By Virginia Yapp
Quentin Tarantino, Alfonso Cuarón, Debra Granik, Paul Thomas Anderson—these are just a few of the pioneering independent filmmakers who have participated in Sundance Institute’s wide array of labs, grant programs, residencies, mentorships, and fellowships over the past few decades. And every January, we’re excited when filmmakers who have brought projects through our program make the jump to showing their work at the Festival in Park City.
At the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, we’re excited to note that over ## Institute-supported films will be premiering in Park City. Keep reading to find out more about each project (and the Sundance Institute programs that supported them), and consider joining us as a Member—in addition to helping us sustain our signature programs for independent artists, our Members also get access to an exclusive benefits at the Festival and invites to Members-only events year-round.
The 40-Year-Old Version
In 2017, native New Yorker Radha Blank brought her comedy The 40-Year-Old Version through the Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors labs, as well as our Creative Producing Summit and Catalyst program.
Atomu
Shariffa Ali and Yetunde Dada’s participatory movement piece came together in 2018, when the pair took the project through Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Story Lab.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Bill and Turner Ross’s involvement with the Institute date back to 2011, when they were awarded an Art of Nonfiction Grant while working on their documentary Western. On Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, they were assisted by the Institute’s 2016 Art of Non-Fiction Fund.
Chomsky vs. Chomsky: First Encounter
Chomsky vs. Chomsky—helmed by lead artist Sandra Rodriguez—is another New Frontier project that went through our New Frontier Story Lab.
Coded Bias
Shalini Kantayya’s new AI documentary, Coded Bias, was made with an assist from the Institute’s Science Sandbox Nonfiction Project, which supports projects that explore the intrinsic link between science and culture.
Crip Camp
In Crip Camp, documentary filmmakers Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht travel back in time to the 1970s, when LeBrecht’s life was forever changed while attending a ramshackle camp for disabled teenagers. In bringing their vision to life, the pair were assisted by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Grant, Catalyst Forum, Creative Producing Summit, Impact Intensive, and Documentary Edit and Story Lab.
Farewell Amor
Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor began its life as a 10-minute short that made the rounds on the festival circuit back in 2016. She turned her deeply personal story about the immigrant experience into a feature while participating in Sundance Institute’s 2019 Screenwriters Lab and Feature Film Development Fellowship.
The Fight
The Fight—a U.S. Documentary Competition project helmed by Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, and Eli Despres—went through Catalyst Forum at the 2017 Festival.
His House
Remi Weekes’s debut feature, His House, offers up an honest account of the human cost of the worldwide refugee epidemic. While working on the film—which will premiere in our Midnight Section—Weekes received the 2018 Sundance Institute/NHK Award.
Little Chief
In 2018, writer-director Erica Tremblay attended Sundance Institute’s Native Filmmakers Lab while working on a short called Little Chief. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the Seneca-Cayuga Nation filmmaker is sharing her finished project with the world.
Living Distance
The immersive New Frontier project Living Distance—led by artist Xin Liu—came through the 2019 New Frontier Story Lab.
Miss Juneteenth
Channing Godfrey Peoples’s debut feature, Miss Juneteenth, was shot in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. While working on the project—a poignant coming-of-age story—Peoples took part in our 2017 Women’s Financing Intensive, our 2016 Screenwriters Intensive, and our Creative Producing Fellowship.
The Mole Agent
Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi was assisted in making The Mole Agent by our Documentary Film Program Grant.
The Mountains Are a Dream that Call to Me
Cedric Cheung-Lau went through our 2018 Film Music and Sound Design Lab in 2019 while working on The Mountains Are a Dream That Call to Me. At this year’s Festival, the film premieres in our NEXT Section.
Nine Days
Edson Oda’s debut feature, Nine Days, screens in our U.S. Dramatic Competition. He brought the project through our 2017 Screenwriters Lab and was a Sundance Asian American Fellow in 2016.
Pillars
Houston native Haley Elizabeth Anderson’s short, Pillars, was workshopped in the 2019 Screenwriters Intensive 2019.
The Social Dilemma
Documentary filmmaker Jeff Orlowski’s involvement with Sundance Institute began when he debuted his first documentary, Chasing Ice, at the 2012 Festival. In 2016, he was Discovery Impact Fellow, and in 2018, he served as a mentor in our Sundance Ignite program, which supports emerging filmmakers ages 18–25.
Softie
Nairobi-based filmmaker Sam Soko’s project Softie, premiering in the Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Competition, came together with assistance from the Institute’s 2018 Documentary Film Grant. Softie is Soko’s debut feature; his previous work includes the Academy Award–nominated 2018 short Watu Wote.
Some Kind of Heaven
Florida-based Lance Oppenheim’s doc Some Kind of Heaven has the distinction of being the first Ignite-produced feature to screen at the Sundance Film Festival. As an Ignite Fellow, Oppenheim was mentored by Institute alumnus Jeff Orlowski while he worked on his project about the residents of the nation’s largest retirement home.
Summertime
After premiering his provocative debut feature, Blindspotting, at the 2018 Festival, Carlos López Estrada returns to Park City with Summertime, his free-flowing Slacker-style project that tells the story of young Angelenos whose lives intersect on a hot summer day. The film—which utilizes non-actors—was made with support from the Institute’s Catalyst and FilmTwo programs.
Tesla
Michael Almereyda’s ties to Sundance Institute date back to
A Thousand Cuts
Award-winning filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz returns to the Festival this year with A Thousand Cuts, a documentary about Rodrigo Duterte’s journey from outsider candidate to president of the Philippines promising vengeance and violence. Diaz received funding from the 2017 Documentary Film Grant and the 2019 Talent Forum.
Time
United States (Director Garrett Bradley)
2019 Sundance Documentary Edit & Story Lab
Garrett Bradley’s
The Truffle Hunters
United States (Directors: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw)
Sundance Catalyst, Sundance Film Music and Sound Design Lab, Sundance Doc Fund
2018 Sundance Documentary Film Grant
2018 Catalyst Forum
Us Kids
Kim A. Snyder’s
United States (Director: Kim A. Snyder)
Sundance Development Fund, Sundance Kendeda, 2018 Sundance Catalyst
Welcome to Chechnya
David France
Welcome to Chechnya / United States (Director: David France)
Creative Producing Lab & Fellowship [Alice Henty], Mobile Edit Lab
Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness
Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness, came through the Institute’s Screenwriting Lab in TK.
Find out more about becoming a Sundance Institute Member here, and stay tuned for the Member pre-sale on January 14.
