The Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant is now accepting applications. The unrestricted $25,000 cash grant will be offered to a woman, non-binary or trans filmmaker 39 years or older who has not yet helmed a narrative feature. The grant was established by Northwest Film Forum alongside Duplass Brothers Productions in 2020 after Lynn Shelton’s untimely passing. Some of the late, Seattle-based director’s films include We Go Way Back (her 2006 debut feature), Humpday (2009), Laggies (2014) and Sword of Trust (2019). Shelton was inspired to make her first film at age 39 after learning that French auteur Claire […]
With the Sundance Native Lab having returned to a (hybrid) in-person model for the first time in two years, Filmmaker asked 2022 fellows to reflect on their recent experiences through short diary entries. Read the rest of the 2022 cohort’s responses. It’s an interesting thought process trying to find the right words to describe my time at the Sundance Film Festival’s Native Film Lab. From the beginning. there was an obvious feeling of kismet, an almost too good to be true energy to have when going into any creative development lab, let alone one from an institute like Sundance. But I guess […]
With the Sundance Native Lab having returned to a (hybrid) in-person model for the first time in two years, Filmmaker asked 2022 fellows to reflect on their recent experiences through short diary entries. Read the rest of the 2022 cohort’s responses. After a week of online Zoom meetings and activities, it was finally time to fly to Santa Fe for our in-person portion of the Native Lab. My first time traveling in ages. One of the rare flights during the end of the pandemic. As soon as I got to the gate, I immediately recognize two other people going to the lab […]
With the Sundance Native Lab having returned to a (hybrid) in-person model for the first time in two years, Filmmaker asked 2022 fellows to reflect on their recent experiences through short diary entries. Read the rest of the 2022 cohort’s responses. I will begin this by saying that my path to the Sundance Native Lab is anything but traditional. I was born in Lawton, Oklahoma and currently live in Wichita, Kansas where I work as a public librarian. Before 2022, the only writing anyone would associate with me was stand-up jokes and memes. Filmmaking was a lifelong passion of mine, but something I […]
With the Sundance Native Lab having returned to a (hybrid) in-person model for the first time in two years, Filmmaker asked 2022 fellows to reflect on their recent experiences through short diary entries. Read the rest of the 2022 cohort’s responses. Sundance Native Lab was a transformative time that deeply reaffirmed my practice, giving me confidence in my work that I never had before. A huge part of it was being grounded by other Indigenous writers in my cohort and in the care of such amazing leaders such as Moi—I felt I was in a safe space to share my script in its […]
With the Sundance Native Lab having returned to a (hybrid) in-person model for the first time in two years, Filmmaker asked 2022 fellows to reflect on their recent experiences through short diary entries. Read the rest of the 2022 cohort’s responses. Before the fellowship, I was feeling anxious. It’s a new environment with new people, cool people. I consider myself introverted, and thus out of my comfort zone. I was still in disbelief that I got chosen for the Full Circle Fellowship; I couldn’t believe that people would want to listen to me. I wasn’t sure of my voice as an […]
This May, the Sundance Native Lab kicked off with a unique two-pronged approach. From May 2-6, fellows met solely online, greeting each other and introducing their projects virtually through Zoom. The following week, from May 9-14, the Native Lab took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico—the first time fellows were able to convene in-person at the Lab’s Southwestern outpost since before the pandemic. Established in 2004, the Native Lab at Sundance connects emerging Indigenous filmmakers with seasoned industry mentors, engaging in a series of workshops that focus on fortifying the fellows’ writing, directing, and technical skills. Several Full Circle fellows, […]
I’m very happy to be welcoming to Filmmaker‘s staff this week Natalia Keogan, who is our full-time Web Editor. Readers will be familiar with Natalia’s byline, as she’s written for the website and print magazine since 2019. Among her recent pieces for us are interviews with Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman about their Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost, Leslie Harris about her seminal independent Just Another Girl on the IRT, and Jane Schoenbrun and Alex G about We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. A graduate of New York’s Craig Newmark School of Journalism, Natalia’s work has also been published at […]
In the storied history of France’s Luberon Valley, cinema has played a major role. As SCAD President Paula Wallace pointed out during this year’s SCAD Lacoste Film Festival: “The iconic films fashioned in the region of Provence are legendary. Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources, And God Created Woman—the list abounds with classics.” Now add the recently concluded SCAD Lacoste Film Festival to the notable cinematic features. The festival, which took place July 1–4 at SCAD’s location in majestic Lacoste, featured exclusive screenings, industry insights, a special tribute to Agnès Varda, and the presentation of the SCAD Etoile for Lifetime Achievement […]
I am a New Orleans based writer-director who is putting together a follow-up feature to my film Laundry Day. In 2021 I attached executive producer Corky Kessler and raised money to attend Sundance for the first time (I know, I know… overdue) with him as my defacto host. Of course, Sundance was canceled at the last minute, and I lost a big chunk of the money and what I thought was any hope of rubbing elbows with people who can help my new project, Drinking Music, get made at a substantial budget (my first seven-figure film). A few months later […]