by Claus Mueller, filmexchange@gmail.com New York
The Sundance 2021 festival is covered in two parts. In this first part the new context for Sundance 2021 is discussed; its customized festival model, the audience Sundance reached this year, and a listing of productions purchased to date, as well as the sponsors supporting this year’s edition. In the second part, which will be posted next week, I will review several features and documentaries.
The radical film and telev...
2021 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AUDIENCE ATTENDANCE
Sundance’s Largest-Ever Audience Comes Together Around Independent Storytelling
The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced attendance information for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which took place both online and in-person in 20 cities across the country from January 28 through February 3. The seven day Festival reached a total audience 2.7 times larger than at the typical 11 day Utah edition, despite the shorter durat...
Sundance 2021 Interview by Emmanuel Itier with FIRST DATE Director Manuel Crosby, Producer-Actor Brandon Kraus and actors: Tyson Brown and Shelby Duclos.
FIRST DATE, played in the NEXT category at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: After being conned into buying a shady '65 Chrysler, Mike's first date plans with girl-next-door Kelsey implode as he finds himself targeted by criminals, cops, and a crazy cat lady.
Q: How did this film come together, tell me about the ...
Festival director Tabitha Jackson leads a celebratory end to the 2021 Sundance Film Festival's all-new experience by bringing audiences together for one last word in the virtual space. This very special Sundance edition offered 71 Features, 50 Shorts, 4 Indie Series, 14 New Frontier Projects.
Watch our video channel from Sundance / Park City featuring Interviews, ambiance, trailers and clips THE SUNDANCE PARK CITY CHANNEL
Our full coverage with exclusive one on one inter...
WEIRDO NIGHT @ Sundance 2021.
Director Mariah Garnett and actress Jibz Cameron aka “Dynasty Handbag” interviewed by Emmanuel Itier for filmfestivals.com.
When COVID times hit, things were already weird for legendary performance artist Dynasty Handbag. Yes, she did have a regularly scheduled feeding off of the live energy of humans during monthly performances at Zebulon in Los Angeles. But when quarantine emptied the place, she took her show to the next level&...
WHAT’S ON TODAY
We’ve nearly reached the end, friends. Freshen up your home theater, pull on your nicest sweats, put on a pot of your strongest coffee, and settle in for a full-day celebration of independent storytelling as we close out the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Start your day at 9:00 a.m. MT with our Festival director Tabitha Jackson—during It’s a Wrap, she’ll be taking a look back at the last week and offering some part...
The Director of Hive, Blerta Basholli, received three prizes for her film competing in Sundance 2021: the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic, the film also won The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic...What else?
Watch her moving acceptance speeches
WE HAVE GOT THE GRAND JURY PRIZE AS WELL?...
Check the Interview she gave Emmanuel Itier a few days ago for filmfestivals.com
...
After six days and 73 feature films, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony took place tonight, hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, with jurors presenting 24 prizes for feature filmmaking and seven for Short Films. Honorees, named in total below, represent new achievements in global independent storytelling. Bold, intimate, and humanizing stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to CODA (U.S. Dramatic), Summer ...
Sean Ellis interviewed by Emmanuel Itier
EIGHT FOR SILVER BY Sean Ellis SUNDANCE 2021
In the late nineteenth century, brutal land baron Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) slaughters a Roma clan, unleashing a curse on his family and village. In the days that follow, the townspeople are plagued by nightmares, Seamus’s son Edward (Max Mackintosh) goes missing, and a boy is found murdered. The locals suspect a wild animal, but visiting pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook) wa...
Late last year, the Sundance community was deeply saddened by the passing of filmmaker Jamie Redford. At 4:00 p.m. MT, on the penultimate day of the 2021 Festival, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating his memory at the premiere of his film Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir. A look into the life and legacy of literary titan Amy Tan, author of best sellers like The Joy Luck Club, the documentary goes deep, moving through generations of Tan’s family and contextualizing the p...
BUY TICKETS • SHOP MERCH • EXPLORE THE PROGRAM
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Today is Ignite Day, presented by Adobe (more on that below!), and we’re raising a toast to the next generation of independent storytellers. Speaking of which, the day’s screenings include exciting directorial debuts that are sure to be talked about all year long. See them here first. Carey Williams’s R#J is told entirely through social media and smartphone...
BUY TICKETS • SHOP MERCH • EXPLORE THE PROGRAM
WHAT’S ON TODAY
We’re almost to the halfway point—but there are still plenty of powerful world premieres to come at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. We have Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s My Name Is Pauli Murray, an illuminating portrait of the brilliant Black activist, feminist, poet, lawyer, and priest who influenced landmark civil rights legislation. And we’re excited to...
Sundance 2021 Midnight selection: MOTHER SCHMUCKERS by Lenny and Harpo Guit
Two low-down, rotten brothers named Issachar and Zabulon are starving and can’t seem to scrounge up a meal anywhere. Things only get worse when they lose the beloved dog belonging to their mom, Cashmere, who kicks them out of the family apartment until they return her nippy little January Jack. Things are going to get uncomfortably bizarre with these two dopes on the run in the ruthless urban jungle of B...
JAMILA WIGNOT'S DOCUMENTARY AILEY
The Sundance Film Festival has always been about so much more than the films themselves—from sun-up to sundown, there’s a lot to see and do outside of our virtual cinemas. This afternoon’s Big Conversation, for example, has been nearly 30 years in the making.
Take a perfect moment with your family and nature and find those places are also shared by people who are sinister and have different intentions. When those t...
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Rise and shine—it’s Day Two. Start things off with The Sundance Dailies, presented by Acura, where you can share a virtual coffee with Festival director Tabitha Jackson and special guests every morning at 9:00 a.m. MT. If you slept in and missed today’s show featuring writer-director Rebecca Hall (Passing) and actor Eugenio Derbez (CODA), not to worry—you can catch up whenever you’d like here, no pass or ticket required.
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This year, the festival will be held online via an online platform developed by Sundance itself and offline at satellite screenings throughout the country. In addition, festival-goers will be able to gather in virtual spaces, participate in live Q&As and meet up in new, inspiring online environments to interact in a variety of ways.
The German-Italian-Danish co-production HUMAN FACTORS by Ronny Trocker will have its world premiere in the Sundance Film Festival's Main Competition. Th...
New initiative dedicated to the promotion for european films at the 2021 sundance film festival
Photocredits FLEE Cinephil; TAMING THE GARDEN Syndicado LUZZU Memento; PLEASURE Plattform Produktion; HIVE LevelK/Alex Bloom; HUMAN FACTORS Heretic Outreach; SABAYA Dogwoof; THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD Films Boutique; MISHA AND THE WOLVES MetFilm; PRESIDENT Cinephil; EL PLANETA; PRIME TIME IKH Picture Promotion...
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Presents Feature Film Prize to Son of Monarchs, Announces New Grants to Artists at 2021 Sundance Film Festival
Director-Screenwriter Alexis Gambis Honored
At the 2021 Sundance Film Festival today, the beneficiaries of $70,000 in grants from Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were named. Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, presented the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film...
Now in its Sixth Consecutive Year, Fellowship Honors Artistic Contributions of Late Māori Filmmaker
Marja Bål Nango Photo: Kaja Smith
Sundance Institute today announced Marja Bål Nango (Sámi) as the 2021 recipient of the Merata Mita Fellowship, an annual fellowship named in honor of the late Māori filmmaker Merata Mita (1942-2010). The announcement was delivered today at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Native Forum Celebration by N. Bird Runningwa...
SNOWY A short directed by Alexander W. Lewis and Kaitlyn Schwalje - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13653432
Interview with the director by Emmanuel Itier
1/ what inspired you to make this film and what did you want to explore with it?
Kaitlyn: I love taking what seems like an ordinary character, a squirrel, a quiet old man, a turtle living in a basement, and digging deep for surprises--spending so much time and energy developing the story that the charac...
YouTube Originals released the first trailer today for the forthcoming feature length documentary, “Life In A Day 2020,” launching February 6 on the film’s YouTube channel. “Life In A Day 2020” premieres virtually at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1.
Watch the “Life In A Day 2020” Trailer HERE
On July 25, 2020, people all over the world filmed their day and uploaded their footage to be co...
Opening Night Welcome, Awards Night, Conversations & More, Available Free & Worldwide Sponsors, Foundations Host Virtual Main Street Venues
The lineup for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, taking place on a Sundance-built and feature-rich online platform, goes well beyond feature and short films, episodic work and the VR/XR of New Frontier -- it also encompasses a curated program of free special events, conversations and activations available to the global public. These Talks and ...
Coming to you live wherever you are, it’s Day One at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. While we’ll miss seeing your faces along Main Street in Park City, we’re so glad you’ve joined us for this reimagined online experience that’s been nearly a year in the making—and there are so many ways to connect and explore together, even before the features begin. Dive into all of the events and offers in Festival Village, or use your pass to access our Indie Series...
The success of the New Horizons Association industry events. Films developed during the NH and AFF festivals in the program of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Prime Time, Jakub Piątek's debut film produced by Kuba Razowski (Watchout Studio), will have its world premiere in the feature film competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was developed as part of the international programme New Horizons Studio+ 2019 organized by the New Horizons Association ...
SoundTrack_Cologne (June 9 - 12, 2021) and its sister event SoundTrack_Zurich (September 28 -30, 2021) are happy to bring German and Swiss composers to the Film Music House during Sundance Film Festival. Composers Dascha Dauenhauer (German Film Award 2020, European Film Award 2021) and Olivia Pedroli (Swiss Film Award 2020) will talk with host and fellow composer Hanna Sophie Lüke about their work experiences. The panel will be available from January 29, 2021 at https://vill...
The editorial team 
