Sundance Responses
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“I Always Love Rehearsals” | Sophie Hyde, Jimpa
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 always love rehearsals, the urgency to shut everything away and tune into the characters and get to know the cast. On Jimpa I remember a striking rehearsal session where John Lithgow was meeting with the actors who make up his closest friends in the film, three wonderful Dutch actors (Hans Kesting, Frank Sanders […]
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“The First Time Paul Eased Into the Role of Subject” | Matt Wolf, Pee-wee as Himself
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? It was a long process to get Paul Reubens comfortable appearing in front of the camera for the documentary. Paul had been an avid home videomaker since the 1970s, and a huge amount of his own footage appears in the documentary. With that in mind, I bought Paul a new camcorder, and I asked […]
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“A Certain Moment Happened That Gave Me Goosebumps All Over” | Shoshannah Stern, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
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 day I will remember the most ten years into the future took place on the last day of my very first shoot for this film on location in Toronto. I had gotten the job only a few weeks before. On the plane there, I was still trying to figure out what the film […]
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“It Became My Therapy, My Hope in the World” | Jennifer Tiexiera, Speak.
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 remember switching off the news the night before and hoping for the best. Instead, I woke up to the news that Trump had won the election—again. One would think that I would be more prepared for this the second time around, but I wasn’t. I was anxious, sad, frustrated and really, really scared. […]
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Sundance 2025: Editor Interviews
Each year, Filmmaker sends all Sundance feature film or series editors a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also send out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for cinematographers and first-time Sundance feature producers. Below, find links to individual editor responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “Paring the Story Down to Its Bare Essentials”: Editor Joshua L. Pearson on Sly Lives “What Paul Was Saying Was Very Reflective of Who He Was”: Editor Damian Rodriguez on Pee-wee as Himself “It Was an Ambitious Project From the Get-go”: Editor Bryan […]
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Sundance 2025 Interviews: First-Time Producers
This year, Filmmaker sent all first-time Sundance feature film producers a questionnaire to complete ahead of their film’s festival screening. We also sent out a single question for feature directors to answer as well as questionnaires for editors and cinematographers. Below, find links to individual first-time Sundance feature producer responses, which will be updated daily during the festival. “Budget a Worst-Case Scenario and Then Do Better”: Producers Ivan Unkovski and Ivana Shekutkoska on DJ Ahmet “Don’t Be Afraid to Speak Up and Set the Tone”: Producer Pierre M. Coleman on Ricky “It Came Down to Me Not Wanting to Miss […]
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The 2025 Sundance Question: What Was Your Film’s Most Memorable Day?
Each year, Filmmaker asks all the incoming feature directors at Sundance one question. (To see last year’s question and responses, click here.) We also send out cinematographer, editor and first-time producer questionnaires. This year’s question: 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? Below, find links to each director’s individual response to the prompt. Keep checking back here during the festival, as […]
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“Ninety Percent of Our Film Takes Place In One Location” | Greg Jardin, It’s What’s Inside
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? Ninety percent of our film takes place in one location, which makes that the default answer – a giant house in the middle of nowhere. The whole impetus behind the film’s premise was coming up with something that could unfold in a single […]
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“A Departure From Narratives of Division” | Iliana Sosa, God Save Texas: La Frontera
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? God Save Texas: La Frontera unfolds its narrative amidst the backdrop of El Paso, Texas—a sister city to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. Within the embrace of the Border, a realm pulsating with political fervor, two cultures harmonize, forging the unique tapestry that defines this […]
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“Texas is a Mirror That Reflects Back What America Has Been” | Alexandria Stapleton, God Save Texas: The Price of Oil
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? Texas is many things – a place, an identity, and an idea. It is a state, a state of being, and a state of mind. It holds itself apart and is held apart. It polarizes. And that makes for a good story. My […]
