Produced in collaboration with Documentary Campus, this year’s five-day Cph:conference featured a wide-ranging series of panels and conversations, diving in to everything from indigenous narratives to climate storytelling to the mind of Alex Gibney. Especially notable were the four mornings, Film:makers in Dialogue, all moderated by Wendy Mitchell (festival producer of Sundance London as well as a journalist for Screen International). In these sessions audiences were invited to listen in as the directors behind two films chose clips from each other’s work to engage with. One such pairing in particular proved both inspired and inspiring. Brett Story (The Hottest August, The […]
The post On Power and Solidarity : Brett Story and Yance Ford at Cph:dox 2024 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post On Power and Solidarity : Brett Story and Yance Ford at Cph:dox 2024 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/8/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Produced in collaboration with Documentary Campus, this year’s five-day Cph:conference featured a wide-ranging series of panels and conversations, diving in to everything from indigenous narratives to climate storytelling to the mind of Alex Gibney. Especially notable were the four mornings, Film:makers in Dialogue, all moderated by Wendy Mitchell (festival producer of Sundance London as well as a journalist for Screen International). In these sessions audiences were invited to listen in as the directors behind two films chose clips from each other’s work to engage with. One such pairing in particular proved both inspired and inspiring. Brett Story (The Hottest August, The […]
The post On Power and Solidarity : Brett Story and Yance Ford at Cph:dox 2024 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post On Power and Solidarity : Brett Story and Yance Ford at Cph:dox 2024 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/8/2024
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Exclusive: In a competitive situation, Cinetic Media has signed Aaron Schimberg and Vanessa McDonnell, the filmmaker and producer behind the darkly comedic psychological thriller A Different Man, for management across all media.
World premiering at Sundance 2024 before going on to play Berlin, the conversation starter from A24 stars an unrecognizable Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. Edward’s new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
Schimberg wrote and directed the pic, which next week opens Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films. Also starring Adam Pearson and The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve, in her American debut, the film is produced by Christine Vachon, McDonnell, and Gabriel Mayers.
World premiering at Sundance 2024 before going on to play Berlin, the conversation starter from A24 stars an unrecognizable Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. Edward’s new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
Schimberg wrote and directed the pic, which next week opens Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors/New Films. Also starring Adam Pearson and The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve, in her American debut, the film is produced by Christine Vachon, McDonnell, and Gabriel Mayers.
- 4/1/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Coming straight from Sundance with their respective buzzy docs “Power” – a Netflix Original – and “Union,” U.S. director/producer Yance Ford and his Canadian counterpart Brett Story delivered March 20 an empowering talk at Copenhagen’s “Film:makers in Dialogue” session, where they bounced ideas between each other about power structure in American society, capitalism, race and class divides from historical and contemporary perspectives.
“Power,” which was competing at Cph:dox for the Human Rights Award, is a forceful documentary essay on the origin of U.S. policing spanning 300 years, turning on its dynamics and impact on American society. “I’m interested in U.S. institutions, power, control in our society,” said Ford about his sophomore feature and follow up to his Academy Award-nominated “Strong Island,” acquired by Netflix for global distribution in 2017.
“After the George Floyd murder [in 2020], I saw the way the police was acting with unfiltered violence towards people protesting, and decided to step back.
“Power,” which was competing at Cph:dox for the Human Rights Award, is a forceful documentary essay on the origin of U.S. policing spanning 300 years, turning on its dynamics and impact on American society. “I’m interested in U.S. institutions, power, control in our society,” said Ford about his sophomore feature and follow up to his Academy Award-nominated “Strong Island,” acquired by Netflix for global distribution in 2017.
“After the George Floyd murder [in 2020], I saw the way the police was acting with unfiltered violence towards people protesting, and decided to step back.
- 3/22/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Cph: Dox, Copenhagen’s International Documentary Festival, has set the full lineup for its 2024 edition, including 84 world premieres, 32 international premieres, and 9 European premieres.
Running March 13-24, the festival will feature six competition categories: Dox: Award, F: Act Award, Nordic: Dox Award, Next: Wave Award, New: Vision Award, and the new Human: Rights Award.
Musician Pete Doherty will attend the festival for a screening of Peter Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin. The event will take place on March 18 at Bremen Theater, when he and the film’s director Katia de Vidas – who became Doherty’s wife over the ten years she followed him with her camera – openly discuss the substance abuse that has shadowed his entire career. After the screening, Doherty will give an acoustic concert. Other high-profile titles include Lana Wilson’s Look Into My Eyes, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s Gaucho Gaucho, Carla Gutierrez’s Frida, Yance Ford’s Power,...
Running March 13-24, the festival will feature six competition categories: Dox: Award, F: Act Award, Nordic: Dox Award, Next: Wave Award, New: Vision Award, and the new Human: Rights Award.
Musician Pete Doherty will attend the festival for a screening of Peter Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin. The event will take place on March 18 at Bremen Theater, when he and the film’s director Katia de Vidas – who became Doherty’s wife over the ten years she followed him with her camera – openly discuss the substance abuse that has shadowed his entire career. After the screening, Doherty will give an acoustic concert. Other high-profile titles include Lana Wilson’s Look Into My Eyes, Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw’s Gaucho Gaucho, Carla Gutierrez’s Frida, Yance Ford’s Power,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Cinetic Media has signed award-winning Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali for management across all media.
Most recently, Jalali co-wrote and directed the indie drama Fremont, released by Music Box Films last August. Securing a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards, following a Jury Prize win in Deauville and one for Directing at Karlovy Vary, the film centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory, she struggles to connect with her unfamiliar surroundings. When Donya is promoted to writing fortunes at her job, she sends a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic,...
Most recently, Jalali co-wrote and directed the indie drama Fremont, released by Music Box Films last August. Securing a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards, following a Jury Prize win in Deauville and one for Directing at Karlovy Vary, the film centers on mid-20s Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), whose complicated feelings about her prior work as a translator for the U.S. military have left her troubled and unable to sleep. Drifting through her uninspired routine in Fremont, California, which comprises her work at a fortune cookie factory, she struggles to connect with her unfamiliar surroundings. When Donya is promoted to writing fortunes at her job, she sends a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Gregg Turkington and Jeremy Allen White also star in the pic,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
By Abe Friedtanzer
Police reform is a hot-button issue, with calls from the left to "defund the police" and responses from the right that “blue lives” matter. Complicating those concepts is the fact that every American has grown up with the police as an established reality. Considering what something else could look like requires an acknowledgment that it hasn’t always been this way and perhaps shouldn’t be. Yance Ford’s documentary Power looks at the history of the police and how that’s shaped where we as a country now.
So much of present-day policing stems from racist institutions, beginning with slave catchers as the original model for police forces, which first began in Boston and quickly spread throughout the country...
Police reform is a hot-button issue, with calls from the left to "defund the police" and responses from the right that “blue lives” matter. Complicating those concepts is the fact that every American has grown up with the police as an established reality. Considering what something else could look like requires an acknowledgment that it hasn’t always been this way and perhaps shouldn’t be. Yance Ford’s documentary Power looks at the history of the police and how that’s shaped where we as a country now.
So much of present-day policing stems from racist institutions, beginning with slave catchers as the original model for police forces, which first began in Boston and quickly spread throughout the country...
- 1/27/2024
- by Abe Friedtanzer
- FilmExperience
When Power begins, before we see anything onscreen, we hear the voice of director Yance Ford, preparing the audience for information about the police that may be difficult to swallow. For those of us who have been politically radicalized — either in the past during landmark events like the Rodney King riots or the recent present in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd — what we see in Ford’s tightly edited 85-minute documentary feature may not be surprising. But for the vast majority of people in America, the police are still considered trustworthy arbiters of law and order dedicated to keeping us safe. That is why, during the 2020 protests, “abolish the police” was quickly rebranded by liberal pundits as “defund the police.” Even with this softer message, the public outcry fell on deaf ears. And soon, the movement faltered.
Ford seems to be responding directly to that failure with Power,...
Ford seems to be responding directly to that failure with Power,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Jourdain Searles
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Police power is immediate power.” These opening words from Redditt Hudson––former police officer and co-founder of the National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice, Reform, and Accountability––haunt and inform the entirety of Yance Ford’s Power. Ford actually opens the film over black, informing viewers that what they are about to see is “an analysis of police history that I’d like you to consider.” At the very least, curiosity is required to consider the facts that will come next.
It’s a straightforward, provocative opening. And Ford’s right to put all their cards on the table. This is a fraught time in America, and directly explaining to those watching that the U.S.A. in fact is, and has been, a police state will be blasphemous for many who stumble upon Power on Netflix. But if those same people come in with consideration, with even a half-open mind,...
It’s a straightforward, provocative opening. And Ford’s right to put all their cards on the table. This is a fraught time in America, and directly explaining to those watching that the U.S.A. in fact is, and has been, a police state will be blasphemous for many who stumble upon Power on Netflix. But if those same people come in with consideration, with even a half-open mind,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Sundance film festival: Yance Ford’s follow-up to Oscar-nominated documentary Strong Island is a visually elegant, if a little dry, look at a problematic institution
Power, documentarian Yance Ford’s clinical inquiry into US policing, isn’t trafficking in new information. The 86-minute project billed as an “essay-film”, which premiered at Sundance and will stream on Netflix later this year, has clear eyes on the past, synthesizing the work of several academics with a robust archival record to examine the origins, structure and impact of police power in the United States.
That doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary; the film makes cogent, sweeping sense of the record for perhaps the most illuminative, swift and damning case against the institution of policing – the real fourth estate, as one subject puts it – of the many investigations conducted in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. But there’s a dryness to its procedure.
Power, documentarian Yance Ford’s clinical inquiry into US policing, isn’t trafficking in new information. The 86-minute project billed as an “essay-film”, which premiered at Sundance and will stream on Netflix later this year, has clear eyes on the past, synthesizing the work of several academics with a robust archival record to examine the origins, structure and impact of police power in the United States.
That doesn’t mean it’s unnecessary; the film makes cogent, sweeping sense of the record for perhaps the most illuminative, swift and damning case against the institution of policing – the real fourth estate, as one subject puts it – of the many investigations conducted in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. But there’s a dryness to its procedure.
- 1/20/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
In an election year when civil rights are being threatened, authoritarianism is spreading around the globe and minorities are a popular political target, it’s no wonder that films exploring the U.S. criminal justice system are everywhere you look in the Sundance Film Festival lineup.
“There’s so much inequality and injustice in the justice system,” says “God Save Texas: Hometown Prison” director Richard Linklater. “There’s a lot to be outraged by and examined.” Variety spoke with him and other filmmakers such as Chiwetel Ejiofor, Debra Granik and Yance Ford about their Park City projects — when taken together, they paint a devastating and sometimes hopeful picture of contemporary policing, criminal trials, incarceration and rehabilitation.
Linklater’s “Prison,” inspired by Lawrence Wright’s book “God Save Texas,” is the first feature in a doc trilogy about his home state, debuting Jan. 23 in Park City and late February on HBO...
“There’s so much inequality and injustice in the justice system,” says “God Save Texas: Hometown Prison” director Richard Linklater. “There’s a lot to be outraged by and examined.” Variety spoke with him and other filmmakers such as Chiwetel Ejiofor, Debra Granik and Yance Ford about their Park City projects — when taken together, they paint a devastating and sometimes hopeful picture of contemporary policing, criminal trials, incarceration and rehabilitation.
Linklater’s “Prison,” inspired by Lawrence Wright’s book “God Save Texas,” is the first feature in a doc trilogy about his home state, debuting Jan. 23 in Park City and late February on HBO...
- 1/20/2024
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
Early in Yance Ford’s visual essay “Power,” he tells the audience that the film to come either requires “curiosity” or “at least suspicion” from the viewer. It’s the type of bold claim that might pack a punch as a rhetorical hook, especially for a documentary that dives into the cultural, social, economic, and political history of policing in the United States. But the 85 or minutes that come afterward never live up to such a sweeping statement.
Continue reading ‘Power’ Review: Yance Ford’s Visual Essay Is A Sprawling Overview Of The History Of Policing In America [Sundance] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Power’ Review: Yance Ford’s Visual Essay Is A Sprawling Overview Of The History Of Policing In America [Sundance] at The Playlist.
- 1/20/2024
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
A dryly succinct but thoroughly convincing Netflix documentary about the corruptive history of American policing, Yance Ford’s “Power” articulates in the clearest possible terms how 18th century slave patrols and the frontier militias that followed paved the way for a modern police state so violent and unregulated that no democracy would consciously think to invent it.
It begins with a brief voiceover that seems like a targeted overture to the movie’s home audience; the kind of flourish that suggests Ford knew his documentary would bypass a traditional platform rollout in favor of a more geopolitically diverse streaming debut. “This film requires curiosity, or at least suspicion,” the director intones over a black screen. “I’ll leave that choice up to you.”
Tempting as it is to imagine how those words might feel like a trigger warning for any “Blue Lives Matter” types who only started watching “Power” because...
It begins with a brief voiceover that seems like a targeted overture to the movie’s home audience; the kind of flourish that suggests Ford knew his documentary would bypass a traditional platform rollout in favor of a more geopolitically diverse streaming debut. “This film requires curiosity, or at least suspicion,” the director intones over a black screen. “I’ll leave that choice up to you.”
Tempting as it is to imagine how those words might feel like a trigger warning for any “Blue Lives Matter” types who only started watching “Power” because...
- 1/19/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Cinetic Media has signed documentary filmmaker Carla Gutiérrez. It will represent Gutiérrez across all media. The news comes as Gutiérrez’s directorial debut”Frida” premieres this week at Sundance. Cinetic has been ramping up management additions of late having also recently signed Betsy West and Julie Cohen (“Rbg”) of Storyville Films, both of whom executive produced Gutiérrez’s directorial debut.
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy- and Eddie-nominated documentary editor. She edited the Oscar-nominated films “Rbg” and “La Corona.” Her latest film as an editor, “Julia,” about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child, premiered at Telluride and was an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival. Gutiérrez also edited the Emmy-nominated “Pray Away.” Her work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, and the DuPont Columbia Awards. She has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab,...
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy- and Eddie-nominated documentary editor. She edited the Oscar-nominated films “Rbg” and “La Corona.” Her latest film as an editor, “Julia,” about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child, premiered at Telluride and was an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival. Gutiérrez also edited the Emmy-nominated “Pray Away.” Her work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, and the DuPont Columbia Awards. She has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
After three years of virtual and hybrid event offerings, the Sundance Film Festival is set to celebrate its fortieth anniversary with its most robust in-person edition of the festival since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. While online offerings will still be available to those who wish to participate from home, with the official online viewing window opening on Thursday, January 25. That lineup will include at-home screenings of the five competition sections (including Next).
On the ground, however, seems like the place to be. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden,...
On the ground, however, seems like the place to be. As ever, this year’s festival boasts a wide variety of new films from some of our favorite filmmakers, plus an assortment of rising stars, new talents to keep an eye on, and perhaps a few surprises.
This year’s program includes new films from Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Netflix has set a January 29 streaming premiere date for The Greatest Night in Pop, a feature doc just announced as world premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on the 19th of this month.
Directed by award winner Bao Nguyen (Be Water), the film takes viewers back to January 25, 1985, when dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a Los Angeles studio and checked their egos at the door amidst the recording of a song to benefit African famine relief — one that would alter global pop culture history. Chronicled in the doc is the massive undertaking to assemble the world’s most impressive supergroup in a time before cell phones and email. That group of artists, led by the song’s co-writers and two of the most significant musicians of the 20th century — Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie — came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.
Directed by award winner Bao Nguyen (Be Water), the film takes viewers back to January 25, 1985, when dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a Los Angeles studio and checked their egos at the door amidst the recording of a song to benefit African famine relief — one that would alter global pop culture history. Chronicled in the doc is the massive undertaking to assemble the world’s most impressive supergroup in a time before cell phones and email. That group of artists, led by the song’s co-writers and two of the most significant musicians of the 20th century — Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie — came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.
- 1/5/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinetic Media has signed directors Julie Cohen, Oren Jacoby and Betsy West. The management company will represent the Oscar-nominated filmmakers and their documentary company, Storyville Films, across all types of media.
Storyville Films was founded by Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by “strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation.” Jacoby, Cohen and West serve as Storyville’s directors. Their production and distribution partners include Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s “Rbg,” a documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was a box office hit and earned an Oscar nomination; as well as “Julia,” a look at Julia Childs’ legacy; and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” Jacoby’s films include “On Broadway,” “Constantine’s Sword” and “Sister Rose’s Passion,...
Storyville Films was founded by Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by “strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation.” Jacoby, Cohen and West serve as Storyville’s directors. Their production and distribution partners include Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios.
Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen’s “Rbg,” a documentary about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was a box office hit and earned an Oscar nomination; as well as “Julia,” a look at Julia Childs’ legacy; and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.” Jacoby’s films include “On Broadway,” “Constantine’s Sword” and “Sister Rose’s Passion,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSNotebook readers, rejoice—the Mubi Shop has launched anew in the US and UK, and you can finally broadcast your love for the world’s sharpest international film criticism via this stylish, crisply screen-printed Notebook tote bag, featuring a clapperboard calligram design. Also in the store is a Cannes Film Festival–themed print by Dutch artist and cartoonist Joost Swarte, which was commissioned for our limited-edition print broadsheet issue of Notebook, distributed in Cannes.Sundance announced its lineup last week, including new films from Jane Schoenbrun, Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, Yance Ford, Brett Story, and more. This will be the first Sundance under the directorship of Eugene Hernandez, formerly of Film at Lincoln Center.Keep that winter coat handy—the Berlinale has announced that Lupita Nyong’o will lead the jury.
- 12/13/2023
- MUBI
Documentary lovers are digesting the announcement of the Sundance nonfiction lineup, a slate of films certain to factor in awards conversation into next Oscar season.
“I think there’s a lot of discoveries in there,” Sundance Senior Nonfiction Programmer Basil Tsiokos says of the lineup revealed on Wednesday. “It’s a nice blend of new filmmakers and alumni, lots of different kinds of approaches to filmmaking… There’s biodocs, but there’s also films that are political. There’s films that are dealing with the environment. There’s lots of other things happening, so it’s a nice mix we think.”
Will Ferrell and Harper Steele ‘in Will & Harper’
Among the most eye-popping titles are Will & Harper, Josh Greenbaum’s nonfiction road movie about comedian Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, his close friend of 30 years who came out as trans. “The two decide to embark on a cross-country...
“I think there’s a lot of discoveries in there,” Sundance Senior Nonfiction Programmer Basil Tsiokos says of the lineup revealed on Wednesday. “It’s a nice blend of new filmmakers and alumni, lots of different kinds of approaches to filmmaking… There’s biodocs, but there’s also films that are political. There’s films that are dealing with the environment. There’s lots of other things happening, so it’s a nice mix we think.”
Will Ferrell and Harper Steele ‘in Will & Harper’
Among the most eye-popping titles are Will & Harper, Josh Greenbaum’s nonfiction road movie about comedian Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, his close friend of 30 years who came out as trans. “The two decide to embark on a cross-country...
- 12/8/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sundance Film Festival has always been about discovery. The reason so many agents, casting directors, producers, filmmakers, and executives attend the annual January festival is because they want to be there, on the ground, when the next Steven Soderbergh or Richard Linklater pops up. Or, even when they pop up again: Both veterans are bringing projects to this year’s fest.
While there was some trepidation going into this year’s programming selection that the post-pandemic production lull and two long strikes might impact the number or quality of submissions, lo and behold, the 2024 festival has broken the festival’s record with 17,435 submissions from 153 countries.
When we checked in (via a recent Zoom chat) with three Sundance executives to get the low-down on this year’s festival, they were bullish. And they had changes to share.
Every year, the Sundance Film Festival makes them; 2024 is no exception. For starters,...
While there was some trepidation going into this year’s programming selection that the post-pandemic production lull and two long strikes might impact the number or quality of submissions, lo and behold, the 2024 festival has broken the festival’s record with 17,435 submissions from 153 countries.
When we checked in (via a recent Zoom chat) with three Sundance executives to get the low-down on this year’s festival, they were bullish. And they had changes to share.
Every year, the Sundance Film Festival makes them; 2024 is no exception. For starters,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Providing our first glimpse at the next year in cinema, the 2024 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 82 films, eight episodic titles, and New Frontier interactive experiences. Taking place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024, the festival celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Notable highlights in this year’s edition includes Steven Soderbergh’s new Lucy Liu-led feature Presence, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales starring Pedro Pascal, the Zellners’ Sasquatch Sunset, Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Handling the Undead starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, the Saoirse Ronan-led The Outrun, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples starring Jason Schwartzman, Brett Story and Stephan Maing’s Amazon Labor Union documentary Union,...
Notable highlights in this year’s edition includes Steven Soderbergh’s new Lucy Liu-led feature Presence, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales starring Pedro Pascal, the Zellners’ Sasquatch Sunset, Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Handling the Undead starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, the Saoirse Ronan-led The Outrun, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples starring Jason Schwartzman, Brett Story and Stephan Maing’s Amazon Labor Union documentary Union,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Sundance Institute has announced the feature film lineup for the 2024 festival, taking place January 18-28, 2024, in person in Utah, along with a selection of films available online across the U.S. January 25-28. The lineup includes Competition titles; the Premieres, Spotlight, and Episodic sections; and the Midnight slate, with 82 feature-length films (representing 24 countries); eight episodic titles; and a New Frontier interactive experience. Of the films and episodic titles, 94 percent are world premieres — many of which appeared on IndieWire’s Sundance Wish List.
Many recognizable filmmakers are presenting new work this time around, including Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Yance Ford, Ramona S. Diaz, Rory Kennedy, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among many others.
Notable actors at the 2024 edition range from Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding” and alongside Steven Yeun in “Love Me,...
Many recognizable filmmakers are presenting new work this time around, including Steven Soderbergh, Debra Granik, David and Nathan Zellner, Richard Linklater, Lana Wilson, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Yance Ford, Ramona S. Diaz, Rory Kennedy, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among many others.
Notable actors at the 2024 edition range from Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding” and alongside Steven Yeun in “Love Me,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Sundance Institute on Thursday announced the eight participants selected for the fifth annual Momentum Fellowship, a program at the nonprofit designed to support and provide coaching to mid-career artists with a focus on career development.
Created to support storytellers from historically marginalized communities who have recently achieved a noteworthy accomplishment, such as a regarded feature film or series, Momentum provides fellows with a full-year program of deep, customized support around the goals they have identified for themselves to level up in their craft and career. The fellowship is a program of Women at Sundance with support from Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
The Momentum Fellowship includes an unrestricted artist grant; professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, supported by The Harnisch Foundation; connection to Elevate, Sundance’s professional development initiative; and bespoke year-round support from Sundance Institute staff. Additionally, as part of an ongoing partnership with Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team,...
Created to support storytellers from historically marginalized communities who have recently achieved a noteworthy accomplishment, such as a regarded feature film or series, Momentum provides fellows with a full-year program of deep, customized support around the goals they have identified for themselves to level up in their craft and career. The fellowship is a program of Women at Sundance with support from Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
The Momentum Fellowship includes an unrestricted artist grant; professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, supported by The Harnisch Foundation; connection to Elevate, Sundance’s professional development initiative; and bespoke year-round support from Sundance Institute staff. Additionally, as part of an ongoing partnership with Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team,...
- 3/2/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Red Crown Productions, the shingle behind films including “Honey Boy,” “Hello My Name is Doris” and “Beasts of No Nation,” is expanding into television — starting with a project based on the advent of the “if it bleeds, it leads” local TV news format.
Red Crown has optioned the television rights to “Lights Camera Crime,” a story for the Philadelphia Inquirer that was written by Layla A. Jones and ran on March 29, 2022 as part of the newspaper’s “A More Perfect Union” series.
The scripted project will adapt the story as a fictionalized scripted account, with Daniel Colameco set to write and Yance Ford (“Strong Island”) on board to direct. Red Crown’s Daniel Crown and Yoni Liebling will produce.
“A More Perfect Union was promoted as “a special project from The Inquirer examining the roots of systemic racism through institutions founded in Philadelphia,” and the article “Lights Camera Crime” looked...
Red Crown has optioned the television rights to “Lights Camera Crime,” a story for the Philadelphia Inquirer that was written by Layla A. Jones and ran on March 29, 2022 as part of the newspaper’s “A More Perfect Union” series.
The scripted project will adapt the story as a fictionalized scripted account, with Daniel Colameco set to write and Yance Ford (“Strong Island”) on board to direct. Red Crown’s Daniel Crown and Yoni Liebling will produce.
“A More Perfect Union was promoted as “a special project from The Inquirer examining the roots of systemic racism through institutions founded in Philadelphia,” and the article “Lights Camera Crime” looked...
- 2/7/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Multi-hyphenate Jay Chandrasekhar (Easter Sunday) has signed with Cinetic Media for management across all media.
Chandrasekhar is an actor, writer, entrepreneur and filmmaker, as well as a founding member of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard. His work with that group includes the cult favorite features Super Troopers, Super Troopers 2, Club Dread and Beerfest which he wrote, directed and starred in. He is also known for directing the 2005 hit remake of The Dukes of Hazzard for Warner Bros.
Chandrasekhar most recently directed the comedy Easter Sunday, starring comedian Jo Koy, for Universal and DreamWorks, which is slated for release on August 5th. The love letter to Koy’s Filipino-American community revolves around a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family. Chandrasekhar also co-wrote, executive produced, and co-starred in Searchlight’s upcoming film Quasi through his work with Broken Lizard. In addiiton,...
Chandrasekhar is an actor, writer, entrepreneur and filmmaker, as well as a founding member of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard. His work with that group includes the cult favorite features Super Troopers, Super Troopers 2, Club Dread and Beerfest which he wrote, directed and starred in. He is also known for directing the 2005 hit remake of The Dukes of Hazzard for Warner Bros.
Chandrasekhar most recently directed the comedy Easter Sunday, starring comedian Jo Koy, for Universal and DreamWorks, which is slated for release on August 5th. The love letter to Koy’s Filipino-American community revolves around a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his riotous, bickering, eating, drinking, laughing, loving family. Chandrasekhar also co-wrote, executive produced, and co-starred in Searchlight’s upcoming film Quasi through his work with Broken Lizard. In addiiton,...
- 6/2/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Alejandro Loayza Grisi and Santiago Loayza Grisi, the brother filmmakers behind Sundance prize winner Utama, have signed with Cinetic Media for management.
The title of the Bolivian filmmakers’ most recent work, which won the Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance 2022, translates to “our home.” The critically acclaimed eco-drama centers on an elderly Quechua couple in the Bolivian highlands that have been living the same daily life for years. During an uncommonly long drought, Virginio (José Calcina) and his wife Sisa (Luisa Quispe) face a dilemma: resist, or be defeated by the environment and time itself.
Utama is currently playing at the San Francisco Film Festival, and has been acquired by Kino Lorber for a theatrical release later this year. Alejandro wrote the film, which also marked his feature directorial debut. Santiago produced under their shingle Alma Films, where they’re partnered with their filmmaker father,...
The title of the Bolivian filmmakers’ most recent work, which won the Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance 2022, translates to “our home.” The critically acclaimed eco-drama centers on an elderly Quechua couple in the Bolivian highlands that have been living the same daily life for years. During an uncommonly long drought, Virginio (José Calcina) and his wife Sisa (Luisa Quispe) face a dilemma: resist, or be defeated by the environment and time itself.
Utama is currently playing at the San Francisco Film Festival, and has been acquired by Kino Lorber for a theatrical release later this year. Alejandro wrote the film, which also marked his feature directorial debut. Santiago produced under their shingle Alma Films, where they’re partnered with their filmmaker father,...
- 4/20/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: NBCU Academy and NBC News’ documentary division, NBC News Studios, have set Damon Davis (Chain of Rocks), Stephanie Wang-Breal (Florence from Ohio), Eric Juhola (The Queer Beat), Set Hernandez Rongkilyo (unseen), Brett Story and Stephen Maing (Untitled Labor Union Documentary), and Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler (Untitled Muscogee Nation Documentary) as the participants for their second annual Original Voices fellowship.
The program looks to support documentarians with projects in all stages of development, who identify as or—showcase stories highlighting social issues affecting—women, LGBTQ+, people with color, or people with disabilities. Each of the six filmmakers selected will receive a 60,000 grant, as well as the one-year artist development fellowship, designed to help them with the completion of their films. Fellows will also have access to archival research and production resources, as well as executives and journalists across NBC News Studios and the NBCUniversal News Group. NBCU News Group...
The program looks to support documentarians with projects in all stages of development, who identify as or—showcase stories highlighting social issues affecting—women, LGBTQ+, people with color, or people with disabilities. Each of the six filmmakers selected will receive a 60,000 grant, as well as the one-year artist development fellowship, designed to help them with the completion of their films. Fellows will also have access to archival research and production resources, as well as executives and journalists across NBC News Studios and the NBCUniversal News Group. NBCU News Group...
- 4/11/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Chris Smith, the four-time Emmy nominee who directed and exec produced Netflix’s true-crime docuseries Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives., has signed with Cinetic Media for management, bringing his Library Films production shingle with him.
Smith’s series Bad Vegan recently registered as a #1 hit on Netflix. It tells the stranger-than-fiction story of Sarma Melngailis, a celebrated vegan restaurateur who found her life veering off the rails, after marrying a mysterious man who claimed he could make her dog immortal.
Smith is known for his ability to craft culturally relevant narratives, documentaries and series that explore the essence of human behavior, often in humorous ways. He also recently directed and produced Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened and HBO’s 100 Foot Wave, and served as an exec producer on Netflix’s smash, Tiger King.
Smith’s first film, American Job, garnered him an Independent Spirit Award nomination,...
Smith’s series Bad Vegan recently registered as a #1 hit on Netflix. It tells the stranger-than-fiction story of Sarma Melngailis, a celebrated vegan restaurateur who found her life veering off the rails, after marrying a mysterious man who claimed he could make her dog immortal.
Smith is known for his ability to craft culturally relevant narratives, documentaries and series that explore the essence of human behavior, often in humorous ways. He also recently directed and produced Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened and HBO’s 100 Foot Wave, and served as an exec producer on Netflix’s smash, Tiger King.
Smith’s first film, American Job, garnered him an Independent Spirit Award nomination,...
- 4/7/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has selected Minhal Baig, Marion Hill, Ciara Lacy, Billy Luther, Chanelle Aponte Pearson, Mariem Pérez Riera, Jamila Wignot and Iman Zawahry for its fourth Momentum Fellowship, supporting professional development for mid-career artists from historically marginalized communities as they explore and develop their creative practice.
The eight fellows selected will participate in a full-year program tailored for each by Sundance Institute staffers, receiving access to unrestricted grant funding, as well as industry mentorship and meetings, a writing intensive, and professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, with support from The Harnisch Foundation. Additionally, as part of the Sundance Institute’s ongoing partnership with NBCUniversal, the studio will provide an opportunity for select Momentum fellows working on fiction projects to participate in the Universal Directors Initiative. The two-year, at-will initiative, led by Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team, provides access to NBCUniversal’s creative executives and producers to...
The eight fellows selected will participate in a full-year program tailored for each by Sundance Institute staffers, receiving access to unrestricted grant funding, as well as industry mentorship and meetings, a writing intensive, and professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, with support from The Harnisch Foundation. Additionally, as part of the Sundance Institute’s ongoing partnership with NBCUniversal, the studio will provide an opportunity for select Momentum fellows working on fiction projects to participate in the Universal Directors Initiative. The two-year, at-will initiative, led by Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team, provides access to NBCUniversal’s creative executives and producers to...
- 3/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO Max released the first trailer for upcoming comedy series “Minx,” starring Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson.
Set in 1970s Los Angeles, “Minx” follows Joyce (Lovibond) — a young feminist activist looking to launch a women’s magazine. When she can’t find anyone to publish her idea as is, she ends up teaming with a low-rent pornographic magazine publisher Doug (Johnson) to create the first erotic magazine for women. But when their creation “Minx” launches, it proves a lightning rod of controversy as protestors aim to shut it down.
The trailer shows Lovibond and Johnson’s characters launching the magazine and auditioning models, while teasing the tense dynamic between the two.
“God you love a pyrrhic victory,” Lovibond says to Johnson in the trailer. “I don’t know what that means so it doesn’t hurt my feelings,” Johnson replies.
In addition to Lovibond and Johnson, the cast also includes Idara Victor,...
Set in 1970s Los Angeles, “Minx” follows Joyce (Lovibond) — a young feminist activist looking to launch a women’s magazine. When she can’t find anyone to publish her idea as is, she ends up teaming with a low-rent pornographic magazine publisher Doug (Johnson) to create the first erotic magazine for women. But when their creation “Minx” launches, it proves a lightning rod of controversy as protestors aim to shut it down.
The trailer shows Lovibond and Johnson’s characters launching the magazine and auditioning models, while teasing the tense dynamic between the two.
“God you love a pyrrhic victory,” Lovibond says to Johnson in the trailer. “I don’t know what that means so it doesn’t hurt my feelings,” Johnson replies.
In addition to Lovibond and Johnson, the cast also includes Idara Victor,...
- 3/4/2022
- by Sasha Urban, Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Wilson Chapman
- Variety Film + TV
Louverture Films, the production company founded by actor Danny Glover and Joslyn Barnes, is moving into television as well as animation, gaming and installation works. With two new principal partners in situ, the expansion has enlisted a host of creatives, including directors Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Lucrecia Martel.
Co-founded by Glover and Barnes in 2005 — alongside long-time partners Susan Rockefeller and the Bertha Foundation’s Tony Tabatznik — the company has brought on board Sawsan Asfari and Jeffrey Clark as principal partners. Variety understands that the new partners will allow Louverture to access more funding resources.
In addition, producer Karin Chien, who on Sunday delivered a rousing Sundance Institute Producing Fellows’ keynote, is becoming a partner and executive VP. Meanwhile, Barnes has been promoted to president while Glover remains CEO and co-founder.
Louverture, named after Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture, has built its reputation on international and arthouse films and a strong theatrical documentary slate.
Co-founded by Glover and Barnes in 2005 — alongside long-time partners Susan Rockefeller and the Bertha Foundation’s Tony Tabatznik — the company has brought on board Sawsan Asfari and Jeffrey Clark as principal partners. Variety understands that the new partners will allow Louverture to access more funding resources.
In addition, producer Karin Chien, who on Sunday delivered a rousing Sundance Institute Producing Fellows’ keynote, is becoming a partner and executive VP. Meanwhile, Barnes has been promoted to president while Glover remains CEO and co-founder.
Louverture, named after Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture, has built its reputation on international and arthouse films and a strong theatrical documentary slate.
- 1/24/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Derek Nguyen, the award-winning writer, director and producer behind horror-romance The Housemaid (Cô Hầu Gái), has signed with Cinetic Media for management.
The Vietnamese American multihyphenate’s first feature follows an orphaned Vietnamese girl who is hired to be a housemaid at a haunted rubber plantation in French Indochina during the 1950s. IFC Films released it in theaters in 2016.
Nguyen also is producing an American adaptation of The Housemaid called Grave Hill from director Deon Taylor, which is slated for production this year, having penned the script with Oscar winner Geoffrey Fletcher. He exec produced the Tribeca-premiering thriller Catch the Fair One with Darren Aronofsky and has served as an associate producer on titles including The Long Dumb Road, The Tale, Buster’s Mal Heart, Lovesong and Addicted to Fresno. He is also a partner at the production company The Population with Mynette Louie.
Nguyen was a fellow at...
The Vietnamese American multihyphenate’s first feature follows an orphaned Vietnamese girl who is hired to be a housemaid at a haunted rubber plantation in French Indochina during the 1950s. IFC Films released it in theaters in 2016.
Nguyen also is producing an American adaptation of The Housemaid called Grave Hill from director Deon Taylor, which is slated for production this year, having penned the script with Oscar winner Geoffrey Fletcher. He exec produced the Tribeca-premiering thriller Catch the Fair One with Darren Aronofsky and has served as an associate producer on titles including The Long Dumb Road, The Tale, Buster’s Mal Heart, Lovesong and Addicted to Fresno. He is also a partner at the production company The Population with Mynette Louie.
Nguyen was a fellow at...
- 1/18/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Viola Davis is in talks to star in Two Butterflies, an Amazon drama based on an original idea and script by Evan Dodson, which will be directed by Strong Island‘s Yance Ford.
Two Butterflies follows two estranged sisters who are torn apart by tragedy and forced to reunite when one sister must be transported to an Alzheimer’s facility. Dodson became the youngest scribe ever to make the Black List of the year’s best unproduced screenplays when his script was selected in 2016.
Davis and Julius Tennon will produce the upcoming film for JuVee Productions, with Rob Hardy for Rainforest Entertainment.
Davis is an Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner best known for turns in films including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, The Help and Doubt, as well as for the role of criminal defense attorney Annalise Keating in ABC...
Two Butterflies follows two estranged sisters who are torn apart by tragedy and forced to reunite when one sister must be transported to an Alzheimer’s facility. Dodson became the youngest scribe ever to make the Black List of the year’s best unproduced screenplays when his script was selected in 2016.
Davis and Julius Tennon will produce the upcoming film for JuVee Productions, with Rob Hardy for Rainforest Entertainment.
Davis is an Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner best known for turns in films including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, The Help and Doubt, as well as for the role of criminal defense attorney Annalise Keating in ABC...
- 1/11/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The documentary “Attica” about the 1971 prison riot is all too timely as America continues to grapple with inequities in its criminal justice system. It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, followed by an October 29 theatrical release and a November 6 premiere on Showtime.
The film chronicles the events that transpired exactly 50 years ago. On September 9 of that year, more than 1,200 inmates took control of the facility, leaving dozens dead but bringing public attention to the abuses rampant in America’s prison system. Critics have described it as “devastating” and “harrowing,” an “essential film that can now stand as a definitive vision of that epochal event.”
SEEFilm documentary roundtable panel: Becoming Cousteau, A Cop Movie, My Name is Pauli Murray, Simple as Water, The Velvet Underground
It earned three Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director (Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry). Nelson has won...
The film chronicles the events that transpired exactly 50 years ago. On September 9 of that year, more than 1,200 inmates took control of the facility, leaving dozens dead but bringing public attention to the abuses rampant in America’s prison system. Critics have described it as “devastating” and “harrowing,” an “essential film that can now stand as a definitive vision of that epochal event.”
SEEFilm documentary roundtable panel: Becoming Cousteau, A Cop Movie, My Name is Pauli Murray, Simple as Water, The Velvet Underground
It earned three Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations, including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director (Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry). Nelson has won...
- 11/29/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Sundance Institute launched the inaugural Trans Possibilities Intensive and announced the first six artists who will participate in the three-day virtual program supporting transgender storytellers of color.
The selected fellows are Ava Davis, StormMiguel Florez, River Gallo, Carol Grant, Mitchell (MiSha) Owens, and Savannah Ward. Davis, an actor, writer, producer and advocate, will work on her film “The Waltz” during the intensive. Florez, an actor, filmmaker and musician, will work on “Welcome to Roswell.” Gallo, an actor, writer, model and activist repped by CAA and Management 360, will develop their short film “Ponyboi” into a feature. Screenwriter Grant will work on “Eurydice V.” Storyteller Mitchell (MiSha) Owens will work on “The Boy from Across Town.” Ward, a writer serving as executive story editor on “Cruel Summer,” will work on “Meta.”
The fellows were nominated by the Institute’s allied organizations, including organizations working explicitly with emerging transgender artists of color...
The selected fellows are Ava Davis, StormMiguel Florez, River Gallo, Carol Grant, Mitchell (MiSha) Owens, and Savannah Ward. Davis, an actor, writer, producer and advocate, will work on her film “The Waltz” during the intensive. Florez, an actor, filmmaker and musician, will work on “Welcome to Roswell.” Gallo, an actor, writer, model and activist repped by CAA and Management 360, will develop their short film “Ponyboi” into a feature. Screenwriter Grant will work on “Eurydice V.” Storyteller Mitchell (MiSha) Owens will work on “The Boy from Across Town.” Ward, a writer serving as executive story editor on “Cruel Summer,” will work on “Meta.”
The fellows were nominated by the Institute’s allied organizations, including organizations working explicitly with emerging transgender artists of color...
- 10/18/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute launched today the inaugural Trans Possibilities Intensive, a three-day virtual program focused on advancing transgender storytellers of color and their projects. Six artists have been selected for the intensive, where participants will work on their projects, sharpen their craft, develop community, and challenge the obstacles that often exclude transgender artists of color.
The intensive is designed and led by Moi Santos, Sundance Institute Outreach & Inclusion and Indigenous Programs Coordinator, and includes guidance from experienced creative advisors including Sam Feder, Yance Ford, Tourmaline, and Ro Haber.
The selected fellows include Ava Davis, StormMiguel Florez, River Gallo, Carol Grant, Mitchell (MiSha) Owens, and Savannah Ward. They were nominated by the Institute’s allied organizations, including organizations working with emerging transgender artists of color, and peers within the Sundance Artist Programs.
During the Intensive, fellows will participate in a robust schedule including group exercises and workshops, as well as collaborations with creative artist advisors.
The intensive is designed and led by Moi Santos, Sundance Institute Outreach & Inclusion and Indigenous Programs Coordinator, and includes guidance from experienced creative advisors including Sam Feder, Yance Ford, Tourmaline, and Ro Haber.
The selected fellows include Ava Davis, StormMiguel Florez, River Gallo, Carol Grant, Mitchell (MiSha) Owens, and Savannah Ward. They were nominated by the Institute’s allied organizations, including organizations working with emerging transgender artists of color, and peers within the Sundance Artist Programs.
During the Intensive, fellows will participate in a robust schedule including group exercises and workshops, as well as collaborations with creative artist advisors.
- 10/18/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Sundance Institute has set Ava Davis (The Waltz), StormMiguel Florez (Welcome to Roswell), River Gallo (Ponyboi), Carol Grant (Eurydice V), Mitchell (MiSha) Owens (The Boy from Across Town), and Savannah Ward (Meta) as the fellows for its inaugural Trans Possibilities Intensive, focused on advancing the careers of transgender storytellers of color.
These six creatives were nominated for the intensive by the Institute’s allied organizations, including some working explicitly with emerging transgender artists of color, and peers within the Sundance Artist Programs. During the three-day virtual program, they will continue to develop the projects they initially submitted for consideration, participating in group exercises and discipline-specific workshops, while working closely with creative artist advisors.
The intensive kicks off today at 10 a.m. Pt with Beyond the Tipping Point, an event hosted on the platform Sundance Collab, which will be open to the public and free to attend, centering on a...
These six creatives were nominated for the intensive by the Institute’s allied organizations, including some working explicitly with emerging transgender artists of color, and peers within the Sundance Artist Programs. During the three-day virtual program, they will continue to develop the projects they initially submitted for consideration, participating in group exercises and discipline-specific workshops, while working closely with creative artist advisors.
The intensive kicks off today at 10 a.m. Pt with Beyond the Tipping Point, an event hosted on the platform Sundance Collab, which will be open to the public and free to attend, centering on a...
- 10/18/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
A couple of pointed questions underpin filmmaker Grace Lee’s new podcast, Viewers Like Us: as she frames it in episode 1, “Why is PBS so white and how exactly did it designate Ken Burns as America’s Storyteller?”
The questions are linked, asserts Lee, whose directing and producing credits number a dozen documentaries, some of which have aired on PBS, including the 2020 docuseries Asian Americans. While she acknowledges the public broadcaster has afforded some opportunities to filmmakers of color, she says it’s nothing on the order of the resources lavished on Burns, director of The Civil War (1990), Jazz (2001) and many other PBS documentary series, including two this year alone: the six-hour long Hemingway and the eight-hour Muhammad Ali.
“His hundreds of hours of primetime programming are products of a system,” Lee charges in the podcast, “that for decades has prioritized his worldview at the expense of storytellers of color.
The questions are linked, asserts Lee, whose directing and producing credits number a dozen documentaries, some of which have aired on PBS, including the 2020 docuseries Asian Americans. While she acknowledges the public broadcaster has afforded some opportunities to filmmakers of color, she says it’s nothing on the order of the resources lavished on Burns, director of The Civil War (1990), Jazz (2001) and many other PBS documentary series, including two this year alone: the six-hour long Hemingway and the eight-hour Muhammad Ali.
“His hundreds of hours of primetime programming are products of a system,” Lee charges in the podcast, “that for decades has prioritized his worldview at the expense of storytellers of color.
- 10/14/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix’s awards hopefuls Robert Greene’s “Procession” and Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “A Cop Movie” are heading to Manhattan’s Paris Theater as part of its “New Directions in Documentary” series.
Both hybrid features, which are vying for a spot on this year’s Academy Award doc shortlist, will screen alongside previously celebrated form-bending docus in the upcoming series beginning Oct. 15.
Since 2019 Netflix has operated the 571-seat venue, which the streaming company uses year-round for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances.
Curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, the five-day public event will highlight and celebrate docus that combine elements of fiction and non-fiction into the fabric of their storytelling.
“ ‘Procession’ and ‘A Cop Movie’ are exciting and inventive movies that heighten the documentary form,” says Schwartz. “They find innovative ways to explore truth through deeply personal and dramatic subjects. Their work transcends the formulaic with rigorous fidelity to vision,...
Both hybrid features, which are vying for a spot on this year’s Academy Award doc shortlist, will screen alongside previously celebrated form-bending docus in the upcoming series beginning Oct. 15.
Since 2019 Netflix has operated the 571-seat venue, which the streaming company uses year-round for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives, and filmmaker appearances.
Curated by Paris Theater programmer David Schwartz, the five-day public event will highlight and celebrate docus that combine elements of fiction and non-fiction into the fabric of their storytelling.
“ ‘Procession’ and ‘A Cop Movie’ are exciting and inventive movies that heighten the documentary form,” says Schwartz. “They find innovative ways to explore truth through deeply personal and dramatic subjects. Their work transcends the formulaic with rigorous fidelity to vision,...
- 10/5/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
For journalist and filmmaker Laura Poitras, surveillance is a given. Before Poitras won an Oscar for her documentary about whistleblower Edward Snowden and his evidence around mass Nsa surveillance, she edited “Citizenfour” in Berlin because she feared the U.S. government would seize her source material. Now, she’s sharing the lessons that other documentarians need to protect their own work.
Poitras worked with the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Field of Vision to create a site that contains everything from how to create unguessable, four-layer passwords to a 20-page template for Risk Assessment and Security Protocol that asks filmmakers to consider security check-in procedures (time? place? method?), psychological security, and identifying the risk scenarios for your cover stories, if compromised.
Digital Security for Filmmakers includes quotes from fellow filmmakers like Lyric Cabral, who said she knew her work on 2015 FBI counterterrorism documentary “(T)error” was under surveillance, and “Strong Island” director Yance Ford,...
Poitras worked with the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Field of Vision to create a site that contains everything from how to create unguessable, four-layer passwords to a 20-page template for Risk Assessment and Security Protocol that asks filmmakers to consider security check-in procedures (time? place? method?), psychological security, and identifying the risk scenarios for your cover stories, if compromised.
Digital Security for Filmmakers includes quotes from fellow filmmakers like Lyric Cabral, who said she knew her work on 2015 FBI counterterrorism documentary “(T)error” was under surveillance, and “Strong Island” director Yance Ford,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
The Covid-19 pandemic affected the season 2 production of Showtime’s Work In Progress, but co-creator/executive producer/writer and star Abby McEnany said the defining crisis of 2020 will also be featured on-screen.
“Our show is based in reality,” she said. “I think of the way we did it, I’m really proud of the way she did it.”
During the series’ Atx Television Festival panel on Friday, McEnany joined showrunner Lilly Wachowski, co-star Celeste Pechous, writer Samantha Irby and director Yance Ford to talk all things Work In Progress, from the writing process to future storylines with moderator Trish Bendix.
Work In Progress, co-created by Tim Mason, wrapped its debut season just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down multiple industries including entertainment, McEnany recalled. The show was initially set to return for season 2 production in summer 2020 but restarted in February, granting the writers and creative team time to reflect on...
“Our show is based in reality,” she said. “I think of the way we did it, I’m really proud of the way she did it.”
During the series’ Atx Television Festival panel on Friday, McEnany joined showrunner Lilly Wachowski, co-star Celeste Pechous, writer Samantha Irby and director Yance Ford to talk all things Work In Progress, from the writing process to future storylines with moderator Trish Bendix.
Work In Progress, co-created by Tim Mason, wrapped its debut season just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down multiple industries including entertainment, McEnany recalled. The show was initially set to return for season 2 production in summer 2020 but restarted in February, granting the writers and creative team time to reflect on...
- 6/19/2021
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
There have been many documentaries about the gay liberation movement, equal rights and same-sex liberties for the queer community and the underrepresented and often obscured plight of transgender individuals, many of them tied to the decades-long AIDS crisis. But there has never been a doc that encapsulates all of them at once that also manages to be uplifting and non-foreboding as well — until “Pride.”
FX’s six-episode nonfiction series “Pride” covers these issues and much more. Beginning with the 1950s through current day, it often eschews a standard talking-heads approach (all well worth hearing) to narrow down its narrative, sometimes even framing people in side-view versus head-on, to create an extra sense of vulnerability.
“Everybody had the desire and the goal to give voice to people who hadn’t normally been spotlighted in these films,” says editor Rosella Tursi, who worked on the back three episodes, which cover the ’80s to 2020s.
FX’s six-episode nonfiction series “Pride” covers these issues and much more. Beginning with the 1950s through current day, it often eschews a standard talking-heads approach (all well worth hearing) to narrow down its narrative, sometimes even framing people in side-view versus head-on, to create an extra sense of vulnerability.
“Everybody had the desire and the goal to give voice to people who hadn’t normally been spotlighted in these films,” says editor Rosella Tursi, who worked on the back three episodes, which cover the ’80s to 2020s.
- 6/19/2021
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
Every June, a barrage of LGBTQ media and news coverage arrives to announce the beginning of Pride month. The final season of FX’s groundbreaking drama “Pose” debuted in May, and Hulu’s adorable teen coming out story “Love, Victor” will return in two weeks. But for those seeking an engaging and accessible history lesson in the LGBTQ movement, FX’s six-part docuseries “Pride” is a delightful and substantive addition to the canon of Pride-related content. By giving queer filmmakers full creative control, “Pride” goes way beyond the conventional narrative of LGBTQ history.
Part political history, part cultural record, each of “Pride’s” six episodes follow a single decade, beginning with the McCarthyism of the 1950s and ending with the growing mainstream acceptance of the 2000s. Produced by FX, Vice, and Killer Films, each episode is directed by different queer filmmakers who were given full creative license on what to feature.
Part political history, part cultural record, each of “Pride’s” six episodes follow a single decade, beginning with the McCarthyism of the 1950s and ending with the growing mainstream acceptance of the 2000s. Produced by FX, Vice, and Killer Films, each episode is directed by different queer filmmakers who were given full creative license on what to feature.
- 5/29/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
It’s a truism that coming of age as a young queer person is a challenge in part because one’s own cultural heritage is not, in the mainstream, commonly taught. The AIDS epidemic wiped out so much life, so much culture, and so many potential guides; before that, the private lives of queer people looked unintelligible to those in the position to record history.
Into this gap strides FX’s “Pride,” a series of six documentaries. All running around 45 minutes, these films, together, attempt to tell the story of LGBTQ life in America in the late 20th century through the early 21st century. It’s an earnest goal, met with talent, ingenuity and seriousness of purpose. Only the reactions from cis and straight people have changed. Queer and trans Americans have always been here.
The six films, produced by Vice and Christine Vachon’s Killer Films, each appraise a different decade,...
Into this gap strides FX’s “Pride,” a series of six documentaries. All running around 45 minutes, these films, together, attempt to tell the story of LGBTQ life in America in the late 20th century through the early 21st century. It’s an earnest goal, met with talent, ingenuity and seriousness of purpose. Only the reactions from cis and straight people have changed. Queer and trans Americans have always been here.
The six films, produced by Vice and Christine Vachon’s Killer Films, each appraise a different decade,...
- 5/14/2021
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
FX is kicking off Pride Month a few weeks early with its upcoming documentary series Pride. A six-part documentary that spotlights the fight for LGBTQ civil rights across the decades, Pride comes from LGBTQ filmmakers Tom Kalin, Andrew Ahn, Cheryl Dunye, Anthony Caronna, Alex Smith, Yance Ford and Ro Haber as they examine the history of LGBTQ pride from the 1950s through the 2000s. Watch the Pride first look […]
The post ‘Pride’ First Look: FX Documentary Series Spotlights the Fight for LGBTQ Civil Rights appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Pride’ First Look: FX Documentary Series Spotlights the Fight for LGBTQ Civil Rights appeared first on /Film.
- 5/10/2021
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
FX’s upcoming docuseries about the fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights in America, “Pride,” has set its full director slate and lined up a May premiere date at the cable network.
The six-part series, which will begin with the 1950s and work forward through the decades, will see six LGBTQ+ directors explore stories ranging from the FBI surveillance of homosexuals during the 1950s Lavender Scare to the “Culture Wars” of the 1990s and beyond. Civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, writer Audre Lord and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Lester Hunt are among those interviewed for the series.
Directors include Tom Kalin (“Swoon”), Andrew Ahn (“Driveways”), Cheryl Dunye (“The Watermelon Woman”), Anthony Caronna and Alex Smith (“Susanne Bartsch: On Top”), Yance Ford (“Strong Island”) and Ro Haber (“Pose”).
The series will premiere with its first three episodes airing back-to-back on May 14. The second half of the series will air the following week...
The six-part series, which will begin with the 1950s and work forward through the decades, will see six LGBTQ+ directors explore stories ranging from the FBI surveillance of homosexuals during the 1950s Lavender Scare to the “Culture Wars” of the 1990s and beyond. Civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, writer Audre Lord and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Lester Hunt are among those interviewed for the series.
Directors include Tom Kalin (“Swoon”), Andrew Ahn (“Driveways”), Cheryl Dunye (“The Watermelon Woman”), Anthony Caronna and Alex Smith (“Susanne Bartsch: On Top”), Yance Ford (“Strong Island”) and Ro Haber (“Pose”).
The series will premiere with its first three episodes airing back-to-back on May 14. The second half of the series will air the following week...
- 3/30/2021
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Fresh from brokering a big Sundance deal for music doc Summer Of Soul, John Sloss’s Cinetic has signed blue-chip producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler and their Killer Films banner for representation in all areas.
Founded in 1995 by Vachon and Koffler, Killer Films is one of the pre-eminent indie film producers in the business, known for a string of festival and awards favourites such as Far From Heaven, Boys Don’t Cry, Velvet Goldmine, I’m Not There, Still Alice and Carol. TV hits have included This American Life, Mrs. Harris and five-time Emmy-winner Mildred Pierce.
The company recently wrapped Netflix’s Ryan Murphy limited series Halston and just signed a two-year first look deal with MGM for film and TV.
The representation pact cements a long-standing collaboration between Sloss, Vachon and Koffler who have worked together on numerous projects. It will see Cinetic exclusively rep the company as it...
Founded in 1995 by Vachon and Koffler, Killer Films is one of the pre-eminent indie film producers in the business, known for a string of festival and awards favourites such as Far From Heaven, Boys Don’t Cry, Velvet Goldmine, I’m Not There, Still Alice and Carol. TV hits have included This American Life, Mrs. Harris and five-time Emmy-winner Mildred Pierce.
The company recently wrapped Netflix’s Ryan Murphy limited series Halston and just signed a two-year first look deal with MGM for film and TV.
The representation pact cements a long-standing collaboration between Sloss, Vachon and Koffler who have worked together on numerous projects. It will see Cinetic exclusively rep the company as it...
- 2/5/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
In 1981, Vito Russo, one of GLAAD’s founders, published “The Celluloid Closet,” the essential reference guide to the history of gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters in film. In the 1995 Emmy-winning documentary based on his work, narrator Lily Tomlin said: “Hollywood, the great maker of myths, taught straight people what to think about gays and gay people what to think about themselves.”
That same observation is certainly true for transgender people, their friends and family members. Twenty-five years after “The Celluloid Closet” documentary, “Disclosure” director Sam Feder and executive producer Laverne Cox deconstruct 100 years of transgender stereotypes in film and TV. “Disclosure” takes a critical look at media portrayals of trans people from the silent film era to now, and puts 30 transgender people on screen to share how those portrayals impacted them and those who love them.
My mother-in-law called me a few weeks ago and was thrilled to report that...
That same observation is certainly true for transgender people, their friends and family members. Twenty-five years after “The Celluloid Closet” documentary, “Disclosure” director Sam Feder and executive producer Laverne Cox deconstruct 100 years of transgender stereotypes in film and TV. “Disclosure” takes a critical look at media portrayals of trans people from the silent film era to now, and puts 30 transgender people on screen to share how those portrayals impacted them and those who love them.
My mother-in-law called me a few weeks ago and was thrilled to report that...
- 2/3/2021
- by Sarah Kate Ellis
- The Wrap
Neon has made the first acquisition out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, taking North American rights to Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee for an undisclosed seven-figure sum after an overnight bidding war.
The film, executive produced by Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, was an official selection for Cannes 2020 and made its debut on opening night of Sundance in the World Documentary Competition. Rasmussen directed and co-wrote the movie with Amin Nawabi.
Playing in the world premiere section, Flee follows Nawabi, who arrives as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his longtime boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built. Recounted mostly through animation to Rasmussen — his close friend and high school classmate, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.
The film, executive produced by Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, was an official selection for Cannes 2020 and made its debut on opening night of Sundance in the World Documentary Competition. Rasmussen directed and co-wrote the movie with Amin Nawabi.
Playing in the world premiere section, Flee follows Nawabi, who arrives as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his longtime boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built. Recounted mostly through animation to Rasmussen — his close friend and high school classmate, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.
- 1/29/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The filmmakers behind the Netflix documentary “Disclosure” were presented with an official proclamation from the City of West Hollywood by Mayor Lindsey Horvath on Wednesday night. Director Sam Feder and executive producer Laverne Cox received the honor during the City of West Hollywood’s Human Right Speakers series.
In addition to Feder and Cox, other panelists included Drian Juarez, the vice president of TransCanWork and vice president of the City of West Hollywood Transgender advisory board. The free virtual discussion was moderated by newly elected City Council member John Erickson.
The proclamation formally recognized “Disclosure” for its significant contributions to the transgender community. After the honor was presented, panelists engaged in an hourlong conversation discussing the mentoring model behind the documentary, which prioritized hiring trans people for their production crew. In the case where the filmmakers were unable to hire a trans person for a specific position, the non-trans person...
In addition to Feder and Cox, other panelists included Drian Juarez, the vice president of TransCanWork and vice president of the City of West Hollywood Transgender advisory board. The free virtual discussion was moderated by newly elected City Council member John Erickson.
The proclamation formally recognized “Disclosure” for its significant contributions to the transgender community. After the honor was presented, panelists engaged in an hourlong conversation discussing the mentoring model behind the documentary, which prioritized hiring trans people for their production crew. In the case where the filmmakers were unable to hire a trans person for a specific position, the non-trans person...
- 1/28/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
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