Los Angeles, CA –After last year’s successful inaugural ShortsLab in Los Angeles, Sundance Institute announced today it is bringing short filmmaking workshops to Chicago and New York, and returning to Los Angeles. Recognizing the place shorts have and will continue to have in cinema, storytelling, and culture, ShortsLabs offer filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of short filmmaking. While all three ShortsLabs will have panels and sessions on story development, production, and exhibition of shorts, ShortsLab: L.A. will focus particularly on comedic shorts.
Notable Institute alumni who started their careers with short films are Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Spike Jonze, Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tamara Jenkins, and Jason Reitman.
Sundance Institute ShortsLabs are intense, day-long workshops aimed at filmmakers looking to improve their storytelling techniques, learn about the world of production, and explore platforms to showcase their work. ShortsLabs give filmmakers the opportunity to learn from established Sundance Institute alumni, and industry representatives in an environment that celebrates and fosters individual voices and also addresses the realities of producing and marketing short films. Following the ShortsLab, filmmakers can stay connected with the Sundance Institute community through a monthly email from with job opportunities, crew needs, and links to recommended shorts.
“Sundance Institute has long been committed to the short film format as a vital means for emerging artists to experiment with various filmmaking techniques,” said Keri Putnam, Executive Director, Sundance Institute. “We are excited to bring our lab model to different cities, to give aspiring filmmakers the chance to learn from experts in the Sundance community how to develop, produce and market their short films.”
For information, to purchase tickets, or to see clips from last year’s sold out ShortsLab: L.A., visit: www.sundance.org/shortslab. Tickets are first-come, first-served; very limited space available.
ShortsLab: Chicago
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Columbia College Chicago
Tickets: $150
Participants will be announced shortly.
Story: Filmmakers and cinephiles share their experiences and perspectives on the short form. These tales from the trenches will focus on conceptualization and script development.
Production: Industry professionals and Sundance Film Festival alumni will speak to the many challenges filmmakers face during production filmmakers face during production, including financing, working with unions, using the talent you have around you, legal obstacles, and much more.
Distribution: Panelists will discuss the options for short film distribution.
Programmers Panel: Representatives from regional film festivals and Sundance Film Festival will discuss submitting films to festivals.
Cocktail Mixer and Screening: ShortsLabs end with a mixer and screenings of favorite short films.
ShortsLab: New York
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Avenue, New York, NY 11243
Tickets: $150
Schedule and participants to be announced shortly.
An all-day educational workshop, ShortsLab New York will include seminars, screenings, and panels and offer filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of short filmmaking, focusing on story development, production, and exhibition of shorts.
Comedy ShortsLab: L.A.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Cinefamily@The Silent Movie Theatre
611 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90036
Tickets: $200
Schedule and participants to be announced shortly.
Comedy ShortsLab: L.A. is a three-part, all-day educational workshop. This day will specifically focus on the world of comedic short-form filmmaking.
About Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Son of Babylon, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America.
