Category: News

October 14, 2010-(Paris, France)- Robert Redford received one of France’s most highly esteemed recognitions today in Paris, the emblem of the “Légion d’Honneur” established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. Redford was acknowledged for his work as actor and director, his decades long involvement in nurturing independent voices in film and the arts through the Sundance Institute, Sundance Film Festival, and overall advocacy on behalf of artists, as well as his work as an environmental activist over 40 years.Redford received the award from French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Palais de l’Elysées.

In late January 2010 the documentary community lost a vibrant talent and valued member of its community. Editor Karen Schmeer was killed in a hit-and-run accident in New York City. She was 39.

“Oh, sure, I remember it like it was yesterday…

PARK CITY, UT — Sundance Institute, the global, nonprofit arts organization, today announced that the 20th anniversary of Richard Linklater’s seminal indie film Slacker has been selected as the special 2011 Sundance Film Festival From the Collection screening. The Institute, which, with the UCLA Film and Television Archive, created The Sundance Collection at UCLA to preserve and restore independent films, also announced a new program, Collector’s Circle, where for the first time Institute supporters are given the opportunity to directly impact the acquisition and preservation process.Established in 1997, The Sundance Collection at UCLA (The Collection) broke new ground by becoming the first archive devoted specifically to the preservation of documentaries, narratives, shorts, festival films, and commercially released independent films.

Hebe has been a Sundance Film Festival Shorts Programmer since 2008, and is now in her fourth year with the team. We wanted to introduce you to one of the six people who are currently deciding on the fate of literally thousands of submissions. Stay tuned for the full team line-up.

It is official, the season has begun. Even while last year’s Sundance hits are playing in theatres and awards season hopefuls are launching at fall festivals, we here at the Sundance Institute office are looking further into the future..

In a genre of film so swamped with tales of injustice and corruption, the documenting of yet another enduring soul could feel almost stale-but it doesn’t. This refusal to perceive stories of discrimination as commonplace is what reiterates the undying need for documentary filmmakers. When director/producer Michael Collins first heard about Paco Larrañaga’s wrongful death penalty conviction from producer Marty Syjuco who has a family connection to Paco, the story felt anything but ordinary.

LOS ANGELES, CA — Sundance Institute, the global nonprofit arts organization, today announced it has been selected to represent the private sector in a unique program entitled Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue. This program continues the exceptional public/private cultural exchange effort by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) in cooperation with its federal cultural partners, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), to foster cross-cultural understanding through cinematic storytelling.
The nonprofit Sundance Institute was founded by Robert Redford with an initial grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1981.

Sally Menke was a close personal friend and inspired mentor to Sundance Institute filmmakers. A talented and lauded film editor, in 2001 and 2005, she came to the Directors Lab as one of our Creative Advisors. It was a family affair.

Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program congratulates Rebecca Cammisa and the documentary film Which Way Home for winning Outstanding Informational Programming-Long Form at the News and Documentary Emmy® Awards, announced on September 27 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Six years in the making, Which Way Home shows the personal side of immigration through the eyes of children who face harrowing dangers with enormous courage and resourcefulness as they endeavor to make it to the United States.

Back in May of 2009 at the Native Filmmakers Lab, Sydney began to workshop her feature script, Drunktown’s Finest. Since then, she has gone onto attend the Feature Film Program’s January Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab, Composers Lab, and Producers Summit. We checked in with Sydney and asked her to share her experience at the recent Composers Lab and Producers Summit.

An Inconvenient Truth was a documentary film’s perfect storm: bringing awareness of global climate change to the masses, energizing the mission of a Vice President, nabbing an Academy Award, and solidifying the vitality of documentary filmmaking in a world of changing media. Set to release this Friday, Davis Guggenheim’s new documentary, Waiting for “Superman,” which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award is already brewing with a similar intensity. Waiting for “Superman” explores America’s buckling public school system and Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam caught up with Guggenheim to discuss his new film, how social activism informs his art, and what we as citizens can do to help our schools.