Film Independent Members and Fellows at Sundance (Just Not Necessarily in Park City)
There’s a good chance you aren’t reading this. And if not, we bet dollars to high-altitude donuts that the reason is the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which in virtual form is currently underway on laptop screens and in home theaters all across the world. And not only is the venerable Park City, UT indie film showcase alive and well, it’s thriving — with Film Independent Fellow Sian Heder’s sophomore feature CODA selling over the weekend for a record $25 million.
Of course, Heder (an alum of our 2009 Directing Lab) isn’t the only filmmaker with Film Independent bona fides to make their presence known during this odd, COVID-impacted edition of Sundance. In fact, there’s a whole big sloppy bucket of Film Independent Members and Fellows “at” this year’s Sundance. First, let’s take a look at our Fellows — defined as filmmakers who have been directly supported by Film Independent’s Lab Programs, Project Involve, Fast Track and Fiscal Sponsorship programs…
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
- Christopher Makoto Yogi, Writer/Director/Producer, I Was a Simple Man
- Fiscal Sponsorship
- Fast Track, 2018
- Sarah S. Kim, Producer, I Was a Simple Man
- Fiscal Sponsorship
- Fast Track, 2018
- Sian Heder, Writer/Director, Coda
- Directing Lab, 2009
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
- Pedro Kos, Director/Editor, Rebel Hearts
- Fast Track, 2019
- Kira Carstensen, Producer, Rebel Hearts
- Fast Track, 2019
- Judy Korin, Producer, Rebel Hearts
- Fast Track, 2019
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
- Alex Camilleri, Writer/Director/Producer, Vanishing Wake (Luzzu)
- Directing Lab, 2019
NEXT
- Carey Williams, Writer/Director, R#J
- Project Involve, 2017
NEW FRONTIER
- Terence Nance, Lead Artist, Traveling the Interstitium with Octavia Butler
- Project Involve, 2016
- Aldo Velasco, Lead Artist, Beyond the Breakdown
- Directing Lab, 2013
- Fast Track, 2007
- Fast Track, 2013
- Violeta Ayala , Lead Artist/Key Collaborator, Prison X – Chapter 1: The Devil and The Sun
- Documentary Lab, 2012
U.S. FICTION SHORTS
- Zamarin Wahdat, Writer/Director, Bambirak
- Project Involve, 2018
- Jason Park, Writer/Director, BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop
- Project Involve, 2015
ACCESSIBILITY
- Carolyn Mao, Producer, Marvelous and the Black Hole
- Fiscal Sponsorship
Congrats, Fellows! And now — let’s see which Film Independent Members have achieved the tremendous feat of earning a pixel or two of digital real estate for their projects in the online Sundance program book.
A reminder: Film Independent is an organization open to filmmakers and film lovers all over the world. Not a Member yet? Well, you can become one today.
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
- Anne Misawa, Producer, I Was A Simple Man
- Gabriella Ludlow, Executive Producer, Mayday
- Yvonne Huff Lee, Executive Producer, Passing
- Brenda Robinson, Executive Producer, Passing
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
- Joe Plummer, Executive Producer, Cusp
- Jennifer Westphal, Executive Producer, Cusp
- Jenifer Rainin, Executive Producer, Homeroom
- Pedro Kos, Director, Rebel Hearts
- Rick Rosenthal, Executive Producer, Rebel Heart
- Kathryn Bostic, Composer, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl
- Geralyn White Dreyfous, Executive Producer, Try Harder
- Rick Rosenthal, Executive Producer, Rebel Heart
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
- Joslyn Barnes, Producer, President
NEXT
- Jennifer Westphal, Executive Producer, The Blazing World
- Joe Plummer, Executive Producer, The Blazing World
- Andrew Carlberg, Executive Producer, The Blazing World
- Rene Boscio, Composer, R#J
- Sarah Winshall, Producer, The Blazing World, Strawberry Mansion
- Maria Altamirano, Producer, Son of Monarchs
PREMIERES
- Kathryn Bostic, Composer, Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir
- Jamie Wolf, Executive Producer, Bring Your Own Brigade
- Julie Goldman, Producer, In the Same Breath
- John Sloss, Executive Producer, Land
- Peter Saraf, Producer, Land
- Leah Holzer, Producer, Land
- Kate Tsang, Writer/Director, Marvelous and the Black Hole
- Carolyn Mao, Producer, Marvelous and the Black Hole
- Nancy Abraham, Executive Producer, Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
- Mark Myers, Executive Producer, Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
SPOTLIGHT
- Whitaker Lader, Producer, The World to Come
To learn more about Film Independent’s Programs, click here. To learn about applying to our Filmmaker Labs click here.
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(Header: CODA)