Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events
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“Every Time I Watch the Film, I Still Get Choked Up”: Producer Adrien Barrouillet on In the Land of Brothers
A French co-production shot entirely in Iran, In the Land of Brothers follows three Afghan refugees who struggle for decades to make Iran feel like a real home. The film is the debut feature of Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi, who previously co-directed the short Solar Eclipse together. The film was produced by first-time producer Adrien Barrouillet, who discusses how he came up in the industry and recalls the moment he knew the film was in a good position. See all responses to our questionnaire for first-time Sundance producers here. Filmmaker: Tell us about the professional path that led you to produce […]
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“Take Care of Your Community and They Will Take Care of You”: Producer Daniel Tantalean on In the Summers
In the Summers follows two sisters who, during their formative years, spend the summers visiting their caring but volatile father in New Mexico. The film is the feature debut of Alessandra Lacorazza and also the first producing credit for Daniel Tantalean. Below, Tantalean details the long journey in getting the film made, extols his mentors and community, and shares what he learned. See all responses to our questionnaire for first-time Sundance producers here. Filmmaker: Tell us about the professional path that led you to produce this film, your first? What jobs within and outside of the film industry did you do, […]
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“Light Cannot and Should Not Limit the Movements of the Actors”: DP Diego Romero Suarez-Llanos on Reinas
In the midst of the chaotic Alberto Fujimori dictatorship, two girls and their mother plan to leave Lima for the United States, but they first attempt to reconnect with the estranged father. Such is the premise of Reinas, the third feature film by Klaudia Reynicke (Love Me Tender, The Nest). A proper emulation of 1992 Lima was of particular importance to the filmmakers. Below, cinematographer Diego Romero Suarez-Llanos dives deep into the lighting schemes the filmmakers used to pull it off. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer […]
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“Some Moments Feel Like They’re from a Totally Different World”: Editor Tory Stewart on Conbody VS Everybody
Debra Granik, whose most recent work was the 2018 Sundance premiere Leave No Trace, returns to documentary with Conbody VS Everybody, an episodic series that marks her first entry in the medium. The series follows Coss Marte, an ex-convict who starts a gym with the aim of breaking the cycle of recidivism and fending off gentrification in New York City’s Lower East Side. Editing the series is Tory Stewart, editor of Stray Dog, Granik’s 2014 documentary, and also a contributor on Leave No Trace and Winter’s Bone. Below, she talks about how the edit and the series evolved over many years and the time capsule […]
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“We Allow Each Person to Identify with Any or All of the Main Characters”: Editor Adam Dicterow on In the Summers
Director Alessandra Lacorazza’s In the Summers follows two sisters who, over several formative summers, visit their caring but tempestuous father in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The cast includes Lio Mehiel, who won an acting prize at last year’s Sundance for Mutt, as well as Sasha Calle and René Pérez Joglar (also known as Residente, co-founder of the rap outfit Calle 13). Adam Dicterow, whose previous credits include the aforementioned Mutt, as well as Dear Evan Hansen, and HBO’s Succession, served as editor. Below, he talks about why the film moves through different styles and recalls the editing room deliberations about the film’s ending. […]
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“The Lower East Side is Effulgent with the Grist of Urban Existence” | Debra Granik, Conbody VS Everybody
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? Our film, Conbody VS Everybody, takes place in the Lower East Side (LES) of Manhattan, the home of Coss, the lead participant in the documentary. The neighborhood comes with concentrated history that is inscribed on its surfaces and structures. I can’t think of […]
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“We Wanted To Embed the Viewer in the Energy of the Campaign”: Editor Aaron Soffin on And So It Begins
After Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s term comes to an end, the promise of democracy and threat of increased authoritarianism sends droves of citizens into the street to campaign for Liberal Party candidate Leni Robredo. Filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz captures the lead-up and aftermath of this critical election in her film And So It Begins, a companion to her 2020 doc A Thousand Cuts, about journalist Maria Ressa, who risks her life in order to vocally criticize Duterte’s involvement in the war on drugs. Below, editor Aaron Soffin discusses how he came onto the project only five months ago, trained under […]
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“I Hope Watching Her Will Spark That Curiosity in All of Us”: Editor Celia Beasley on Penelope
With Penelope, Mel Eslyn, director of last year’s Biosphere and a producer who has worked with the Duplass brothers and Lynn Shelton, enters the world of episodic series. The series follows a 16-year-old girl who, feeling out of place in the world, ventures into the wilderness. Penelope will screen as part of Sundance’s Episodic Pilot Showcase. Below, editor Celia Beasley discusses the importance of Washington state’s indie film community and how the series reignited her love of the outdoors. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor questionnaire here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? […]
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“The Turning Points of the Story are Painful and Challenging Moments”: Editor Hayedeh Safiyari on In The Land of Brothers
Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi first co-directed the short Solar Eclipse, and they have teamed up again for In the Land of Brothers, a feature debut for each. The film tells the story of three members of an Afghan family who flee to Iran as refugees and struggle to find acceptance and security. In The Land of Brothers‘ editor is Hayedeh Safiyari (A Separation, The Salesman), who has edited many of contemporary Iran’s best-known filmmakers. Below, she discusses the novel challenges of editing a film with sharply delineated chapters and the importance of an editor connecting emotionally to the script. See […]
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“Instead of Fighting Those Limitations, I Had to Learn to Embrace Them”: DP Pierce Derks on In A Violent Nature
Sundance 2024 Midnight selection In A Violent Nature puts a twist on the slasher film by sticking with its killer rather than its victim. Shot in woods of Northern Ontario, much of the film consists of one figure navigating that locale rather than advancing the story in the tried-and-true methods associated with the genre. Below, cinematographer Pierce Derks discusses the difficulties of shooting in such a remote location and how, with limited equipment, the crew found a setup that achieved the look that they wanted. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
