The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has come and gone leaving in its wake a plethora of films, music, conversation, and virtual space.
Acura continued on as the Official Vehicle and a Presenting Sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival for the 12th consecutive year offering the independent film community and fans gathering virtually for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival a unique experience at AcuraWatchParty.com. Virtual Sundance programming from Acura included important conversations and activations with like-minded entertainment and media partners focusing on supporting diversity in film, along with A-list filmmakers and talent.
Embracing the creative spirit of the Sundance film community, Acura debuted a new four-part anime series, Chiaki’s Journey, during the Festival. Chiaki’s Journey featured a young hero’s quest to overcome multiple challenges on her path toward victory while offering viewers a first look at Acura’s trio of all-new Type S performance models: 2022 TLX Type S sport sedan, 2022 MDX Type S 3-row SUV, and 2022 NSX Type S supercar.
In staying true to form the 2022 emergent Sundance Film Festival theme of ‘Fighting the System” rang true as eloquently stated by Festival Programming Director, Kim Yutani, with art “made against the odds, under challenging circumstances, (with filmmakers) being inventive in how they’re telling their stories, in the way they explore intimacy, just creating films in a way that is imaginative.” during an interview for Vanessa Zimmer’s ‘Fighting the System’ Emerges as Major Theme in 2022 Lineup.
As the Delta and Omicron variants raged, Sundance bent on implementing updated COVID protocols over the holidays. At last, with the risk factors too great for the filmgoing populace the well-thought and deeply discerned decision was made to go virtual. Fortunately, Shari Frilot, Chief Curator of New Frontier, and a Harvard grad, stepped up and went where no man had gone before and created a vast virtual entity adeptly called “The Spaceship” where art, film, and multimedia converged and sent the 2022 Sundance Film Festival into the stratosphere allowing for parties, mingling, conversation, and film and artistic viewings.
Navalny, Festival Favorite Award, Audience Award: U.S. Documentary Presented by Acura
A still from Navalny, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
In August 2020, a plane traveling from Siberia to Moscow made an emergency landing. One of its passengers, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was deathly ill. Taken to a local Siberian hospital and eventually evacuated to Berlin, doctors confirmed that he had been poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin immediately cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement.
While recovering, Navalny and his team — already with a large social media following in tow — partnered with the data investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat as well as other international news organizations to investigate his attempted assassination and find proof of the Kremlin’s involvement. In NAVALNY, filmmaker Daniel Roher reveals a courageous and controversial would-be president at the precipice of sacrificing everything in order to bring reform to his homeland. —BT (Sundance.org)
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Director Sophie Hyde and Writer Katy Brand’s, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, stars Dame Emma Thompson, as a retired schoolteacher who has yet to experience the joy of sex. Enter Daryl McCormack as the young and debonnaire sex worker, Leo Grande. What starts out as a cold transactional relationship ends up as a deep, warm, caring transactional relationship opening hearts and minds to a retelling of modern love. Picked up by Searchlight Pictures and scheduled to stream exclusively on Hulu. Four stars.
Elizabeth Banks appears in Call Jane by Phyllis Nagy, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Wilson Webb.
Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, set in the mid to late 1960’s follows the pursuit of women’s rights led by Elizabeth Banks, progressive suburbanite wife, and homemaker, Joy, who discovers a more engaging life in helping women get safe medical procedures for their unwanted or life-endangering pregnancies. Nagy wrote the 2015 Douglas Sirkian style melodrama, Carol, directed by Todd Haynes. Jane has a similar look with a joyous, optimistic, and forward-looking narrative. Four stars.
Emily The Criminal (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Emily The Criminalfrom Director John Patton Ford addresses the fallout from the collateral damage of a young woman’s college experience and relationship troubles. Aubrey Plaza portrays Emily, a young woman who went to college on student loans, partied, got an education, then received an assault conviction for her role in a relationship fight. Unable to land suitable work with her criminal record, Emily becomes a “dummy shopper,” in an illegal, underworld enterprise. Fast-paced, this psychological, neo-thriller reverberates an age-old adage, “desperate people do desperate things.” Highly recommended. A top pick.
EMERGENCY
Emergency, the recipient of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic, harkens the impact racism can have on life-threatening, real-life situations and its ramifications on human potential. Told through a darkly comedic lens with moments of “throw it all at the kitchen sink” style of comedy. Guaranteed to “shock, enlighten, and infuriate.” From two-time Sundance alum Carey Williams (2021’s modern, social media retelling of “Romeo and Juliet,” R#J), based on his 2018 Sundance short film of the same name. Excellent writing and strong acting. Four stars.
To The End (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Director Rachel Lears, whose Lears 2019 Sundance film Knock Down the House followed four women who ran insurgent congressional campaigns in 2018, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush. The film won the Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award and was shortlisted for an Oscar and nominated for an Emmy. Lears 2022 offering, To The End, is a visionary look behind the scenes of a philosophical movement, social and political, where young people have rejected the cynicism and complacency of a power structure that has failed to meaningfully address the existential threat faced by climate change. Told through the narratives of four instrumental leaders and women of color — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Varshini Prakash, Alexandra Rojas, and Rhiana Gunn-Wright. This is more than the Green New Deal. It’s planetary survival. Four stars.
Oscar de la Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez appear in La Guerra Civil by Eva Longoria Bastón, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
La Guerra Civil, directed and produced by Eva Longoria Bastón tells the story of two of Mexico’s greatest lightweight modern-era boxers, American-born Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez. More than a boxing story, Longoria Bastón shapes the narrative through the Mexican and Mexican-American cultural lens. What emerges is a very intimate look at both boxers and their impact on the dichotomy of what it means to be Mexican and what it means to be Mexican-American. Four stars.
The Worst Person In The World (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
The Worst Person in the World directed by Joachim Trier is the third part of his Oslo trilogy. A beautifully made film with a first-time film portrayal for the lead actress, Renate Reinsve. The film is told through Reinsve’s character and is about finding one’s place in the world. In the film’s introduction, Trier referred to the film as a Norwegian romantic comedy told in twelve separate chapters with an epilogue and a prologue. Originally premiered in competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival (with Renate Reinsve winning Best Actress for her performance).
Chiqui (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Chiqui, an indie episodic set in the 1980s was a romp. It’s 1987. Chiqui and Carlos emigrate from Colombia to New Jersey to find a better life for themselves and their unborn son. Upon their arrival, they quickly realize that the American dream is not as easy to achieve as they thought. The cast and crew – simply superb.
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. One of the most anticipated films of the festival from acclaimed director, Rory Kennedy. Kennedy’s films are well-researched and provide astute socio-cultural insights. Downfall’s production values were exceptional resulting in a very polished film revealing shifts in cultural norms undoubtedly contributing to the untimely and tragic Max 737 plane crashes. Scheduled for a February 13th Netflix release followed by a theatrical run. A Netflix and Moxie Films Production. Four stars.
Chloe Okuno
Watcher, Chloe Okuno’s, multi-layered suspenseful horror, drama, thriller features Maika Monroe as a young, blonde female coping with life in a foreign country. Monroe delivers a highly competent and strong performance. The non-diegetic soundtrack added immensely to the suspense and featured Max Richter’s “Moment in Paris.” Undeniable Charade and Rear Window Hitchcockian influences Shot on location in Bucharest, Romania. Four stars.
Maika Monroe appears in Watcher by Chloe Okuno, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance.
As the festival inched closer to its end, after nine days, 84 feature films and 59 short films, the juries deliberated and the audience voted. The 26 jury-awarded and six audience-awarded prizes recognized “achievement in global independent storytelling.” Bold, intimate, and culture-shifting stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to Nanny (U.S. Dramatic), The Exiles (U.S. Documentary), Utama (World Cinema Dramatic), and All That Breathes (World Cinema Documentary). Audience Awards were presented to Navalny (U.S. Documentary), Cha Cha Real Smooth (U.S. Dramatic), Girl Picture (World Cinema Dramatic), The Territory (World Cinema Documentary), Framing Agnes (NEXT), with Navalny winning the Festival Favorite Award.
Joana Vicente
“Today’s awards represent the determination of visionary individuals, whose dynamic work will continue to change the culture and create discourse throughout the year,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente. “This year’s entire program has proven that no matter the context, independent storytelling remains a pivotal tool in expanding critical dialogues, and these stories will and must be shared.”
Tabitha Jackson
“The 2022 Sundance Film Festival once again met our audience wherever they happened to be,” added Sundance Film Festival Director Tabitha Jackson, “Whether you watched from home or one of our seven satellite screens, this year’s Festival expressed a powerful convergence; we were present, together, as a community connected through the work. And it is work that has already changed those who experienced it.”
Kim Yutani
“We are so grateful for this year’s jurors who brought their expertise and passion to their decision-making process,” said the Festival’s Director of Programming Kim Yutani, “We congratulate the award winners and we’re so thankful to each and every film in the program that made the 2022 Sundance Film Festival such a huge success.”
The awards announcement marked a key point of the 2022 Festival, where 84 feature-length and 59 short films — selected from 14,849 submissions — were showcased online via the Festival’s online platform; a selection of the program played at 7 Satellite Screen locations across the United States.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival jurors were: Chelsea Barnard, Marielle Heller, and Payman Maadi for U.S. Dramatic Competition; Garrett Bradley, Joan Churchill, and Peter Nicks for U.S. Documentary Competition; Andrew Haigh, Mohamed Hefzy, and La Frances Hui for World Cinema Dramatic Competition; and Emilie Bujès, Patrick Gaspard, and Dawn Porter for World Cinema Documentary Competition. Joey Soloway was the juror for the NEXT competition section. Penelope Bartlett, Kevin Jerome Everson, and Blackhorse Lowe juried the Short Film Program Competition.
Until next year, I’ll see you at the movies!
Larry Gleeson, left, with Hollywood starlet, Angie Dickinson. (Photo credit: HollywoodGlee)
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize Awarded at 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Three New Artist Grant Recipients Revealed
20th Year of Science-In-Film Initiative Celebrated, Feature Film Prize Goes to After Yang
Park City, UT – The Sundance Film Festival has announced the artist grant recipients for the Sundance Institute Science-in-Film initiative at the twentieth annual Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize Reception, where the previously announced 2022 Feature Film Prize winner (Kogonada, After Yang) was honored. The grantees received a total of $70,000 in funding for their projects in development through the Sloan Episodic Fellowship (Kathryn Lo, Our Dark Lady), Sloan Development Fellowship (Nuhash Humayun, Moving Bangladesh) and Sloan Commissioning Grant (Shawn Snyder and Jason Begue, The Futurist).
“The Science-In-Film Initiative is turning 20 and we are thrilled to gather and celebrate After Yang and our grantees. With the importance of this initiative becoming clearer every year, it’s with gratitude that we mark two decades of the Sloan Foundation providing material support and recognition for filmmakers whose work engages with science and technology in an entertaining, meaningful way” said Festival Director Tabitha Jackson.
“From Primer, Grizzly Man, and Robot & Frank to Searching, Tesla, and After Yang – I was there for every award – it’s been a wonderful, pioneering, two-decade partnership with Sundance,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “To see extraordinary work move from development to the screen and beyond for 20 years is to witness a line of progress in science and technology representation that has deeply influenced our culture. This year’s Feature Film Prize winner Kogonada and screenwriting recipients – Kathryn Lo, Nuhash Humayun, Shawn Snyder, and Jason Begue – are outstanding additions to the multitalented Sloan family. We’re honored to recognize these gifted artists and look forward to contributing to their future success.”
The twenty-year partnership between the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Sundance Institute forms part of the Sloan Foundation’s nationwide Film Program, which includes support for six of the nation’s leading film schools plus six additional public schools and seven screenwriting development partners and has resulted in over 750 film projects and 30 completed feature films. In addition to Hidden Figures, originally supported by a Sloan book grant, the film program has long championed stories about women in science from Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story to stories about Louise Pearce, Rosalind Franklin, Marie Curie, Lise Meitner and Jane Goodall. The program has also supported many works about the role of technology in daily life, including the impact of machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence. Sloan has supported feature narrative films such as Adventures of a Mathematician, One Man Dies a Million Times, The Sound of Silence, To Dust, The Catcher Was a Spy, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Imitation Game, Experimenter and Operator, along with documentaries, such as the 2020 Sundance Film Festival selection Coded Bias and several new projects, including episodic television, in development. The program has also given early recognition to stand-out films such as Don’t Look Up, Ammonite, The Aeronauts, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, First Man, Searching, The Martian and Son of Monarchs, last year’s recipient of the Feature Film Prize.
AFTER YANG: Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
After Yang has been awarded the 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and received a $20,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at today’s online reception. The Prize is selected by a jury of film and science professionals and presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character.
The 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Jury was previously announced on December 13th.
The jury stated, “For its exquisitely crafted and deep poetic meditation on how technology can help us reflect on our humanity, and the ways our brains navigate memory, loss, and connection — even while it poses new challenges to our privacy, security, and identity — the 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the Sundance Film Festival goes to Kogonada’s After Yang.”
After Yang / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Kogonada, Producers: Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan, Paul Mezey, Theresa Park) — In the near future, a father and daughter try to save the life of Yang, their beloved robotic family member. Cast: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith. Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Haley Lu Richardson. North American Premiere. Fiction.
Koganada’s debut film, Columbus, starring John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. He wrote and directed his second feature, After Yang, starring Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith, for A24.
Sundance Institute / Sloan Episodic Fellowship
Kathryn Lo (writer) will receive a $10,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for Our Dark Lady. Previous winners include: The Harvard Computers, Higher, and DELTA-V.
Our Dark Lady: After James Watson trashes scientist Rosalind Franklin in his memoir on the discovery of DNA’s double helix, a friend seeks to uncover the theft of her data by investigating two labs in 1950s England — where Rosalind emerges as the centerpiece of the most important scientific breakthrough of the modern era.
Working in print, radio, television and online, Kathryn Lo relishes storytelling of all forms. She spent 10 years curating the Emmy-winning documentary series Independent Lens, and oversaw a 450-hour program pipeline at PBS. After a career of championing others’ work, Kathryn is excited to pursue her own curiosity and projects.
Sundance Institute / Sloan Development Fellowship
Nuhash Humayun (writer and director) will receive a $15,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for Moving Bangladesh. Previous winners include: Chariot, Tidal Disruption, and Goliath.
Moving Bangladesh: Stuck in traffic and in life – a struggling Bangladeshi entrepreneur creates an app that may change transport in developing countries forever, but must first overcome his skeptical family.
Nuhash Humayun is a Bangladesh-based writer/director with a focus on the intersection of genre and Asian identity. His credits include Sincerely Yours, Dhaka (world premiere at Busan 2018, acquired by Netflix). Nuhash’s upcoming feature Moving Bangladesh has received support from Film Independent, Cannes Marche du Film, Locarno Open Doors and Film Bazaar.
Sundance Institute / Sloan Commissioning Grant
Shawn Snyder (co-writer and director) and Jason Begue (co-writer) will receive a $25,000 cash award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for The Futurist. Previous winners include: Pharmacopeia, The Plutonians and Challenger.
The Futurist: When the scientific community abandons him, a renowned neuroscientist attempts to rectify his complicated past and to author a more auspicious future by using his own brain for cyborgian experimentation. The Futurist takes place inside that brain. Inspired by true events.
Shawn Snyder’s first feature, the Sloan/Sundance supported To Dust, won the Best New Director Award and Audience Award at Tribeca 2018 and was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2020 Independent Spirit Awards. Having studied Religion at Harvard and Filmmaking at NYU, Shawn never imagined making movies about science. He stands corrected.
Jason Begue is a Latinx filmmaker known for To Dust, which he co-wrote with Shawn Snyder and co-produced alongside Alessandro Nivola, Emily Mortimer and Ron Perlman. He is currently completing studies at NYU Grad Film, while the writing duo continues to develop a larger slate of projects – including Baby-Face, Jason’s first feature.
About the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation:
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a New York-based, philanthropic, not-for-profit institution that makes grants in three areas: research in science, technology, and economics; quality and diversity of scientific institutions; and public engagement with science. Sloan’s program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology, directed by Doron Weber, supports books, radio, film, television, theater, and new media to reach a wide, non-specialized audience and to bridge the two cultures of science and the humanities.
Sloan’s Film Program encourages filmmakers to create more realistic and compelling stories about science and technology and to challenge existing stereotypes about scientists and engineers in the popular imagination. Over the past two decades, Sloan has partnered with top film schools in the country – including AFI, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, and USC, plus six public film schools – and established annual awards in screenwriting and film production, along with an annual best-of-the-best Student Grand Jury Prize. The Foundation also supports screenplay development programs with the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, SFFILM, the Black List, the Athena Film Festival, and the North Fork TV Festival. The Foundation has helped develop over 30 feature films including Michael Almereyda’s Tesla, Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler’s Radium Girls, Thor Klein’s Adventures of a Mathematician, Jessica Oreck’s One Man Dies a Million Times, Michael Tyburski’s The Sound of Silence, Shawn Snyder’s To Dust, Logan Kibens and Sharon Greene’s Operator, Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, and Matthew Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity. The Foundation has supported feature documentaries such as Picture a Scientist, Coded Bias, In Silico, Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, The Bit Player, Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, Particle Fever, and Oceans.
The Foundation has an active theater program and commissions about 20 science plays each year from the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, and the National Theatre, as well as supporting select productions across the country and abroad. Recent grants have supported Bess Wohl’s Continuity, Charly Evon Simpson’s New York Times Critic’s Pick Behind the Sheet, Chiara Atik’s Bump, Leigh Fondakowski’s Spill, Lucy Kirkwood’s Mosquitoes, Nick Payne’s Constellations, Lucas Hnath’s Isaac’s Eye, and Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51. The Foundation’s book program includes support for Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures, which became the highest-grossing Oscar-nominated film of 2017 and a social and cultural milestone.
For more information about the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, please visit www.sloan.org or follow the Foundation at @SloanPublic on Twitter and Facebook.
The Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs and sex, lies, and videotape.
The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. 2022 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Amazon Studios, DIRECTV, DoorDash, Dropbox, Netflix, Omnicom Group, WarnerMedia, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Aflac, Audible, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell Technologies, IMDbPro, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Unity Technologies, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – The Atlantic, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Shadow And Act, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
As a champion and curator of independent stories for the stage and screen, Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film composing, and digital media to create and thrive.
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings artists together to learn from each other and Sundance advisors and connect in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams and Fun Home. Join the Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Sundance Film Festival completed the second day of its online festival programming featuring conversations with John Boyega, Elizabeth Banks, Regina Hall, Sigourney Weaver, Abi Damaris Corbin, Phyllis Nagy, Connie Britton, Colin Farrell, Hayley Lu Richardson, Wuumi Mosaku, Zoe Renee, Mariama Diallo, Chlose Okuno, Kogonada, and more. Stay tuned. In the meantime check out “How To Fest With Tabitha Jackson.”
Sundance Festival Director Tabitha Jackson on “How To Fest,” a daily segment chockful of festing tips, filmmaker interviews, and some of the day’s recommended screenings. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Making the festival easily accessible to everyone is a primary driver and here is a daily segment titled, “How To Fest With Tabitha Jackson,” chock full of wise words combined with a Shari Frilot and Phyllis Nagy filmmaker chat. In addition, suggestions for the day’s films and events with brief overviews are provided to ease the sense of inundation. Furthermore, it’s a fun piece! Go forth and discover…
Robert Redford addresses members of the press at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Press Conference at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, on January 29th, 2019. (Photo by Larry Gleeson)
Sundance Institute President and Founder Robert Redford, Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, and Festival Director Tabitha Jackson will kick off the 2022 Festival at 4 p.m. MT with a customary welcome and introductory remarks before the highly anticipated opening day premiere of New Frontier’s 32 Sounds!
Sam Greene (Photo coutesy of Sundance Inst.)
This indelible, feature-length journey from Sam Greene weaves together 32 audio experiences, crafting a cinematic poem about the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world. Green previously premiered A Thousand Thoughts at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Featuring original compositions by JD Samson that will be performed live, 32 Sounds is designed to be experienced with personal headphones for a truly unique binaural audio experience. A high-quality headset is strongly recommended for online audiences.
Meet the artists behind all films and projects at the Festival on the Spaceship. Click here to learn more.
Secret Bonus Screening for Sundance Opening Film 32 Sounds —RSVP HERE
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival will be held January 20-30th, online and on seven satellite screens across the country. Tickets and packages are available HERE.
Until next time, I’ll see you at the movies!
Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah.
Like planets orbiting a star, moths are drawn to a flame, or film lovers gravitating to a screen, life gathers around light. The 2022 Sundance Film Festival is taking inspiration from our solar system’s biggest, most radiant source of light and life: the sun. We’re graphically representing our closest star as a point of, and inspiration for, convergence. So, the 2022 Sundance Film Festival will shine the brightest of lights on independent artists and their powerful, culture-shifting work.
“As we complete one orbit around the brightest star and prepare to begin another,” reflects Festival director Tabitha Jackson, “let’s ask ourselves: What will be illuminated this coming year? What new possibilities will be revealed? How will this convergence change the nature of our trajectory in ways that we have not yet imagined?”
Rooted in the belief in the transformative power of independent artists, culturally, socially, and politically when their work meets audiences, this year’s Sundance Film Festival represents a new convergence that will bring together the power of the in-person experience with the access and innovation of the digital experience that debuted in 2021. It isn’t two festivals — it’s one multidimensional Festival where filmmakers and film lovers from around the world will come together to celebrate independent voices and visions.
Academy Award-winning French filmmaker, Jean-Xavier de Lestrades at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival following a screening of his episodic, Laetitia, in Park City, Utah, Tuesday, January 28, 2019. (Photo by Larry Gleeson)
Until next time, I’ll see you at the movies!
Larry Gleeson/HollywoodGlee at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah.
Sundance Circle, Institute Storyteller and Supporter Members Get Early Sale Access: Packages, December 15, Individual Tickets January 5
General Public: Packages, December 17, Individual Tickets January 6
Park City, UT – The nonprofit Sundance Institute has announced several key aspects of how their 2022 Sundance Film Festival will take place in person and online January 20-30, 2022, including sharing this year’s Satellite Screen partners and locations, ticket package details and on-sale dates, and elaborating upon earlier health and safety guidelines.
“Our programming team, led by the fearless Kim Yutani, is deep into screening the mountain of submissions we have already received this year,” said Festival Director Tabitha Jackson, “As our press and industry offices open in preparation for the next edition of our festival we are excited to share what details we can today, anticipate sharing more as we know more, and can’t wait to meet audiences wherever they are, including in Utah, in January.”
PLATFORM NOW LIVE
The Festival platform is now live and gives a first glimpse at the 2022 look and feel, an expression of the concept of convergence that powers the Festival experience this year. The Festival website will be the homebase this year where audiences can buy tickets, explore the program, watch films and other content online, and engage with the community. This early launch includes a dynamic trailer for the 2022 Festival, a preview of all of this year’s ticket products (available starting in December), a comprehensive how-to guide for the online and in-person experiences, and an explanation of our latest health and safety measures. This is an introduction to what the Festival is about: groundbreaking storytelling and community convergence. The platform will host key informational updates alongside the Festival’s full program of features, plus short films, episodic work, and New Frontier projects.
SATELLITE SCREENS
Seven independent arthouse cinemas across the United States have been selected to showcase a specially-curated selection of Festival films and connect with local audiences during the Festival’s closing weekend, Friday, January 28, through Sunday, January 30, 2022. The selected Satellite Screen theaters are:
TICKET PACKAGES & ON-SALE DATES
The full program of the 2022 Festival will meet audiences in Utah and online. The broad range of ticketing options ensures that everyone from the fanatic to the casually curious can participate at levels that make sense for them, with individual tickets starting at $20. After an early sale for Sundance Circle members (October 15), package sales and/or selection begins on December 15 for Sundance Institute’s Sundance Circle, Storyteller and Supporter Members and December 17 for the general public.. Individual ticket sales for Institute Members begin January 5, and for the public, January 6. Satellite Screens are independently ticketed. For details on Institute membership, visit Sundance.org/membership. Each ticket product has limitations on the number of units that may be purchased. Ticket products include:
Individual Tickets
Purchase individual tickets to your must-see features. Join us for a premiere or a second screening, online or in person, to the film (or films!) of your choice. Once you’ve got your ticket, you’re all set — no reservation required.
Price: $20 Dates Valid: Date and time of screening selected
Explorer Pass
Available to audiences all over the world, this pass unlocks online access to the immersive projects of New Frontier, serialized storytelling in Indie Episodic, and visionary short films, including an exclusive program for our online audiences. Price: $50 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Day Package — Online Only
Spend a full day with us via this four-screening online package, which includes early access to ticket selection. Also included on the day your package is valid: all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Early ticket selection to four online screenings for one day of the 2022 Festival — see available dates below; (note that ticket selection is required for admission to each screening). Access to all Explorer Pass benefits, including New Frontier, Short Film, and Indie Episodic programs, on the day your pass is valid. Price: $100 Dates Valid: Single days, January 22-28
Award-Winners Package
Access eight award-winning feature film screenings, in person or online, during Awards Weekend. Awards will be announced on Friday, January 28, and that weekend (January 29–30) is all about celebrating the winners. Also included: all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Price: $300 Dates Valid: January 29–30
Salt Lake City Package
Utah residents, this package offers 10 in-person tickets to feature film screenings across all Salt Lake City venues, with early access to ticket selection. Also included: all the benefits of our
Explorer Pass. Early ticket selection for 10 in-person screenings at the Grand Theater, Rose Wagner Theater, Broadway Theaters, or Salt Lake City Library, including premieres, second screenings, and Award-Winner screenings (note that ticket selection is required for admission to each screening). This package requires a Utah billing address to purchase. Price: $500 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Resort Package
If you’re looking to settle in at the Sundance Mountain Resort and catch your must-see titles, this package is for you. You’ll get 10 tickets to in-person Festival features at the Resort from January 20–30, in addition to all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Price: $650 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Festival Package
This package — historically the most popular way to experience the Festival — offers 10 tickets to in-person or online feature film screenings during the entire Festival, along with early access to ticket selection. Also included: all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Price: $750 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Full COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
We require that all participants attending the Festival — or Festival-sanctioned events — in person in Utah to be fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine that is approved by the World Health Organization. All vaccinations must be completed at least two weeks prior to traveling to the Festival. The CDC notes that being vaccinated greatly reduces your likelihood of contracting or transmitting the COVID-19 virus. Vaccination maintains your own health and safety, and reduces transmission rates within spaces and at events. We will share information on how to provide proof of vaccination closer to the Festival.
Masks
We require that masks are worn at all times in interior spaces and in queuing lines (this includes outdoor areas such as tents, restrooms, and temporary structures). Masks must be worn to enter these spaces. We recommend masks be worn in all other outdoor settings. This is an important safety measure that not only benefits you but those around you.
2022 Sundance Film Festival
The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. 2022 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Amazon Studios, DoorDash, Dropbox, Netflix, Omnicom Group, WarnerMedia, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Aflac, Audible, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell Technologies, IMDbPro, Michelob ULTRA, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Southwest Airlines®, Unity Technologies, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – The Atlantic, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Shadow And Act, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
As a champion and curator of independent stories for the stage and screen, Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film composing, and digital media to create and thrive.
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings artists together to learn from each other and Sundance Advisors and connect in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Off to another fast start (after a long night with new VR goggles) on Day 5 with the Sundance Dailies, a guided tour through the festival’s myriad of happenings. The Sundance Dailies is presented by Acura and has me sipping coffee with Festival director Tabitha Jackson! Today her breakfast guest was Mass actor Martha “Actual” Plimpton. (Pictured below, right, with Festival director Tabitha Jackson.)
With a look at some of today’s high happenings, the Duchess of Programming, Dilcia Barrera, (Pictured below, right, with Festival director Tabitha Jackson) offered up two world premieres, Judas and the Black Messiah, Life in a Day, and the last Cinema Cafe of the festival, “Fresh Faces,” moderated by Colorado’s Public Radio host, Monica Castilla, and featuring new voices including Tyson Brown from the action-adventure romp, First Date, Emilia Jones from CODA, and Patti Harrison with Together Together, and Weirdo Night.
Roving reporter at-large, John Cooper, provided another brief weather report before a sit-down, walk-down memory lane convo with Amy Redford on the traditional Director’s breakfast at the Sundance Resort. While the directors were not convening this year, the importance of celebrating work and a voice being expressed received recognition during this intimate segment.
Jackson closed the show with a score of poignant words encouraging viewers to go out and experience the wonders of freedom and creative expression at Sundance as she called on Founder Robert Redford’s independent filmmaking philosophy, “An independent film is simply a film that stays free long enough to be what it wants to be.”
Intentional deviation or not, today’s Sundance Dailies veered toward a Good Morning America format. As the legendary pop American philosopher Frank Zappa once said, “Deviating from the norm is the way of progress.” – (Thank you, Tabitha Jackson)
PASSING Writer/Director Rebecca Hall shares her experience in dealing with the issues of passing as white with her Black ancestry during the Sundance Dailies on January 30th, 2021, at the Sundance Film Festival.
This morning’s Sundance Dailies presented by Audi brought in filmmakers Rebecca Hall (Passing), Eugenio Derbez (CODA), and Associate Programmer Stephanie Owens, as special guests for Breakfast with….. Festival Director Tabitha Jackson. Derbez showcased his cooking skills as well.
CODA Filmmaker Eugenio Derbez shares his breakfast culinary skills as part of the Sundance Dailies at the Sundance Film Festival on January 30th, 2021.
Owens would be spending her day at the New Frontier. For sure! I New Frontier is the cutting edge, avant-garde, media exhibit run by Chief Curator, Shari Frilot. Not only are the exhibits far-reaching, but the conversations are also spectacular. Last year, I sat down with Sam Droege for a Sundance Press Office-approved interview. Wasn’t 100% it was going to happen, but the approval came through.
Today’s “Cooper in Park City” segment, featuring Director Emeritus, and Utah reporter -at-large, John Cooper, topped the charts with a surprise appearance and performance skit with Queer Eye’s Tan France.
John Cooper, left, gets fashion advice from Queer Eye’s Tan France at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, on Saturday, January 30th, 2021, in Park City, Utah.
Jackson closed the show with a moment of meditation as the stunning photo from the Utah State Tourism Office panned across my screen. Cowabunga!
Stay tuned as this year’s festival is gaining momentum!
The festival runs through February 3rd, with numerous free events available globally.
*FREE EVENT SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 30
*All of these activities are free to view globally. Sign up for an account at Festival.Sundance.org to access. All times are U.S. Mountain time.
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Sundance Dailies with Tabitha Jackson and Utah at-large correspondent, John Cooper. Tomorrow’s guests include Eugenio Derbez (CODA) and Rebecca Hall (Passing). Presented by Acura. Trust me, you’ll want to tune in.
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Cinema Café with Rita Moreno & Sonia Manzano promises a culture of conversation and thought-provoking insights.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Artist Meetup: Positionality in the Editing Room. Featuring Carla Gutierrez and Malika Zouhali-Worrall in conversation with Carrie Lozano. Join up and engage in conversation around technical and philosophical topics affecting the storytelling field.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. The Big Conversation: Barbed Wire Kisses Redux. The year 1992 was a watershed one for LGBTQ+ film, giving birth to the term “New Queer Cinema” and introducing a revolutionary generation of films and filmmakers with energetic irreverence and disruptive aesthetics. At the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, B. Ruby Rich convened and moderated a panel of preeminent artists (including the late Derek Jarman) to discuss their work and the historic moment of its emergence. This year, Rich and other LGBTQ+ titans including Andrew Ahn, Greg Araki, Silas Howard, Isaac Julien, and Rose Troche, gather 30 years later to look back and imagine forward in this contemporary edition of Barbed Wire Kisses.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Producers Celebration. A celebration of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival producers and the Sundance Institute Creative Producing fellows with the presentation of the Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Awards.
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Beyond the Screen: Exploring Genre. Beyond the Screen will illuminate the creative process behind some of the most anticipated films in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival as their creators discuss the art and craft behind their projects.
10:00 – 11:30 p.m. Speakeasy: Conjuring the Collective – Womxn at Sundance promises an evening of dynamic performance and energizing conversation. Continuing the tradition of gathering and celebrating the womxn in the Festival community, this year’s event will reclaim the idea of a coven as a source of magic, healing, and power.
Sundance Film Festival Executive Director, Tabitha Jackson, left, hosts the Sundance Dailies, with special guest, Kim Yutani, Festival Programming Director, on January 29th, 2021.
A very busy day at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Beginning with the first episode of the Sundance Dailies hosted by Festival Executive Director, Tabitha Jackson, in a morning show Entertainment Tonight televison format, with an appearance by Festival Programming Director, Kim Yutani, a brief rundown of some of the day’s events were highlighted. Yutani pointed out the diligence of the programming staff in seeking out hidden voices outside the United States and recommended the entire International Film offerings including documentaries, dramas, etc.
Mother Schmuckers
I caught Belgian Cinema offering Mother Schmuckers as part of the midnight section, One For the Road from Thailand, Luzzu, the first Malta film to screen at Sundance, Screen Australia’s Swimming with Sharks, and the riveting documentary, President, from Zimbabwe, and last but not least, the United States’ John and the Hole.
Other events highlighted during the Sundance Dailies included:
Cinema Café: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson & Shaka King | 10:30 a.m. MT Talent:Directors Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)) and Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah), moderator Hannah Giorgis (Staff Writer, The Atlantic). A culture of conversation with featured guests and thought-provoking insights.
The Big Conversation: The Past Is Present: A Personal Journey Through Race, History and Filmmaking | 1:00p.m. MT Talent: Filmmaker Raoul Peck and Tabitha Jackson (Sundance Film Festival Director). “History is not the past, it’s the present.” James Baldwin’s words reverberate throughout Raoul Peck’s work, his activism, and his remarkable filmmaking career. Peck joins Festival director Tabitha Jackson in a conversation about white supremacy, history, creative expression, and his personal journey from the Academy Award-nominated I Am Not Your Negro to his upcoming work Exterminate All the Brutes, which interrogates over 600 years of history— from the Native American genocide to the systemized enslavement of Africans, to Hitler’s extermination of the European Jews—a history to which our present is inextricably bound. Don’t miss this one!
Day 3
Passing
Tomorrow will be another full day with Faya Dayi, Passing, R#J, and A Glitch in the Matrix scheduled. Also, be sure to check out another round of free event offerings. You’ll be glad you did! They are as follows:
*FREE EVENT SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 30
* (All of these activities are free to view globally. Sign up for an account at Festival.Sundance.org to access. All times are U.S. Mountain time.)
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Sundance Dailies with Tabitha Jackson and Utah at-large correspondent, John Cooper. Tomorrow’s guests include Eugenio Derbez (CODA) and Rebecca Hall (Passing). Presented by Acura. Trust me, you’ll want to tune in.
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Cinema Café with Rita Moreno & Sonia Manzano promises a culture of conversation and thought-provoking insights.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Artist Meetup: Positionality in the Editing Room. Featuring Carla Gutierrez and Malika Zouhali-Worrall in conversation with Carrie Lozano. Join up and engage in conversation around technical and philosophical topics affecting the storytelling field.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. The Big Conversation: Barbed Wire Kisses Redux. The year 1992 was a watershed one for LGBTQ+ film, giving birth to the term “New Queer Cinema” and introducing a revolutionary generation of films and filmmakers with energetic irreverence and disruptive aesthetics. At the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, B. Ruby Rich convened and moderated a panel of preeminent artists (including the late Derek Jarman) to discuss their work and the historic moment of its emergence. This year, Rich and other LGBTQ+ titans including Andrew Ahn, Greg Araki, Silas Howard, Isaac Julien, and Rose Troche, gather 30 years later to look back and imagine forward in this contemporary edition of Barbed Wire Kisses.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Producers Celebration. A celebration of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival producers and the Sundance Institute Creative Producing fellows with the presentation of the Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Awards.
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Beyond the Screen: Exploring Genre. Beyond the Screen will illuminate the creative process behind some of the most anticipated films in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival as their creators discuss the art and craft behind their projects.
10:00 – 11:30 p.m. Speakeasy: Conjuring the Collective – Womxn at Sundance promises an evening of dynamic performance and energizing conversation. Continuing the tradition of gathering and celebrating the womxn in the Festival community, this year’s event will reclaim the idea of a coven as a source of magic, healing, and power.
