Sundance Film Festival 2016
-
“In My World, Hatred Only Begets Hatred”: Director Martin Zandvliet | Land of Mine
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? My “hidden” motivation. You could say that I’ve tried to make a political film, hidden within a […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2016 -
“The Film Conjured Up Many Forgotten Memories”: Director Babak Anvari | Under the Shadow
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? I don’t think there is a secret story. The main plot, and the subplots and the themes […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2016 -
“The Secret Ingredient Was Institutionalized Love and Compassion”: Director James Redford | Resilience
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? Our core concern in making Resilience was to popularize the dangers of chronic stress on the developing child. […]
by Soheil Rezayazdi on Jan 22, 2016 -
“I Never Expected to Be Attacked by Screaming Mobs”: Director Nanfu Wang | Hooligan Sparrow
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? This is a not a film that I planned to make. When I started this film, I […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2016 -
10 Lessons Learned While Making My First Short Film Budget
Earlier this year I produced a very low budget short film, Affections, directed by Bridey Elliott and premiering at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Armed with a Master’s Degree and several experiences assisting producers in the past, I assumed I knew everything I needed to in order to create an accurate budget. As with all firsts, this was an incredible learning experience that highlighted several integral lessons to keep in mind while creating any kind of film budget. Look to the script Although labor intensive, it’s worth spending the time to do a comprehensive script breakdown (a big spreadsheet outlining […]
by Sarah Winshall on Jan 22, 2016 -
The Sundance Question: What Is Your Film’s Secret Story?
Each year Filmmaker asks all the incoming feature directors at Sundance one question. This year, our question regards the secret story behind each film. (To see past years’ questions and responses, click here.) This year’s question: In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2016 -
“Something Fun and Totally Indulgent”: Director Jim Hosking | The Greasy Strangler
In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? After I had spent a long time labouring over a couple of other scripts, I decided to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2016 -
12 Films to Anticipate at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival
As always, Sundance is chock full of anticipated films, many by friends, colleagues and filmmakers we track here at the magazine. Below are 12 films I’m really hoping to see while I’m in Park City. Swiss Army Man. Consider The Daniels’s (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schweine) arresting and surreal string of music videos and short films their very long tease for a debut feature that promises to be one of the Dramatic Competition’s most anarchic entries. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano and, explaining the title, Schweine told Filmmaker last summer, when The Daniels made our 25 New […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 22, 2016 -
Eight Recommended Short Films at Sundance 2016
Features premiering at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival tend to receive the most media attention and press coverage, but there are a number of short works making their debut this week that deserve equal or greater consumer attention. Documentary filmmakers trying their hand at narrative work, established producers getting behind the lens for the first time: many of the shorts in this year’s Sundance lineup feature filmmakers stepping outside of their comfort zone to expand their careers and diversify their storytelling output. The short form is an ideal place to try new things, of course, and it’s encouraging to see filmmakers of […]
by Erik Luers on Jan 21, 2016 -
“Don’t Eat the Clam Chowder on Main Street” and Nine Other Sundance Mistakes to Avoid
In 2015, there were about 2,300 dramatic features, 1,800 documentary features and around 8000 short films submitted for Sundance for a total of 184 slots (79 for features, 45 for docs, and 60 for shorts). Getting into Sundance is an achievement in itself, but then what? How do you ride that wave and make the most of the experience for your project and also for your career? We interviewed Sundance filmmakers and industry insiders and got their honest and unfiltered opinions about how to make the most of the film business’s most anticipated festival. Struggling to articulate what your film […]
by Shruti Ganguly on Jan 21, 2016
