Category: News

Park City, UT — Razelle Benally (Navajo/Oglala Lakota) and Randi LeClair (Pawnee) have been selected for the Sundance Institute Native Filmmakers Lab, where the two writers will receive grants for production and targeted support during a residential Lab  to prepare for production of their short films. The Lab takes place in Santa Fe, New Mexico July 10-14. The Lab is a highlight of the Institute’s year-round work with Native American and Indigenous filmmakers and is one of the 24 residential labs the Institute hosts each year to discover and foster the talent of emerging independent artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.

New York, NY — Sundance Institute today announced the acting company and creative advisors that are participating in its 2015 Theatre Lab, which kicked off yesterday and runs through July 26 at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah. Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute’s year-round work with the theatre community and is one of 24 residency Labs the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.
The Theatre Lab supports both emerging and established theatre-makers developing new work for the stage, with a focus on assuring that the playwright’s deepest impulses and visions can be realized.

New York, NY — Sundance Institute in collaboration with Kaufman Music Center will present An Anniversary Concert Reading of Hollywood Arms at Merkin Concert Hall September 21. Carol Burnett and Philip Himberg, Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program, will introduce the special concert reading of the Broadway production of Burnett’s autobiographical play, Hollywood Arms, written with her daughter Carrie Hamilton. The reading is directed by Sundance alum, Mark Brokaw, the recipient of Drama Desk, Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards, and stars Michele Pawk (Hairspray, Cabaret, Mamma Mia!) in her Tony-winning role as well as Tyne Daly, Emily Skeggs, Sydney Lucas and others to be announced.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound today announced the independent narrative and documentary directors and composers selected for the Sundance Institute Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound. This will be the third year the Music and Sound Design Labs take place at the Skywalker Ranch in northern California. The Labs are part of 24 residential labs the Institute hosts annually to discover and foster the talent of emerging independent artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.

You’ve likely heard—or yourself employed—the phrase “language of cinema.” It’s a nod to the power of story to foster understanding, to provoke change, or to simply assuage our pains and our sorrows. Last week, in yet another stark reminder that our headway toward “understanding” and “change” in the United States has been significant but not universal, we endured the racially motivated murder of nine Black Americans at a Charleston, South Carolina, church.

LOS ANGELES, CA — Sundance NEXT FEST, a new breed of cultural adventure, returns to The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles August 7-9 for a weekend celebration of the renegade spirit of independent artists. The film and music program, announced today, features some of the most talented filmmakers and music acts on the verge of breaking out. Tickets ($15-25) go on sale to Sundance Institute members today and all others tomorrow at sundance.

Since 2011, the New Frontier Story Lab has been supporting independent artists and creative technologists pushing the boundaries of story, while building a community of collaborators across diverse disciplines to innovate new mediums. Three projects emerging from this process are deeply aligned with the mission of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s Building Bridges Program, which supports grantees using the arts or media as a medium for increasing awareness and thereby understanding of the richness and diversity of Muslim cultures and the societies from which they emanate. 
With the generous support of the Foundation, Sundance Institute launched the Doris Duke New Frontier Fellowships, which will support these three projects for a span of two years and allow fellows to develop and refine audience engagement for their exploratory and interdisciplinary projects.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced five new members of the Institute’s Board of Trustees: Fred Dust, Philipp Engelhorn, Caterina Fake, Gigi Pritzker and Alejandro Ramírez Magaña. Under the guidance of President & Founder Robert Redford and in close collaboration with Executive Director Keri Putnam and Board Chair Pat Mitchell, the new trustees bring an invaluable depth of experience in marketing and creative design, social innovation, technology and film production and exhibition to the Institute’s governance. The other business, cultural and philanthropic leaders on the Institute’s Board are: Robert Redford, President & Founder; Pat Mitchell, Board Chair; Jeanne Donovan Fisher and Geoffrey K.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced the eight projects selected for its annual Documentary Edit and Story Labs, taking place in two sessions at the Sundance Resort in Utah from June 19-27 and July 3-11. The Labs are among the highlights of the Institute’s year-round work with documentary feature filmmakers and are part of the 24 residential labs the Institute hosts each year to discover and foster the talent of emerging independent artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.
At the Documentary Edit and Story Lab, projects in the later stages of post-production work on rough cuts in a rigorous creative environment that supports risk-taking in story, dramatic structure and character development.

One of the great things about #ArtistServices is helping filmmakers re-release older titles from past Sundance Film Festivals to new audiences. La Ciudad is one such film, and we’ve been fortunate to work with filmmaker David Riker and producer Paul Mezey the past few months. Below, Riker shares how films can be re-released in this ever-changing distribution landscape.

I came into the Sundance Institute | Skoll Foundation Stories of Change family through its support in 2010 for The Revolutionary Optimists, a film I co-directed with Maren Grainger-Monsen. The film profiles Amlan Ganguly, an extraordinary social entrepreneur, as he organizes and empowers youth living in some of Kolkata’s worst slums to transform their communities.

At the time, the partnership made sense to me; our film was about a social entrepreneur.

It’s June, y’all, which means the LGBTQ+ and their friends, families, and allies are putting on their tank tops, taking to the streets, and waving their rainbow flags. And though the “Do we still need Pride?” debate rages on, it’s hard for a young-ish person like me to believe that not so long ago—and still in some parts of our country and the world—it’s not okay to be who you are, 365 days a year.
We’ve made huge advancements in being recognized as an important part of our communities, and we have a lot of people to thank for that: Those who fought (sometimes literally) for our rights when we had none, those who proudly lived their lives in full view when most people didn’t want to see us, and the artists who told personal gay stories on stage and screen, without regard for their careers.