Interviews
Interviews
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“Being a Latina Immigrant Offered Me Personal Insight Into the Culture That Influenced and Inspired This Great Artist”: Carla Gutiérrez on Her Sundance-Premiering Frida
Though 2024 marks seven decades since the passing of Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, it often feels as if the ubiquitous artist never actually died (or lived) at all. A feminist/Chicana/indigenous/disabled/nonbinary icon ahead of her (if not outside the concept of) time, Frida Kahlo has long been celebrated as more phantasmagoric myth than flesh-and-blood painter (as opposed to her corporeal hubby Diego Rivera). Indeed, the visage that first radiated from her own canvas has since reverberated — and been commercialized — down through the ages. (One of many ironies in the lives of the staunchly communist couple who traveled […]
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“I’ve Never Had a Director Give Me a GIF as a Reference Before”: DP Cristina Dunlap on American Fiction
Music videos have been good to Cristina Dunlap. As a photography-obsessed high schooler, a chance meeting landed the L.A. native a gig shooting stills on a music video. It happened to be for Death Cab for Cutie, leading to a run of jobs with influential directors like Hiro Murai and Ace Norton. After working her way up to the role of cinematographer, a Coldplay video collaboration with Dakota Johnson led to Dunlap shooting a pair of features starring the actress, Am I OK? and Cha Cha Real Smooth, both of which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. A music […]
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“Trying To Fit Someone’s Dream Into a Confined Budget Is Not Easy”: Producer Sam Intili on I Saw the TV Glow
A strange late-night TV show entrances teen loners, played by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, in I Saw the TV Glow, writer-director Jane Schoenbrun’s sophomore feature. The program depicts a supernatural world existing underneath the duo’s suburban sprawl, hinting at the horror that lurks just under the surface of white picket fence aspirations. First-time producer Sam Intili shares how they came on board the project and their pride in the finished film never compromising on “the queerness or explicit transness” of the material. See all responses to our questionnaire for first-time Sundance producers here. Filmmaker: Tell us about the professional path […]
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“We Realized During the Edit That There Were Several Options for the Ending”: Editor Sofi Marshall on I Saw the TV Glow
Suburban teen loner Owen (Justice Smith) is introduced to a late-night TV show shrouded in mystery by a fellow classmate (Brigette Lundy-Paine) in I Saw the TV Glow, the latest genre offering from writer-director Jane Schoenbrun. Dubbed an “emo horror” flick by Sundance programmers, Schoenbrun’s sophomore feature is having its world premiere in Park City this year, where the filmmaker’s buzzy feature debut, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, similarly premiered in 2021. Editor Sofi Marshall discusses how she became involved in Schoenbrun’s latest project, how the “independent” section of her local Blockbuster catalyzed her filmic career path and […]
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“Crafting Stories With My Head and My Heart”: Editor Amy Foote on Girls State
Filmmaking team Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine follow-up their 2020 documentary Boys State, naturally, with Girls State, making its Sundance debut in the festival’s Premieres category. Much like their previous film, Girls State follows a diverse group of teenage girls across the state of Missouri who engage in a week-long immersive project that requires them to collectively construct a government from the ground up, which this time includes building a judicial branch on both local and state levels. With the project unfolding as Roe v. Wade threatens to be overturned, the girls also ruminate on how real-world legislature could infringe […]
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“I Approached Each Edit as I Would an Onion”: Editor Julian Ulrichs on Kneecap
Kneecap, the Belfast-based, Irish-language rap trio that became a symbol of a civil rights struggle to save the Irish tongue. The three members play themselves in Kneecap, a Sundance 2024 Next selection and Rich Peppiatt’s take on the band’s story. Serving as editor is Julian Ulrichs, who also cut the music-heavy Sing Street. Below, he talks about what drew him to the film and how he balanced the film’s humor with its heart. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor questionnaire here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and […]
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“We Tried to Take Advantage of What We Found on Site”: DP Nicolas Canniccioni on How to Have Sex
How to Have Sex, the breakout debut feature of Molly Manning Walker that played at Cannes in 2023, will screen at Sundance this year as part of the Spotlight section. The film chronicles the rite-of-passage holiday of three British teens as they navigate the complexities of sex and self-discovery. Below, cinematographer Nicolas Canniccioni (Gerontophilia) exalts the value of abundant prep work and details the film’s varied approach to lighting. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led […]
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“I Feel Like We Made an Image That I Have Never Seen Before”: DP Eric Yue on I Saw the TV Glow
Jane Schoenbrun’s follow-up to the 2021 Sundance hit We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is I Saw the TV Glow, about a teenager whose friend introduces him to a late-night TV show that grants access to a supernatural world. The film will play as part of the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance. Eric Yue, who shot one of last year’s breakout Sundance hits (A Thousand and One) serves as DP on I Saw the TV Glow. Below, he shares the film’s eclectic reference points and explains how he and Schoenbrun found a visual aesthetic befitting the film’s strangeness. See all […]
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“Anyone That Watched the Early Cuts Had the Same Reaction”: Editors Dashya Broadway and Jon Higgins on Your Monster
In Caroline Lindy’s debut feature, an actress’s life quickly bottoms out, only to be rebuilt with the help of a monster living in her closet. Premiering in Sundance’s Midnight section, Your Monster, an adaptation of Lindy’s own 2020 short, nevertheless finds itself frequently in the vein of a rom-com. Below, editors Dashya Broadway and Jon Higgins talk about finding the right tone for a story that has a little bit of everything and making sure they didn’t leave the audience waiting for too long. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor questionnaire here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
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“Treat People Well and They’ll Treat You Well”: Producer Chris Kaye on Thelma
Thelma spins a real-life experience of director Josh Margolin’s grandmother into a comedic action film. The eponymous character, played by veteran character actor June Squibb (The Age of Innocence, Scent of a Woman, Far from Heaven) falls victim to a phone scammer claiming to be her grandson and begins a literal quest for justice. The film also marks the first producing credit for Chris Kaye, who recounts his long road to the gig, which began in earnest just as he was ready to throw in the towel and embark on a new career. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time […]
