Category: News

David Becker participated in the Sundance Institute Independent Producers Conference for his film Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts, which went on to air nationally on PBS. He also coordinated the restoration and re-release of Barbara Kopple’s landmark documentary Harlan County, USA, which screened at the 2005 Festival.I’m writing from upstate New York, where the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene can still be seen all around: uprooted trees, downed power lines, the mud and mess left behind by flooded rivers.

Nekisa Cooper is an independent producer who most recently worked on Dee Rees’ 2011 Festival selection, Pariah. She is currently producing Maris Curran’s debut feature Five Nights in Maine along with a team of Sundance Film Festival alumni.In 2008, I participated in the inaugural Sundance Institute Creative Producing Lab and it was an experience that truly changed my life.

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced that its Native American & Indigenous Program will host its first Native Producers Workshop, August 17 and 18 in Santa Fe, NM. The invitation-only event builds on the Institute’s 30-year tradition of supporting Native American cinema through its Labs and Festival and will focus on the opportunities and challenges unique to producing Native American film, as well as independent cinema in general. The workshop is an extension of Sundance Institute’s offerings for producers, including its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit.

Heather Rae is a filmmaker and Sundance Institute trustee who has produced three Sundance Film Festival selections including the 2008 Grand Jury Prize-winning and Oscar nominated Frozen River. She recently participated at the first-ever Native Producers Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the Native Producers Workshop this past week we sat in a circle on Museum Hill – a complex featuring four world-class museums – in Santa Fe and discussed the state of independent film and the way in which Native production plays a role in the marketplace.

Andrew Okpeaha MacLean is an Iñupiaq filmmaker born and raised in Alaska. His short film Sikumi premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and his debut feature On the Ice screened at the 2011 Festival.Making a movie 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle is hard.

The focus of the fourth Sundance ShortsLab to date, held at the Cinefamily @ The Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 6, was the craft of comedic short filmmaking and exhibition. Over the course of the day-long event, writers, directors, actors, and distributors dissected the art of short form storytelling.
Comedy ShortsLab: LA began with a discussion around the discovery and development of the comedic voice moderated by Emmy-nominated comedy writer Scott Aukerman and featuring Julie Delpy (2 Days in Paris), Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), and Mike White (Year of the Dog).

Joy Osmanski has worked as the Film Music coordinator and served as a volunteer at this year’s summer labs at Sundance Resort.I’m not a composer. I’m just barely a musician if piano lessons, some desperate sawing on a violin, and a year of fifth-grade saxophone count as credit.

My first trip to Kenya was in the early ’90s on a yearlong foreign exchange program. I lived in a dorm called “Box,” which was named (I presume) for its utilitarian shape. Though, without much running water or electricity, the building wasn’t very functional.

The heavy grey skies gave way to a brilliant shaft of late afternoon sun, a gold dagger that poured its light into our rehearsal studio as the Tanzanian company danced and sang. The voices of three women soared, blending into harmonies unknown to my ears. For a moment, my breath caught in my throat.

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.