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Posted Oct 6, 2020 • 40 notes
Posted May 28, 2020 • 38 notes
Short Film Spotlight: Broken Orchestra (dir. Charlie Tyrell)
The Symphony for a Broken Orchestra project collected hundreds of broken instruments from the Philadelphia public school system, fixed them, and then returned them to the hands of students.
Film stills and poster courtesy of Broken Orchestra.
Posted May 14, 2020 • 15 notes
Have you ever wanted to experience the summer labs at Utah’s very own Sundance Resort? While we’ve transitioned these labs to digital platforms, we put together a few beauty shots from over the years as a part of the US National Archives’ #ArchivesVirtualVisit to give you an inside look.
Posted May 8, 2020 • 27 notes
“Did you know your foot’s as big as your arm from your elbow to your wrist?” That’s a little bit of trivia offered by Julia Roberts’ Vivian in the 1990 film Pretty Woman. Another bit of trivia for you: Pretty Woman actually had its beginnings as a Sundance lab project! In 1988, screenwriter J.F. Lawton (above) attended the Screenwriters and Directors Labs to workshop his script, then titled Three Thousand.
Since the film recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of its release, we thought we would share some photos taken on set of the project during the Directors Lab that year.
Resource actors Pamela Gidley and Peter Gallagher work on a scene directed by lab fellow Jim Simpson. © 1988 | John Schaefer
Portrait of Pamela Gidley in character as Vivian © 1988 | John Schaefer
Posted May 2, 2020 • 7 notes
Some of the biggest moments and movements in modern human history have been (or are being) carefully documented by independent artists working in film, theatre, VR, music, and beyond.
For Preservation Week, we’ve highlighted a selection of Sundance-supported stories told by extraordinary artists during extraordinary times that must be seen and remembered. Read the full blog post Preserving the Record: Why Storytelling Is So Vital in Times Like These.
1. Trouble the Water film still. Courtesy Trouble the Water.
2. Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance film still. Courtesy of Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance.
Posted Apr 27, 2020 • 80 notes
Director and screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood workshopped her award winning film Love & Basketball at the 1998 Directors Lab and premiered it two years later at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
This month marks 20 years since Love & Basketball’s release and ESPN recently posted an interview with Prince-Bythewood, along with the cast and crew of the groundbreaking film and it’s definitely worth checking out, ‘Love & Basketball’: An oral history of the film that changed the game.
1. DP Alicia Weber, director/screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood, actors Tamala Jones and Richard Jones, and crew chief Craig Sullivan during the 1998 Directors Lab. © 1998 | Photo by Unknown
2. Love & Basketball film still. Courtesy of Love & Basketball.
Posted Apr 16, 2020 • 27 notes
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Exit Through the Gift Shop in theaters. This acclaimed documentary premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as a surprise screening. Fittingly, as the film itself has its share of secrets and mysteries, such as whether or not the whole premise of the film is entirely fake. The mystery at the crux of it all is a question that remains as captivating and flummoxing as ever: who IS Banksy?
The above photos are stencil pieces purportedly created by Banksy in Park City, UT, while in attendance for the film’s premiere. Credit: © 2010 Sundance Institute | Photos by Eric Tsou
Below is a still of Banksy from Exit Through the Gift Shop, courtesy of Paraoid Pictures.
Posted Apr 10, 2020 • 10 notes
Longtime alum Roger Ross Williams’ new documentary tells the rich history of the Apollo Theater in Harlem – The Apollo is available to stream for free in April on HBO.
“It’s 85 years of the history of black music and black entertainment in this country. We used music and art to lift ourselves out of oppression.”
- Roger Ross Williams
Williams received a 2011 Sundance Documentary Fund Grant for his first feature length documentary God Loves Uganda, attended the Documentary Edit and Story Lab with the film in 2012, and premiered it during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Life, Animated, Roger Ross Williams’ second feature documentary, premiered at the 2016 Festival and won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary.
Most recently Roger Ross Williams attended the 2019 Sundance Film Festival with Traveling While Black, an installation and VR experience at New Frontier.
Stream The Apollo on HBO and check out the trailer below:
Photo of Roger Ross Williams during the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Life, Animated. © 2016 Sundance Institute | Photo by Jonathan Hickerson
Posted Mar 27, 2020 • 15 notes
In honor of World Theatre Day, we’re highlighting theatre artists and the work they do.
(pictured above) Director Chay Yew during a rehearsal of There’s Always the Hudson at the 2017 Theatre Lab.
Andre De Shields participates in a reading of Lemon Andersen’s ToasT at the 2012 Theatre Lab. De Shields was most recently in the 2019 Best Musical Tony Award winner, Hadestown.
Playwright and composer Jeanine Tesori works with Judy Kuhn, Raul Esparza, and Beth Malone on Fun Home at the 2012 Theatre Lab. Fun Home went on to win 5 Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical.
Posted Mar 20, 2020 • 19 notes
© 2017 Sundance Institute | Photo by Herve Hote
Self-isolating got you down? Take this as an opportunity to finally see all those films you keep moving to your “Watch Later” list. Here are a few feel-good Sundance faves that we love to get you started.