in one Short Film Programme.

The Green Wave is a significant movie because it can be seen from different perspectives. It is a documentary that reflects a very important historical event in Iran. After 1979 revolution, the Green Movement is the biggest socio-political movement in Iran.

Mumbai, India — Mumbai Mantra, the media and entertainment division of the Mahindra Group, is collaborating with Sundance Institute for various initiatives. The inaugural Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2012 has selected eight feature film projects of Indian screenwriters – chosen through an evaluation process of submissions from around the world, including the United States and France.
These Screenwriting Fellows will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts with the support of Creative Advisors (established Screenwriters and Directors) in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking.

Mumbai, India — Sundance Institute announced today that FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, a program that promotes cultural dialogue through independent documentary and narrative film, is travelling from March 15 to 22, 2012 to five locations in India: Mumbai, New Delhi, Aligarh, Gurgaon and Noida. Mumbai Mantra Media Ltd and the American Center in New Delhi, in collaboration with Taj Enlighten Film Society and Whistling Woods International, will present the FILM FORWARD program which includes 10 films, filmmaker appearances and workshops at multiple venues in the five cities.  All FILM FORWARD screenings are free of charge for University students and the general public.

The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, was in Arizona last week as part of his Art Works tour. During the visit, he made a stop in Tucson to participate in the week-long Film Forward program and take in a screening of Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s On the Ice. Landesman was appointed Chairman of the NEA in 2009 and is responsible for leading the public agency in its efforts “to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities.

Los Angeles, CA — Keri Putnam, Executive Director of the non-profit Sundance Institute, announced today that the Institute is launching an exclusive and free app for Ultrabooks® and other mobile devices featuring Sundance Institute “Now Playing” film news, behind-the-scenes content, and film trailers showcased on the Intel AppUpSM center now. The app will help support and market films as they become available to the public, including through the self-distribution component of Artist Services.Artist Services provides opportunities for creative self-distribution, marketing and financing solutions for filmmakers supported by the Institute, while allowing them to maintain ownership of their rights.

Last week, we showed On the Ice in Arizona as a part of Sundance Institute’s Film Forward program. I was there for three screenings. The first one took place in Sells, a small town on the Tohono O’odham reservation about an hour outside of Tucson.

LONDON — Sundance Institute and The O2 announced today the programme of 14 narrative and documentary feature films that will make their UK premieres at the inaugural Sundance London festival, taking place at The O2 from 26-29 April. These films premiered in January at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the premier independent film festival in the United States.“I welcome the opportunity to see how people in the UK experience these films,” said Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute.

Mr. Ahadi’s film “The Green Wave” shows the audience a harrowing and poignant look at the contested Iranian election of 2009. From cleverly created animated sequences of anecdotes of individual experiences to testimonies of people who were present and opinions of outside observers, “The Green Wave” tells the story of a people’s desperate cry for honest representation within the yoke of one of the world’s most ruthless and backwards regime’s attempts to survive in its war against the rest of world while claiming to give itself a shred of legitimacy.