The Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute released the names of the eleven projects they are supporting, through grants for development, production, or post-production. The $1.5 million, three-year initiative is a joint collaboration between the Sundance Institiute and Cinereach, and was created to support documentary and narrative features that tackle themes that provoke global cultural exchange. In addition to receiving grants, the projects’ collaborators will benefit from working alongside artists from the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab, Documentary Edit & Story Lab, Composers & Documentary Lab, the Creative Producing Feature and Documentary Labs, and the Sundance Film Festival.
“The unique partnership between Sundance Institute and Cinereach enables a deeper support of innovative independent film,” said Keri Putnam, Executive Director, Sundance Institute, in a statement. “The initiative is an extension of the ongoing support provided by the Sundance Institute through our Labs and funding opportunities, dedicated to nurturing artists’ individual voices. We’re thrilled to be working with Cinereach to support these eleven documentary and narrative feature film projects at critical stages in their development.”
Projects selected as Sundance Institute Cinereach Grantees include:
“Yelling to the Sky”
Writer-director: Victoria Mahoney (Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Lab Fellow)
Producer: Diane Houslin (Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow)
In a distressed New York neighborhood, the younger of two mixed-race sisters navigates an identity between the known: a violent life of crime, and the unknown: a life of purpose and meaning.
“Here”
Director: Braden King (Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Lab Fellow)
Writers: Braden King and Dani Valent
Producers: Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen
Cartographer Will Shepard hits the road for his latest job: to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia. During his assignment, he forms a bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer.
“On the Ice”
Writer-director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Lab Fellow)
Producers: Cara Marcous (Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow) and Lynette Howell
On the snow-covered arctic tundra, at the top of the world in Barrow, Alaska, two Iñuit teenagers try to get away with murder.
“Postcards from the Zoo”
Co-writer-director: Edwin (Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab Fellow)
Co-writer: Daud Sumolang (Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab Fellow)
Producers: Meiske Taurisia, Lorna Tee
After being abandoned at a young age at the zoo, a young woman leaves her magical childhood behind to discover the world outside.
“The Ruined Cast”
Writer-director: Dash Shaw (Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Fellow)
Producers: Howard Gertler, John Cameron Mitchell
Told with hand-drawn animation, a disconnected family is thrown into chaos when the scientist father loses the test subject of his experiment with appearance-altering technology.
“The Arizona Project” (Working Title)
Directors: Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini
Reporting from the frontlines of the new battle for America’s soul, filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini follow the volatile, unfolding story of Arizona’s racially charged immigration law, Senate Bill 1070.
“Untitled Margaret Brown Oil Spill Documentary”
Director: Margaret Brown
Margaret Brown’s new documentary is an investigation into the personal stories behind the tragic 2010 BP Oil Spill. The film uncovers how government and corporate interests respond in the wake of an environmental crisis, and the way this affects a region and culture so rooted in nature.
“Untitled Documentary by Lauren Greenfield”
Director: Lauren Greenfield
This untitled cinema verite film by Lauren Greenfield is a portrait of an American family against the backdrop of the financial crisis.
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