Sundance
-
“The Day We Became a Family” | Elegance Bratton, Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? The most significant day was the day our production coordinator’s apartment caught on fire. That morning, we drove to set and noticed a smoking apartment tower. We went about the day as normal. At a point, we hear all of these sirens. Our production coordinator gets a call to inform her that her apartment […]
-
“The Intense, Emotional Journey of Navigating One’s Queerness”: Editor Erik Vogt-Nilsen on Plainclothes
Lucas is a young undercover police officer tasked with cracking down on gay communities whose job gets complicated when he falls in love with one of his targets in Plainclothes. The film is the feature debut of writer-director Carmen Emmi and is part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition. Erik Vogt-Nilsen (Big Boys) served as the editor on Plainclothes. Below, he explains how his own coming out, as well as his background in both dance and commercials, helped him shape the narrative and striking a balance between observing Lucas and inhabiting his point of view. See all responses […]
-
“I Wanted to Make Sure the Energy of the Place Was Preserved”: Editor Chelsi Johnston on Sunfish
-
“It Might Yield Something Truly Beautiful” | Clint Bentley, Train Dreams
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? I think it would have to be the first scene we shot. We were filming in a beautiful cabin we had built on location in eastern Washington, and Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones were just starting to bring their characters to life. What was scripted as a simple dialogue-free moment naturally grew into a […]
-
“You’d Be Surprised How Happy People Are to Talk About the Best Times in Their Lives”: Elegance Bratton on His Sundance-Debuting Doc, Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
“A good party knows no fucking sexual orientation, no race, no socioeconomic background,” notes Vince Lawrence, the very first person to record a house song and the main protagonist in Elegance Bratton’s Sundance-debuting Move Ya Body: The Birth of House. That a global movement could be traced back to a rather nerdy Black youngster raised in the segregated world of Mayor Daley’s Chicago is just one surprising element in this lovingly crafted music history lesson. (Less surprising is the number of white folks who would also like to take credit.) But perhaps most remarkable is that through a combination of […]
-
“These Two Worlds Couldn’t Be More Opposite”: DP Tobias Schliessler on Kiss of the Spider Woman
In Kiss of the Spider Woman, director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Gods and Monsters) of the 1985 film of the same name amid Argentina’s Dirty War. Set partially in a prison as Molina (Tonatiuh) recounts his favorite Hollywood musical to his cellmate Valentin (Diego Luna), the film blends period realism with Technicolor glamor. Tobias Schliessler, who has also worked frequently with Peter Berg, served as director of photography on the production, his seventh time working with Condon. Below, he explains how he altered his lighting, equipment, and style to contrast the film’s 1981 prison scenes with its musical sequences, which seek […]
-
“Moviemaking Goes Hand-in-Hand with Collaboration” | Sophie Brooks, Oh, Hi!
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? The magic of moviemaking goes hand-in-hand with collaboration. It takes a village to make a film, and every step and person along the way feels vital, but nothing can exist without that initial spark. When I search in my mind over the last four-and-a half-years it took to make this film, the day that […]
-
“That Call Was Almost as Exciting as the Good News Call from Sundance” | Sierra Falconer, Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)
-
“Anything That Does a Good Job Everywhere Can’t Do a Great Job Anywhere”: DP Marcus Patterson on Sunfish
In Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition premiere Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), the lives of a girl learning to sail, a musician, two sisters running a bed-and-breakfast and a fisherman intersect in the eponymous Northern Michigan locale. The film, the debut feature by Sierra Falconer was shot largely on location. Below, cinematographer Marcus Patterson (Soukoon) discusses his influences for the film’s look and how he plans around budget limitations without compromising his ambitions. 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 […]
-
“To Evoke Those Deep Emotional Layers With Utmost Honesty”: DP Vikas Urs on Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)
When he returns to his remote hometown in western India for his father’s funeral, Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) is immediately faced with intrusive questions from relatives about his marriage status in Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears). When sparks fly between him and a local farmer, he must navigate his community’s tolerance while learning to accept his own sexuality. Cinematographer Vikas Urs discusses shooting director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s feature debut, which premieres in the festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. 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 […]
