Sundance Responses
Featured
“Choosing the Perfect Lens for Us Was the Bigger Challenge”: DP André Jäger on The Persian Version
The Persian Version, courtesy of Sundance Institute.
When Leila’s (Layla Mohammadi) Iranian-American family gathers in New York City for her father’s heart transplant surgery, a secret that she’s been keeping is unceremoniously spilled. What she wasn’t expecting, however, is learning how much her own life parallels that… Read more
“Nothing Is Wasted in the Process of Documentary Editing”: Editor Jean Rheem on Bad Press
Bad Press, courtesy of Sundance Institute.
When the 2015 Free Press Act is repealed, Angel Ellis and her colleagues at Mvskoke Media in Okmulgee, Oklahoma begin a long battle to offer transparent journalism for Muscogee Nation readers. Bad Press, directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler,… Read more
“The Storm, the Fog, the Humidity” | Christopher Murray, Sorcery
Catarina Oliveira in Sorcery, courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film?… Read more
“A Family Drama and a Whodunnit at the Same Time”: Editor Robert Grigsby Wilson on Fancy Dance
Fancy Dance by Erica Tremblay, courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Jax (Lily Gladstone) has been taking care of her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) ever since her sister’s recent disappearance in Fancy Dance, the feature debut from Indigenous filmmaker Erica Tremblay. When two weeks pass without word from her, CPS shows… Read more
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“The Textures, Colors and Feeling of Muscogee Nation Permeate the Screen”: DP Tyler Graim on Bad Press
When the Muscogee Nation begins censoring its free press, reporter Angel Ellis and her colleagues at Mvskoke Media engage in a dogged quest for transparency and government accountability on the behalf its readers and the community at large. This is the fight that unfolds in the documentary Bad Press, from co-directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, which follows the ramifications of the 2015 Free Press Act’s repeal. Cinematographer Tyler Graim discusses how he approached shooting a documentary full of twists and turns and the influence of “slow cinema” on the film’s visual style. See all responses to our annual Sundance […]
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“There Were So Many Times That This Film Changed in Form, Tone and Story” | Elaine McMillion Sheldon, King Coal
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? See all responses to our annual Sundance Question here. King Coal is whole-heartedly a creative response to the very act of filmmaking. We filmed this over three years and we were led from shoot-to-shoot based on reactions and creative impulses of our team and Appalachians we filmed with. Some ideas for shots and scenes came to me as a single image […]
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“It Took an Additional 14 Months of Editing” | Joe Peeler, Bad Press
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? In the fall of 2021, we were about a year into our edit and preparing to submit Bad Press to the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. We had been filming the battle for free press in the Muscogee Nation for two-and-a-half years at that point, and we felt that the story had all but wrapped up. Suddenly, about two weeks before […]
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“Creative Storytelling Needs Rather Simple Tools”: Editors Tushar Prakash and Hendrik Mägar on Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
In Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the hazy and intimate doc from Estonian director Anna Hints, a group of women bear body and soul for the camera as they engage in lengthy shvitzes and discuss their most personal thoughts and memories while worshiping the divine feminine connection they all share. Editors Tushar Prakash and Hendrik Mägar discuss how they each approached cutting the film, with Mägar coming on during post-production to do the final edit. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors […]
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“My Own Sweat Would Drip Onto the Camera”: DP Ants Tammik on Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Women bear all in Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the intimate documentary from Estonian filmmaker Anna Hints. While partaking in the ritualistic cleanse, a group of women divulge secrets, talk through past traumas and, above all, foster their feminine bond while sweating bullets in the nude. DP Ants Tammik tells Filmmaker about the complications of shooting in such a hot, stuffy environment with sensitive equipment —and a few injuries he sustained along the way. 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 […]
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“Each Film I Make Will Require New and Different Ways of Thinking”: Editor Luke Lorentzen on A Still Small Voice
An aspiring chaplain must complete her yearlong residency at NYC’s Mount Sinai Hospital during a particularly dark period for public health in A Still Small Voice, the latest from doc filmmaker Luke Lorentzen. Between 2020 and 2021, Mati conducts visits as part of the hospital’s spiritual care department, navigating the grief, trauma and uncertainly that weighs heavily on these patients—and herself. Lorentzen, who acted as director, cinematographer and editor, discusses his experience cutting the film, which he describes as his “favorite part of the filmmaking process.” See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]
