The Film Independent Members and Fellows Off Mute and On Camera at Sundance 2022
You already know this, but for the second consecutive year the Sundance Film Festival was forced entirely online, thanks to the pandemic’s most recent, extremely petulant Omicron surge. So once again, Sundance filmmakers were denied their lawful right to wander the snowglobe streets of Park City availing themselves of the picaresque town’s many sites of interest—like the Banksy mural on the side of Java Cow or the spot where, in high school, a certain Film-Independent-blogger-to-be once broke three ribs (drunkenly) trying to steal a weirdly amusing “Caution: Falling Icicles!” sign off the side of the crystal shop.
With Sundance now officially wrapped—deals inked, awards distributed—and the independent film community nervously breathing a collective sigh of relief and saying, “Okay, let’s never do that again again,” we wanted to take a moment to recognize the incredible number of Film Independent Members and Fellows who made Sundance 2022 so unforgettable.
In fact, Fi Fellows—defined as filmmakers who have been directly supported by Film Independent’s Lab Programs, Project Involve, Fast Track and Fiscal Sponsorship programs—were some of this year’s biggest winners:
Project Involve and Episodic Lab Fellow KD Davila wins the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Emergency, a project that was first germinated as a 2017 Project Involve short; Fast Track supported project Palm Trees and Power Lines won the Directing Prize in US Dramatic Competition for Fellow Jamie Dack; Fast Track Fellows Nikkia Moulterie and Nikyatu Jusu won the Grand Jury Prize for Nanny in the US Dramatic Competition; Documentary Lab Fellow Shane Boris’s film Navalny won the US Documentary Competition Audience Award; and Project Involve Fellow So Yong Kim produced Special Jury Prize winner Blood.
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
- Eric Lin, Cinematographer, Blood
- Directing Lab, 2009
- So Yong Kim,Producer, Blood
- Project Involve, 1995
- Carey Williams,Director, Emergency
- Project Involve, 2017
- Kristen ‘KD’ Davila, Writer, Emergency
- Episodic Lab, 2017
- Project Involve, 2017
- Michael Dallatorre, Cinematographer, Emergency
- Project Involve, 2018
- Joenique Rose, Co-Producer, Emergency
- Project Involve, 2017
- Nikyatu Jusu, Writer/Director, Nanny
- Fast Track, 2013
- Nikkia Moulterie, Producer, Nanny
- Fast Track, 2013
- Jamie Dack, Writer/Director, Palm Trees and Power Lines
- Fast Track, 2020
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
- Margaret Brown,Director, Descendant
- Grant & Award winner, 2009
- Sara Dosa,Writer/Producer/Director, Fire of Love
- Documentary Lab, 2018
- Shane Boris, Writer/Producer, Fire of Love and Navalny
- Documentary Lab, 2018
WORLD CINEMA COMPETITIONS
- Samantha Jennings,Producer, You Won’t Be Alone (Dramatic)
- Fast Track, 2019
- Rita Baghdadi, Producer, Sirens (Documentary)
- Documentary Lab, 2015
- Fi Fiscal Sponsorship
PREMIERES
- Ramin Bahrani, Writer/Director, 2nd Chance
- Grant & Award winner, 2008
- Cecily Rhett, Editor, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power
- Screenwriting Lab, 2002
- Directing Lab, 2002
- Adanne Ebo, Producer, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
- Project Involve, 2019
- Drew Houpt, Producer, Resurrection
- Fast Track, 2017
NEW FRONTIER PERFORMANCES
- Josh Penn,Producer, 32 Sounds
- Grant & Award winner, 2014
U.S. LIVE ACTION SHORTS
- Steph Zenee Perez,Editor, WORK
- Project Involve, 2018
- Selinda Zhou,Editor, You Go Girl
- Project Involve, 2021
SPOTLIGHT
- Paul Mezey,Producer, After Yang
- Grant & Award winner, 2001
KIDS
- James Ponsoldt,Writer/Director, Summering
- Fast Track, 2008
40th ANNIVERSARY SHORTS
- Hu Wei,Director, Butter Lamp
- Grant & Award winner, 2004
- Guilia Caruso, Director, Deer Flower
- Project Involve, 2016
- Scott Macaulay, Producer, Family Remains
- Grant & Award winner, 1998
- Fast Track, 2008
- Robin O’Hara, Producer, Family Remains
- Grant & Award winner, 1998
- Kevin Everson, Director, FE26
- Grant & Award winner, 2013
- Cedar Sherbert, Director/Producer, Gesture Down (I Don’t Sing)
- Screenwriting Lab, 2008
- Directing Lab, 2009
- Project Involve, 2005
- Mary Jane Skalski, Producer, Greetings From Africa
- Grant & Award winner, 2004
- Ryan Gomez, Producer, Hold Up
- Producing Lab, 2005
- Nanobah Becker, Producer, Shimásání
- Project Involve 2007
- Chad Burris, Producer, Shimásání
- Grant & Award winner, 2013
- Heather Rae, Producer, Shimásání
- Grant & Award winner, 2009
- Siqi Song, Director/Writer/Producer, Sister
- Project Involve, 2018
- Faren Humes, Producer, T
- Project Involve, 2018
- Fast Track, 2019
Now let’s see which Film Independent Members booked a (virtual) trip to Utah. A reminder: Film Independent is an open access organization open to filmmakers and film lovers all over the world. Not a Member yet? Become one today.
US DRAMATIC COMPETITION
- Alex Orlovsky, Producer, Blood
- Jonathan Fischer, Producer, Emergency
- Brad Becker-Parton, Producer, Master
- Rita Walsh, Associate Producer, Master
- Daniel Lundberg, Producer, Nanny
US DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
- Essie Chambers, Producer, Descendant
- Ina Fichman, Producer, Fire of Love
- Brock Williams, Executive Producer, Jihad Rehab
WORLD CINEMA CATEGORIES
- Rick Rosenthal, Executive Producer, The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future (Dramatic)
- Shrihari Sathe, Co-Producer, The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future (Dramatic)
- Matthew Chuang, Cinematographer, You Won’t Be Alone (Dramatic)
- Signe Byrge Sørensen, Executive Producer, A House Made of Splinters (Documentary)
- Ken Pelletier, Executive Producer, Midwives (Documentary)
- Jamie Wolf, Executive Producer, Tantura (Documentary), The Martha Mitchell Effect (Short)
PREMIERES
- Phyllis Nagy, Director, Call Jane
- Deanna Barillari, Executive Producer, Call Jane
- Tyler Davidson, Producer, Emily the Criminal
- Miranda Bailey, Producer, God’s Country
- Carolina Groppa, Executive Producer, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul
- Tim Headington, Producer, Resurrection
- Martin Marquet, Executive Producer, To the End
- Rick Rosenthal, Co-Executive Producer, To the End
SPOTLIGHT
- Paul Mezey, Producer, After Yang
- Dale Dickey, Actor, A Love Song
NEXT
- Bill Way, Executive Producer, A Love Song
- Jesy Odio, Producer, Every Day in Kaimukī
- Shant Joshi, Producer, Framing Agnes
- Brooke Sebold, Co-Producer, Framing Agnes
MIDNIGHT
- Callie Barlow, Co-Producer, Meet Me in the Bathroom
EPISODIC SERIES
- Daniel Pfeffer, Producer, Chiqui
SHORTS
- Lauren Domino, Producer, Alone
- Harris Doran, Director/Writer/Producer, F^¢k ‘Em R!ght B@¢k
- Tamara Jenkins, Director/Writer, Family Remains
- Ted Hope, Executive Producer, Greetings from Africa
- James Schamus, Executive Producer, Greetings from Africa
- Gabriela Ortega, Director/Writer, Huella
- Jesy Odio, Producer, You’ve Never Been Completely Honest
- Chad Burris, Producer, Shimásáni
- Michelle Steffes, Producer, Short Term 12
- Jonathan D Kane, Editor, T
- Nathalie Seaver, Co-Executive Producer, The Martha Mitchell Effect
- Peggy Rajski, Director/Producer, Trevor
- Lidia Nikonova, Cinematographer, While Mortals Sleep
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
- Nancy Abraham, Executive Producer, Phoenix Rising
- Lisa Heller, Executive Producer, Phoenix Rising
- Regina K. Scully, Executive Producer, Phoenix Rising
KIDS
- Andrew Karpen, Executive Producer, Summering
- Kent Sanderson, Executive Producer, Summering
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