Category: News

Film Forward is all about creating cultural exchange through the exhibition of films and conversations with filmmakers. It’s about making connections with artists, youth, and everyday people, and finding similarities and dispelling differences. It is a worthy mission with an impact that can resonate, but we had to put it in the context of what was happening in the Horn of Africa.

The Sunset Dhow Sail to the Mangroves of Manda Island have become a much-anticipated event. The Dhow of Diamond Beach Village, which this year came in first place in the official Lamu Dhow Race, was re-launched into the water this week, re-painted, and re-fitted by its co-captains, Abu and Answar. Once again, we Sundancers were invited on board as a late afternoon sun cast its orange yellow glow on us.

Los Angeles, CA — The Bertha Foundation has awarded a major grant to Sundance Institute’s new Artist Services initiative, which will provide opportunities for Institute artists to reach audiences, raise funding and receive support through a robust educational and resources site.
The Artist Services program furthers the Institute’s mission to support independent artists, and is designed for filmmakers interested in independent “creative distribution” as they navigate the evolving landscape in film distribution, marketing and financing. With unparalleled recognition worldwide, the Institute is in a unique position to bring together a wide range of services and lend invaluable promotional support for artists.

Los Angeles, CA (July 27, 2011) — Keri Putnam, Executive Director of the non-profit Sundance Institute, today announced an expansion of the Institute’s Artist Services program, which provides opportunities for Sundance Institute artists to reach audiences, raise funding and receive support through a robust educational and resources site. While the Sundance Film Festival has long offered a platform for films to be acquired for distribution, the expansion of this initiative aims to provide opportunities for the many projects that are distributed independently.  
Through the program, filmmakers can now make their films available online to consumer markets via iTunes, Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, SundanceNOW, and YouTube while still retaining ownership of their work and making independent decisions about strategies for each outlet.

Philip Himberg is producing artistic director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. He is currently at the Theatre Lab on Manda, a two-week exchange and development program providing East African artists with guidance in their creative development toward final production.In my rehearsal, we switch from reading a scene in English to reading the same scene in Amharic.

Philip Himberg is Producing Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. He is currently at the Theatre Lab on Manda, a two-week exchange and development program providing East African artists with guidance in their creative development toward final production.Bounding over the waves of the Indian Ocean under a moonless sky, no lights on our little boat.

Philip Himberg is Producing Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. He is currently at the Theatre Lab on Manda, a two-week exchange and development program providing East African artists with guidance in their creative development toward final production.
Theatre Program Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg.

Jon Reiss is a filmmaker who also helps filmmakers strategize and execute the releases of their films and train their PMDs. His new book is a collaboration with The Film Collaborative and Sheri Candler titled Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul to be released in September. His latest “film” Bomb It 2 will be released on iTunes and other digital platforms later this year.

The third annual Creative Producing Summit kicked off last night at the Sundance Resort with a panel of independent producers and directors mulling the state of the independent film industry. Festival Director John Cooper prefaced the discussion with a few sales numbers from the boom that was the 2011 Festival (a record 78 film sales), and moderator Dan Steinman of CAA sarcastically noted that this panel would—with ease—capture the “unified” mood of independent film in the allotted hour.With film sales spiking at many of the premier Festivals internationally, Steinman opened the discussion with the most pertinent question—is independent film back in business? Eric d’Arbeloff (Roadside Attractions) led the hesitantly optimistic responses, suggesting that the industry saw encouraging signs this year: “Maybe we’re back in business, but I’m not sure I see the sea changing.

Deborah Asiimwe is a Ugandan playwright and Specialist for Sundance Institute East Africa. Below she shares her experience at the ongoing Sundance Institute Theatre Lab on Manda off the coast of Kenya.
Here, the stars shine brightest and they seem so many—how does this sky hold all of them? We arrive as the sun is about to “return to his mother.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute is pleased to announce the schedule and featured participants for its first Comedy ShortsLab, a one-day symposium focused on the craft of comedic short-form filmmaking and exhibition. The Comedy ShortsLab will be Saturday, August 6 at Cinefamily@The Silent Movie Theatre, 611 N. Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.

“Every time you make a short, it will never be in vain. It’s a win-win situation,” said Debra Granik to a full crowd during an early Saturday morning at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. “The short may never come together the way you want it, but look at all the things you just learned.