Australian director Rachel Perkins wanted the world to see Aboriginal people in a different way. Their culture had been negatively represented in cinema repeatedly over the years, and Perkins wanted to change that. In Bran Nue Dae, the story of a marginalized people is told in a vibrant, musical comedy that reached an audience of more than 8.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the four fellows and projects selected for the 2012 NativeLab Fellowship, a two-stage development program that provides continuous and direct support to Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaskan Native film artists. For the first stage, filmmakers participate in an intensive five-day workshop (May 23-27) on the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, where they receive guidance from seasoned artists including Fenton Bailey (Inside Deep Throat; Party Monster, The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Adam Bala Lough (Bomb The System, The Carter), Billy Luther (Miss Navajo, Grab) and Zach Sklar (JFK, The Feast of the Goat). The second stage brings Fellows to the Native Forum during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and provides opportunities networking with film professionals who advise them on the business of cinema.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the 13 projects selected for its annual June Directors and Screenwriters Labs, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 28 through June 28. Under the leadership of Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Institute’s Feature Film Program, and the artistic direction of Gyula Gazdag, the projects selected for this year’s program include emerging filmmakers and projects from the United States, Italy, Romania, Australia, Algeria, France, Chile and the UK.
Directors Lab Fellows work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors, professional actors and production crews to shoot and edit key scenes from their screenplays.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced it will host its popular series of one-day, public ShortsLab filmmaking workshops in New York, Los Angeles and for the first time, Seattle. This series marks the third year of ShortsLab programming for the Institute. Tickets are available at http://www.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute with Hammer Museum will host a free, public, work-in-progress screening of Cooked by award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand on Wednesday, May 16, 7:00 p.m. at Hammer Museum.

Paris, France — Throughout the years, everything I had heard about the Sundance Labs had been completely appealing. I had viewed them from a distance with great interest and curiosity. The closer encounter happened through !F, (the Istanbul International Film Festival) early this year.

 On the heels of an incredible Imperial Valley program currently under way, FILM FORWARD journeys to the Kingdom of Morocco for the second year with our strong repeat Program Collaborator, the U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

Imperial Valley and Australia would appear to be in diametric contradiction to one another. One resides in the Northern Hemisphere, while the other sits well below the equator. One is home to a Spanish-speaking majority, and the other’s national language is English.

It’s officially over. I’m back in our LA office finally able to process what happened over my five hectic days in London.  Things can get pretty intense when you’re in “festival mode” so it always takes a little time before you can look back and understand what really just happened.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced five films supported by the Institute that are now available to rent and download in the UK, on iTunes and SundanceNOW. The films include Independent Spirit Award Winner Obselidia and New York Times Critic’s Pick Lord Byron. These projects are among the first to participate in the Institute’s Artist Services program, which provides Institute artists with exclusive opportunities for creative self-distribution, marketing and financing solutions for their work.

London, 30 April 2012 — The first-ever Sundance London film and music festival came to a close last night, capping off four days of film screenings and music performances hosted by Robert Redford, Sundance Enterprises, Sundance Institute and AEG Europe, with the support of Presenting Partner Sony Entertainment Network. The festival closed with an intimate performance by Rufus and Martha Wainwright following the World Premiere of Sing Me The Songs That Say I Love You ~ A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, Lian Lunson’s film about the music of their mother, folk singer Kate McGarrigle.
Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute, said: “Sundance London marked our first time hosting an event in the UK, and we are grateful to all our supporters and collaborators for the reception we received.

Rabat, Morocco— Sundance Institute in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Morocco will present FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue in cities throughout the Kingdom of Morocco from May 7 to 12, 2012.

Going into Sundance London, the programming staff headspace echoed the overarching theme of Terrence Nance’s “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” (playing here at SDL): Complications can arise when expectations meet reality.  We’ve had decades to build a sense of trust with our Park City audience.  We know their taste and they know ours.

We’re launching our coverage of the Sundance Film Festival’s journey across the pond at the Sundance Film Festival: London with a series of on-the-ground interviews with filmmakers and musicians participating in the celebration of film and music. Filly Brown premiered at Day 2 of Sundance: London.Gina Rodriguez, who dazzles as the strong-willed hip-hop artist in Filly Brown, couldn’t help but manage her expectations for the film’s Sundance: London premiere on Friday.