2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Shorts Film Tour

Posted on May 29, 2024 by admin

The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour, a 110-minute program of seven short films curated from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

The short film tour will play in locations across the country and internationally throughout 2024 and into 2025. Filmgoers can enjoy this assortment of short films in over 50 theaters and independent art house venues. This specially curated selection is full of drama and thrills, including eye-opening and heartwarming indie shorts and a few jury prize winners that offer a peek into the Festival program.

For four decades, the Sundance Film Festival has supported short filmmaking, showcasing the work of many now-prominent independent feature filmmakers such as Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, Wes Anderson, and many others.
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Doris Duke Foundation Announces $1M Grant to Sundance Institute Expanding Commitment to Uplifting Muslim Storytelling

Posted on April 28, 2024 by admin

The Doris Duke Foundation is pleased to announce its continued commitment to uplifting Muslim stories through a $1 million grant to Sundance Institute. Through a three-year commitment, the grant establishes the Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund. The fellowship aims to provide financial and creative resources, mentorship, and support to filmmakers, producers, and other creators focused on telling Muslim-related stories while also offering community and network support with other creatives in the industry. The Completion Fund for features, shorts, and episodic content will offer non recoupable grants to support the launch of Muslim-focused films and episodic content. The fellowship and fund not only foster creativity but also equip fellows with the necessary skills and financial resources to navigate the entertainment landscape.

“Great stories change hearts and minds — but only those hearts and minds they can reach,” said Sam Gill, President and CEO of Doris Duke Foundation. “The Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund will elevate the fresh voices and stories we so desperately need in our fractured society.”

“For nearly 20 years, the Doris Duke Foundation has worked to create inclusive spaces for artists and creators to tell authentic Muslim stories,” said Zeyba Rahman, Director of the Building Bridges Program at the Doris Duke Foundation. “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with the Sundance Institute and Islamic Scholarship Fund to create the Building Bridges Fellowship program, ensuring these emerging talents have access to the very best the industry has to offer and greater opportunities to bring their stories to life. The Building Bridges Completion Fund aims to reduce the barriers for filmmakers to connect with their audiences to ensure that their stories reach and resonate with them.”
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2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Award Winners

Posted on January 26, 2024 by admin

Sundance Film Festival

Today the jury and audience award-winning films for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival were announced during a ceremony at The Ray Theatre in Park City. The Awards Ceremony occurred two days before the conclusion of the Festival, taking place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024. This year marks the 40th edition of the Festival, bringing together audiences in Utah and beyond to celebrate Sundance’s rich history of supporting engaging new stories and groundbreaking independent artists. Live updates were shared on the Sundance Film Festival’s official social media accounts throughout the duration of the awards ceremony.

The award-winning films will screen in person and via the online Festival platform on Saturday, January 27, and Sunday, January 28. Tickets for all award-winning films are currently available at festival.sundance.org.

The jury and audience-awarded prizes include Grand Jury Prizes awarded to In The Summers (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Porcelain War (U.S. Documentary Competition), Sujo (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and A New Kind of Wilderness (World Cinema Documentary Competition). The NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was awarded to Little Death.
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2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Film Award Winners

Posted on January 24, 2024 by admin

Tonight at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival the short film jury awards were announced during the Shorts Awards Party presented by Argo and WeShort at The Park in Park City.

The Festival, which kicked off on January 18 and runs through January 28 in person and across the country online, has long been known as the premiere showcase of short filmmaking talent. The Short Film Grand Jury Prize, awarded to one film in the program of 53 shorts selected from 12,098 submissions, went to The Masterpiece, directed and written by Alex Lora Cercos. This year’s Short Film jurors are Christina Oh, Danny Pudi, and Charlotte Regan – all of whom are Festival Alumni in honor of the Festival’s 40th Edition.

“This has been another amazing year for shorts – most of the filmmakers in the program are coming to Sundance for the first time ever, and we are excited to get their films to audiences and the film industry.” said Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Films. “The award winners are a great reflection of the vibrant ideas and styles that filmmakers are inventing in these times within the short form.”

Short Film awards winners in previous years include When You Left Me On That Boulevard by Kayla Abuda Galang, The Headhunter’s Daughter by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, Lizard by Akinola Davies Jr., So What If the Goats Die by Sofia Alaoui, Aziza by Saudade Kaadan, Matria by Álvaro Gago, And so we put goldfish in the pool. by Makoto Nagahisa, Thunder Road by Jim Cummings, World of Tomorrow by Don Hertzfeldt, Of Gods and Dogs by Abounaddara Collective.
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Sundance 2024: “Rob Peace” Premieres At Sundance

Posted on January 22, 2024 by admin

By Armando

“Rob Peace” premiere AIP Imaging

The biographical drama written and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor premiered today Monday, January 22nd, at Sundance.

The film follows Robert Peace, who grew up in an impoverished section of Newark and later graduated from Yale with degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry while on scholarship. Peace led a dual life in academia and research while also earning six figures selling marijuana.

“Rob Peace” is based on Jeff Hobbs biography The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs.

The film stars Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, Camila Cabello, Michael Kelly and Mare Winningham.

Below are photos from the premiere of “Rob Peace” Premieres At Sundance 2024.

Photos: aipimaging.com

Sundance 2024: “ Hit Man” Premieres At Sundance

Posted on January 22, 2024 by admin

By Armando

Director Richard Linklater and actor Glen Powell were at the Sundance Film Festival today, Monday, for the premiere of their film ‘Hitman,’ an upcoming action comedy which they co-wrote.

Following the success of his recent romantic comedy ‘Anyone but You,’ which grossed over $100 million worldwide, Glen Powell is once again in the spotlight with ‘Hit Man.’

The action comedy has been gaining considerable buzz since its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival last September, where it played to strong reviews.

Below are photos from the premiere of “ Hit Man” premieres at Sundance 2024. Among those in attendance were the film’s co-stars Austin Amelio, Sanjay Rao, Evan Holtzman, Gralen Banks, and some of the film’s producers

Photos: AIPimaging.com

“Luther: Never Too Much” Doc Premies at Sundance 2024

Posted on January 21, 2024 by admin

Sundance Film Festival

Directed by Dawn Porter, “Luther: Never Too Much,” the documentary film, chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso. Using a wealth of rarely seen archives, Luther tells his own story with assistance from his closest friends and musical collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson and Roberta Flack.

The film relives the many stunning moments of Luther’s musical career, while exploring his unrequited love life, health struggles, and a lifelong battle to earn the respect his music deserved.

It features Fonzi Thornton, Robin Clark, Carlos Alomar, Danyel Smith, Jon Platt, Ava Cherry, Seveda Williams, Nile Rodgers, Valerie Simpson, Deborah McDuffie, Marcus Miller, Nat Adderley Jr., Jamie Foxx, Lisa Fischer, Kevin Owens, Richard Marx, Clive Davis, Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Max Szadek

“Luther: Never Too Much” is set to premiere today at 2024 Sundance Film Festival
and arrives nearly 20 years after the eight-time Grammy winner died in 2005 at age 54

“Sebastian” Premieres At Sundance 2024

Posted on January 21, 2024 by admin

By Armando

sebastian Written and directed by Mikko Mäkelä (A Moment in the Reeds), the queer drama had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2024 on January 21, 2023 at 6:30PM at The Library Center Theater, Park City, under the World Cinema Dramatic Competition on Sunday.

“Sebastian” stars Ruaridh Mollica (“Too Rough”) as Max, a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London, who begins a double life as a sex worker in order to research his debut novel.

Also in the film are Jonathan Hyde (Titanic), Hiftu Quasem (“The Witcher”), Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson (The Northman), Leanne Best (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens), and Lara Rossi (“I May Destroy You”)

Produced by James Watson with executive producers Mike Goodridge (Triangle of Sadness) and Lizzie Francke (Aftersun).

Ahead of the premiere, LevelK has announced it has acquired the international rights to the film.

Update: “Sebastian” cast and crew red carpet premiere at Sundance 2024

Sundance 2024: DIG! XX’ by Ondi Timoner Returns to Sundance 20 Years Later

Posted on January 21, 2024 by admin

DIG-XX DIG! XX is the 20th anniversary expanded, remastered and reimagined edition of the rock doc DIG!, which looks at the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of two dueling rock bands — The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre — now over 27 years on, which adds new narration by The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Joel Gion and features 40+ minutes of never-before-seen footage.

“Twenty years ago, we had 2,500 hours of footage and a five-hour cut, so a lot of really great stuff hit the cutting room floor,” said DIG! XX director and producer Ondi Timoner.“A lot of those tapes are over a quarter century old — so if we wanted to share more of this crazy story, it was now or never…” says Ondi Timoner

Shot over seven years, DIG! (2004) won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance FIlm Festival. It intimately explores the star-crossed friendship and bitter rivalry between Anton Newcombe, leader of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Courtney Taylor, leader of The Dandy Warhols.
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Comedy Drama “Winner” Premieres At Sundance 2024

Posted on January 20, 2024 by admin

By Armando

The black comedy drama “Winner” premiered today at Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Emilia Jones as Reality Winner, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former NSA translator that is the subject of the film.