Let’s say you’re a diehard follower of the independent film scene. Probably not too much of a stretch, given the website you’re reading right now. There’s a pretty good chance then that even as we speak, you may very well be elbowing your way through four-foot snowdrifts and wrestling with the Wasatch Front’s infamously scattershot Wi-Fi in order to navigate the annual Sundance Film Festival—which kicks off tonight, January 24. (And just a quick pro-tip from a onetime Park City local: the liverwurst sandwiches at Leger’s Deli can’t be beat.)

Then again, not everyone has the means (or patience) to battle the overcrowded flights and oft-treacherous canyon drives to attend the festival in person; for a lot of us, we’ll be soaking up all of the garrulous Sundance chatter from the comfort of our Twitter feed. But whether you’re observing from afar or in person, whether you’re a filmmaker, fan, journalist or simply a curious observer of free-range cineastes in their natural environment, there’s a lot to be excited about. Not least of all, which is the presence of so freakin’ many Film Independent Fellows.

Like a suburban soccer parent flush with bumper stickers, we’re proud to tout 53 individual Film Independent Fellows boasting projects at Sundance 2019—representing 40 separate projects, two of which (Selah and the Spades and Give Me Liberty) have been directly supported by Film Independent’s Lab Programs, Project Involve and Fast Track. So—let’s meet ‘em!

 

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

• Kathryn Bostic, composer, Clemency
  • Project Involve, 2005
• Carolina Costa, cinematographer, Hala
  • Project Involve, 2014
• Debra Eisenstadt, writer/director/producer/editor, Imaginary Order
  • Grant/award winner, 2002
• Justin Chon, writer/director, Ms. Purple
  • Grant/award winner, 2018
• Ante Cheng, cinematographer, Ms. Purple
  • Project Involve, 2018
• Carly Hugo, producer, Share
  • Fast Track, 2014
• Lulu Wang, writer/director, The Farewell
  • Project Involve, 2014
  • Grant/award winner, 2014
• Kimberly Parker, executive producer, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  • Fast Track, 2018
• Sydney Lowe, associate producer, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
  • Project Involve, 2019
• Eric Lin, cinematographer, The Sound of Silence
  • Directing Lab, 2009
  • Fast Track, 2009
• Laura Smith, producer, To the Stars
  • Producing Lab, 2012
  • Fast Track, 2014
• Jonathan Duffy, co-executive producer, Before You Know It, executive producer, Light From Light and The Sound of Silence
  • Fast Track, 2016

 

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

• Nanfu Wang, director, One Child Nation
  • Grant/award winner, 2017
• P.J. Raval, co-producer, Pahokee
  • Documentary Lab, 2011
  • Fast Track, 20112
• Kathryn Bostic, composer, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
  • Project Involve, 2005

 

NEXT

• Kirill Mikhanovsky, writer/director, Give Me Liberty
  • Fast Track, 2015
• Rhys Ernst, director, Adam
  • Project Involve, 2014
• Alice Austen, writer, Give Me Liberty
  • Fast Track, 2015
• Ryan Zacarias, executive producer, Give Me Liberty
  • Producing Lab, 2016
  • Grant/award winner, 2016, 2018
• Toby Halbrooks, producer, Light From Light
  • Grant/award winner, 2014
• James Johnston, producer, Light From Light
  • Grant/award winner, 2014
• Kelly Williams, producer, Light From Light
  • Fast Track, 2016
• Darren Dean, producer, Premature
  • Fast Track, 2011
• Joy Ganes, producer, Premature
  • Project Involve, 2011
• Drew Houpt, producer, Selah and the Spades
  • Producing Lab, 2015
  • Fast Track, 2017
• Lauren McBride, producer, Selah and the Spades
  • Producing Lab, 2018
• Jomo Fray, cinematographer, Selah and the Spades
  • Project Involve, 2017
  • Grant/award winner, 2017
• Ted Speaker, co-producer/line producer, The Death of Dick Long
  • Fast Track, 2013
• Darren Dean, producer, The Infiltrators
  • Fast Track, 2011
• Aldo Velasco, editor, The Infiltrators
  • Project Involve, 2005
  • Fast Track, 2007, 2013
  • Directing Lab, 2013
• Felipe Dieppa, executive producer, The Wolf Hour
  • Producing Lab, 2014
  • Fast Track, 2014
  • Grant/award winner, 2014
• Linda Moran, executive producer, The Wolf Hour
  • Grant/award winner, 2002

 

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Steven Berger, executive producer, Lorena
  • Project Involve, 2014
  • Fast Track, 2014, 2017, 2018

 

PREMIERES

• Chris Stinson, line producer, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
  • Producing Lab, 2004
• Neil Kopp, producer, Photograph
  • Grant/award winner, 2008
• Anish Savjani, producer, Photograph
  • Grant/award winner, 2011

 

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES

• Stephanie Levy, producer, Halston
  • Documentary Lab, 2015
  • Grant/award winner, 2015
• Pedro Kos, writer, The Great Hack
  • Fast Track, 2018
• Judy Korin, producer, The Great Hack
  • Fast Track, 2018

 

SPOTLIGHT

• Ryan Zacarias, producer, The Mountain
  • Producing Lab, 2016

 

INDIE EPISODIC

• Michelle Lawler, cinematographer, Girls Weekend
  • Project Involve, 2013
• Jim Frohna, executive producer, It’s Not about Jimmy Keene
  • Directing Lab, 2001

 

U.S. NARRATIVE SHORT FORM

• Mary Evangelista, director/writer, Fran This Summer
  • Project Involve, 2019
• Farhad Dehlvi, cinematographer, Green
  • Project Involve, 2017
• Amber Sealey, director/writer, How Does it Start
  • Fast Track, 2013
  • Directing Lab, 2013
• Ava Berkofsky, cinematographer, How Does It Start
  • Project Involve, 2014
• Jason Berman, executive producer, Lavender
  • Fast Track, 2009

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FORM

• Musa Syeed, director/writer, The Dispossessed
  • Grant/award winner, 2012

 

NEW FRONTIER SHORTS

• Terence Nance, director/writer/editor, As Told To G/D Thyself
  • Project Involve, 2016

 

MIDNIGHT SHORTS

• Steak House, co-producer, Docking
  • Fast Track, 2013
  • Producing Lab, 2008
• Nikyatu Jusu, co-producer, Suicide by Sunlight
  • Fast Track, 2013
• Nikkia Moulterie, director/writer/producer, Suicide by Sunlight
  • Fast Track, 2013
• Terence Nance, executive producer, Suicide by Sunlight
  • Project Involve, 2016

 

ANIMATED SHORTS

• Siqi Song, director/writer, Sister
  • Project Involve, 2018

 

COLLECTION

• Christopher Munch, director/writer, The Hours and Times
  • Grant/award winner, 1996
  • Fast Track, 2013
  • Grant/award winner, 2013

 

To learn more about Film Independent’s Programs, click here. To learn about applying to our Filmmaker Labs click here. And, if by chance you see yourself listed above, be sure to brush up on your Sundance survival skills:

See you in Park City! For more information about becoming a Member of Film Independent visit our website or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

(Header: Pahokee)