Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced it will host its popular series of one-day, public ShortsLab filmmaking workshops in New York, Los Angeles and for the first time, Seattle. This series marks the third year of ShortsLab programming for the Institute. Tickets are available at http://www.sundance.org/programs/shortslab/; limited space available.
ShortsLabs offer filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of short filmmaking through panels and sessions with industry representatives, as well as Sundance Institute staff and alumni, on story development, production and exhibition of shorts. Featured participants for the series (vary by city) include Antonio Campos, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Durkin, Hal Hartley, Nicole Kassell, Josh Leonard, Brit Marling, Adepero Oduye, Nick Offerman and Lynn Shelton. Following the ShortsLab, attendees can stay connected with the Sundance Institute community through a monthly email with job opportunities, crew needs, and links to recommended shorts.
Notable Institute alumni who started their careers with short films are Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Spike Jonze, Debra Granik, Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tamara Jenkins, and Jason Reitman.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “ShortsLabs are an extension of the more intensive filmmaking Labs Sundance Institute has hosted for more than three decades. ShortsLabs give filmmakers the opportunity to improve their storytelling techniques, learn about the world of production, and explore platforms to showcase their work in an environment that celebrates and fosters individual voices.”
Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, added, “Fueled by the enthusiastic response from last years ShortsLabs we are thrilled to do them again in New York and Los Angeles. We are especially looking forward to hosting our first one in Seattle, an area with a vibrant cinema history and a wealth of emerging filmmaking talent.”
In advance of ShortsLab: NYC on Saturday, June 16, Rooftop Films will host a screening of short films the previous day (Friday, June 15) at Open Road Rooftop (Lower East Side), 350 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002. The screening is open to the public, regardless of whether they plan to attend ShortsLab: NYC the following day. Tickets to the screening are available at http://www.rooftopfilms.com/.
ShortsLab: NYC
Saturday, June 16
10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
BAM
Tickets: $150
Featured participants to include: Ilya Chaiken, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Kassell, Scott Macauley, Adepero Oduye (schedule permitting), Hal Hartley, Brit Marling, Matthew M. Ross, Mike S. Ryan and the Borderline Films team: Antonio Campos, Jody Lee Lipes, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond and Zachary Stuart-Pontier
ShortsLab: Seattle
Sunday, July 15
12:00 p.m. – 5::30 p.m.
SIFF Cinema
Tickets: $75
Featured participants to include: Ben Kasulke, Lynn Shelton and more to be announced
ShortsLab: LA
August (date and venue to be announced)
Tickets: $150
Featured participants to include: Azazel Jacobs, Joshua Leonard, Nicholas McCarthy, Nick Offerman, Matt Ross and more to be announced
ShortsLab: LA is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.
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, I Am My Own Wife, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
