Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the summer of 2011. It has since been updated.It’s been 30 years since Sundance Institute President and Founder Robert Redford gathered his friends and colleagues in the idyllic mountains of Utah to escape the pressures of the film industry for a natural setting that encouraged artistic growth.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, an initiative of the nonprofit Sundance Institute created in partnership with U.S. federal cultural agencies, will present free screenings of 10 award-winning films at locations throughout Puerto Rico, it was announced today by Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute.

Nate von Zumwalt, editorial coordinator at Sundance Institute, recently visited the Directors Lab at Sundance Resort for the first time to capture the unique stories of this year’s fellows and participants.As I arrived at Sundance Resort last week for the 30th edition of the Directors Lab, I hauled with me a convoy of nearly unattainable expectations. It was the product of a year’s worth of incessant praise by my colleagues for this mountain retreat that one “just had to experience” to understand.

Two and a half days is not a long time–certainly not enough time for me to get to know Tucson. What I did and who I saw, though, left a positive impression on me of Tucson as a small town with a strong and motivated arts community.
My first night in town with Film Forward kicked off with a meet-and-greet party at the Tucson Museum of Art followed by a screening of A Small Act, which I shot and produced, at The Loft.

Sundance Institute is well-known for bringing indie film to the mountains of Utah. Last night, the Institute brought the spirit of Sundance back to its other home base in Los Angeles.On Wednesday, June 8, under the trees at Franklin Canyon Ranch in Beverly Hills, CA, Sundance Institute hosted its first-ever Los Angeles benefit.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The nonprofit Sundance Institute will return to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) on July 9 to host ShortsLab: NYC, an all-day educational workshop offering filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of short film story development, production, and exhibition. From 2006 through 2008, Sundance Institute partnered with BAM for Sundance Institute at BAM, and for the past two years has brought films directly from the Sundance Film Festival to BAM audiences as part of its Sundance Film U.S.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Sundance Institute and Cinereach today announced the 2011 projects awarded grants for development, production, or post-production as part of a $1.5 million, three-year initiative, The Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute. The initiative is designed to support documentary and narrative feature film projects with themes that evoke global cultural exchange and social impact, and projects representing emerging and innovative voices selected for their distinctive and personal storytelling.

The Feature Film Program’s Screenplay Reading Series of Works-in-Progress has had a burst of activity in the last month, with three readings in a span of three weeks! In each case, we were thrilled to give a Feature Film Program Fellow the opportunity to hear their screenplay brought to life by an ensemble of talented actors, and to bring the Sundance Institute community together to experience this unique process.
Actors at the screenplay reading of Stem in Los Angeles. Photo by Alex Wyman.

Park City, UT– Sundance Institute today announced the films selected for the 2011 Sundance Institute Summer Film Series, presenting a mix of films selected from audience and critical favorites from Sundance Film Festivals.  Now in its 14th year, the free series will kick off on June 29 with a screening of the popular rock documentary, It Might Get Loud, and run through August 31 at Park City’s City Park and Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden.
With a strong history of serving as a cultural catalyst by bringing films and artists to the area, the nonprofit Sundance Institute is once again joining forces with other local organizations to create memorable film events while strengthening community engagement and expanding its audience base.

TUCSON, ARIZONA — Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, an initiative of the nonprofit Sundance Institute created in partnership with U.S. federal cultural agencies, will present free screenings of 10 award-winning films throughout the city of Tucson, it was announced today by Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute.

In the language of the Anishinabek people of the Great Lakes area of the United States, diba jimooyung means “telling our story.” It’s also the name of a beautiful exhibit that the Film Forward crew got to visit during our time here on the Saginaw Chippewa reservation in Michigan. Blending artifacts, oral tradition, computer technology, film, and hands-on interaction, the exhibit allows you to “experience” the story of the Anishinabek people and their ongoing struggle to hold onto to their land, language, and life ways.

Los Angeles, CA – Sundance Institute today announced that Julia Bloch is the recipient of the Sally Menke Memorial Fellowship, created in memory of the organization’s close friend and inspired mentor who died in September of 2010.
“A talented and lauded film editor, Menke was deeply invested in Sundance Institute as a long-time Creative Advisor for the Institute’s Labs and Rough Cut Screenings. said Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program.