The Feature Film Program is wrapping up quite a busy summer! It all started with the June Directors and Screenwriters Labs, held at the Sundance Resort from June 1 – 25. Eight Directors Lab Fellows (six of which were at the 2010 January Screenwriters Lab) joined us on the mountain to shoot 3-5 scenes from their developing screenplays, with the help of Creative Advisors, professional actors and professional film crew members. The Fellows this year were: Lance Edmands (BLUEBIRD), Sean Durkin (MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE), Myna Joseph (MY FAVORITE NIGHTMARE), Dash Shaw (THE RUINED CAST), Kasem Kharsa (SHELTER), Ondi Timoner (THE PERFECT MOMENT), Saodat Ismailova (40 DAYS OF SILENCE) and Sydney Freeland (DRUNKTOWN’S FINEST).

Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 7 PM
Panel Discussion Hosted by Academy Award-Nominated Actor Edward James Olmos
Los Angeles, CA -Sundance Institute today announced it will present a Work-In-Progress Screening of Cesar’s Last Fast on October 6 at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The documentary film by Richard Ray Perez and Molly O’Brien is about the spiritual sacrifice behind Cesar E. Chavez’s struggle for the humane treatment of farm workers, and the impact his inspirational legacy has had on a new generation of activists, organizers and community leaders, and is supported with funding and resources by the Institute’s Documentary Film Program.

Personal Stories from Bangladesh, Congo (DRC), Haiti, India, Lesotho and United States Illustrate Progress Toward Improving Health, Reducing Poverty, and Ensuring Access to Education
 
Films Centered on United Nations’ Millennium Goals for Improving Conditions in Worlds’ Poorest Countries to Premiere September 20 in Conjunction with TEDxChange Convened by Melinda French Gates
 
LOS ANGELES, CA — Sundance Institute today announced a special collaborative project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation designed to harness the power of film to create communities and inspire action on issues related to global health, poverty and education. Six short documentary films commissioned by the Institute’s Documentary Film Program from award-winning filmmakers Glenn Baker, Teboho Edkins, Mark Monroe, Maren Grainger-Monsen, MD, Nicole Newnham, Jonathan Stack, Ricki Stern, and Annie Sundberg, will become part of a multi-platform communications initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which plans to share the films online and at speeches and public events around the world.
For nearly three decades, Sundance Institute has promoted independent storytelling to inform and inspire across political, social, religious and cultural differences.

Park City, UT – Sundance Institute today announced the fall lineup of its Film Series, which includes seminal Sundance Film Festival films, as well as new work supported by Sundance Institute. The Film Series kicks off September 8 at the Park City Library with Rocket Science, a film about a stuttering teen recruited to be on the high school debate team, followed by an October screening of the horror film that broke all the rules –The Blair Witch Project. In addition, the Film Series will showcase Camp Victory, the true story of U.

LOS ANGELES, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the call for entries for its 2011 Theatre Lab to be held at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, from March 27-April 17, 2011. The centerpiece of Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program, the Theatre Lab is a three-week developmental retreat designed to provide a private, creative environment for playwrights, directors, composers and librettists to devise and refine new work with the support of creative advisors, full casts and rehearsal space. Full submission details may be found at www.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The non-profit Sundance Institute today announced it has been selected as a candidate charity in Members Project®, a partnership between American Express and TakePart, a community website focused on socially conscious media and issues. Supporters of Sundance Institute can now go online to vote for the organization to share a total of $1,000,000 in funding from American Express. A total of five organizations will share the monetary award.

“We have Viagra, estrogen, and vodka. Also, a lawyer, but that might not help you,” quipped Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper on closing night of Sundance Institute’s Creative Producing Summit. Earlier in the evening, Cooper asked the audience the following question: “Besides money, in a single word what does it take to produce a film?” All of the participants—from career producers to first-time filmmakers—attempted to find that golden nugget that makes a successful producer, a role that Michael Barker, co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics, claims can’t be pinned to one thing because a producer is a renaissance man.

Last night a group of independent producers and directors gathered in the mountains of Utah to kick-off Sundance Institute’s second annual Creative Producing Summit. ‘Creative’ immediately earned its keep as Reed Hastings, CEO and co-founder of Netflix, gave his keynote address crediting Netflix’s success to its creative entrepreneurial nature. Along with Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam and Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, a conversation ignited about how independent film distribution continues to evolve with new possibilities and challenges looming around the corner.

There is a visceral element involved in recognizing a great film score. Too often, as moviegoers, we fail to identify music as the component responsible for striking a chord within us. It’s these “textures and emotional qualities,” as Film Music Program director Peter Golub describes it, which elevate a film to a level that moves us.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced the appointment of Jennifer Arceneaux to the newly created position of Director, External Relations. In this role, Arceneaux will oversee the Institute’s fundraising, marketing and communications efforts, supervising a staff of 25. Based in Los Angeles, she will begin September 17, reporting directly to Executive Director Keri Putnam and working closely with the Institute’s Leadership and Board of Trustees.

Look what we found…

But each festival gives us a chance to watch the watchers—to see how audiences get to watch the movies. And every festival has its own vibe. In Park City, people line up in the cold—sometimes for hours.