Nonfiction Projects, All Women-Directed, Range From Intimate Familial Explorations to Experiments in Speculative Nonfiction'
Los Angeles, CA - On June 21, five boundary-pushing nonfiction film project teams will convene at the Sundance Resort in Utah for the 2019 Documentary Edit and Story Lab, Sundance Institute announced today.
Designed to provide time and space to go deep into the language, form, and meaning of these five independent nonfiction films, the Lab combines director and editor teams in the later stages of post-production, with renowned documentary filmmakers, for the process of reimagining or reconceiving dramatic structures, exploring character and story development, and refocusing around the director's original animating vision for their work.
Documentary Film Program Director Tabitha Jackson, who oversees the process alongside Labs Director Kristin Feeley, said By gathering these filmmakers together with some of the field's most compelling creators, we hope to not only advance their projects through the revelatory process of editing, but also to build community and meaningfully expand the realm of imaginative possibility for the film teams themselves.
Director advisors for the Documentary Edit and Story Lab are Lou Pepe & Keith Fulton (The Bad Kids), and Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation); Editor advisors are Kate Amend (The Case Against 8), Andrea Chignoli (Cielo) and Alex OFlinn (The Rider).
For the fourth year, the Lab will host a writer-in-residence. This year, Manuel Betancourt will join as part of a program designed to forge deeper understanding of nonfiction film by immersing film critics into the creative process.
The 2019 Documentary Edit & Story Lab projects are:
A Photographic Memory (USA)
Director/Producer: Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Producer: Danielle Varga
A photographer attempts to piece together a portrait of her mother, Sheila Turner-Seed, a daring journalist and a woman she never knew. Uncovering the vast audio-visual archive Turner-Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers, the film explores memory, legacy and stories left untold.
Rachel Elizabeth Seed is a Brooklyn-based nonfiction storyteller and curator working in filmmaking, photography and writing. Her photography was included in the International Center of Photography's exhibit on Hurricane Sandy, Rising Waters, and she has produced short films for BBC, Teen Vogue, NBC Left Field and New York Magazine. A recipient of support from the Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, the Maine Media Workshops and the Roy W. Dean Grant, she is a 2017 IFP Labs Fellow and director/co-founder of the Brooklyn Documentary Club, an NYC-based filmmaker collective.
Danielle Varga is a creative nonfiction producer based in Brooklyn. She most recently produced Brett Storys The Hottest August (True/False, SXSW 2019), and co-produced Kirsten Johnsons award-winning film Cameraperson (Sundance 2016). She was consulting producer on Charm City (Tribeca 2018), This Is Home (Sundance 2018), and her additional credits include Teenage and 1971. Danielle was recently listed on DOC NYC's 2018 inaugural list of 40 Under 40 filmmakers to watch. She was a 2016-2017 Sundance Creative Producing Fellow, has led producing workshops at Union Docs, and has pitched projects at Hot Docs Forum, CPH:DOX Forum and the Sundance Creative Producing Summit.
Fox (USA)
Director: Garrett Bradley
Editor: Gabriel Rhodes
After being given a numerical life sentence for a first time offense in a Louisiana state prison, a mother of six takes on the role of a modern day abolitionist, dedicating the next 21 years of her life to the release of her husband and unification of their family.
Garrett Bradley is a grantee of the 2019 Creative Capital Fellowship and 2017 Sundance Institute Art of Nonfiction Fellowship and Field of Vision Fellowship. She has received numerous prizes - including the 2017 Sundance Jury Prize for the short film Alone, released in February of 2017 with The New York Times OpDocs. Bradley is the co-founder of Creative Council, an artist lead after-school program aimed at developing strong college portfolios and applications for students attending public high schools in New Orleans. Creative Council is supported by The New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC). Bradley lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Gabriel Rhodes' feature documentary credits include Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (Special Jury Prize, 2018 Sundance Film Festival), Newtown, The Witness, 1971, The Tillman Story, Without Shepherds, and Quest For Honor as well as the forthcoming And We Go Green. His work has premiered at Sundance, Cannes, NY Film Festival, Tribeca and many other international festivals. Three of his edited films - The Witness, The Tillman Story & Quest For Honor - were shortlisted for an Academy Award. He received his master's degree in documentary film from Stanford University in 2000. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two sons.
Singing in the Wilderness (China)
Director: Dongnan Chen
Editor: Matthieu Laclau
Producer: Violet Feng
After hiding in the mountains for a century, a Miao ethnic Christian choir is discovered and becomes a national sensation. This is an intimate story about two young Miaos and how their faith, identity and love are challenged when they step into the real world of China.
Dongnan Chen's debut film, The Trail from Xinjiang, a profile of three pickpockets from Chinas far west Xinjiang, won Best Documentary Short at Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) and has been widely screened at festivals, universities and museums worldwide. Sound of Vision, a film following a blind man's exploration of New York, which she worked on as one of the producers, directors and editors, was nominated for an Emmy Award and premiered at HotDocs. Her
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Nonfiction Projects, All Women-Directed, Range From Intimate Familial Explorations to Experiments in Speculative Nonfiction' 
