06 Sundance Film Festival to Feature Conversations with Special Guests; Festival s Art of Film Weekend Returns

-- Park City, UT - Adding to the excitement of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival's onscreen films and episodic programming, Sundance Institute announced today the lineup for its offscreen panels, which will feature renowned artists and experts in conversation. This year's panels will address topics including the relationship between media technology and storytelling, film aesthetics and the use of celluloid, music design, casting, and environmentalism. The Festival will again host the Art of Film Weekend, celebrating the craft of filmmaking January 28-30. Many panels and other offscreen programming will take place at a new venue: Festival Base Camp, Presented by Canada Goose.

The Festival's panels programming is anchored by its longstanding Power of Story series, which this year will feature conversations with John Underkoffler, John Gaeta, Lynette Wallworth, Reggie Watts, Christopher Nolan, Colin Trevorrow and Alex Ross Perry. Other noteworthy conversations at the Festival include the Cinema Caf daily series, programmed in collaboration with The New York Times' TimesTalks and featuring informal chats with guests including Norman Lear, Lena Dunham, Chelsea Handler, Morgan Spurlock, Werner Herzog, Joshua Oppenheimer, Rebecca Hall, Michael Shannon, Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and more. The Power of Story and Cinema Caf panels will be live streamed at sundance.org/festival.

The Festival's Art of Film Weekend (January 28-30) returns to highlight the unique roles and creative inspirations of those who bring stories to life on screen. Featured speakers and topics include a conversation with D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, a discussion with virtual reality pioneers Saschka Unseld, Jessica Brillhart, Eric Darnell and Yelena Rachitsky, Randall Poster on music supervision, a conversation with Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, and a discussion on casting with accomplished casting agents Richard Hicks, Jessica Daniels, Jessica Kelly and Stephanie Holbrook.

New venue Festival Base Camp will host a range of panels, including How to Save the World featuring Louie Psihoyos (The Cove, Racing Extinction) and Josh Fox (Gasland, How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change), a live recording of the Song Exploder podcast with KT Tunstall and other offscreen programming as well as surprise guests and daily music performances. Additionally, artist Chris Milk's The Treachery of Sanctuary will be on display at Festival Base Camp as part of the 10th anniversary of New Frontier.

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, Our offscreen lineup offers Festival-goers the opportunity to participate in interesting conversations about culture and creativity, concluding with our Art of Film Weekend that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the craft of filmmaking. By live streaming many conversations from the Festival, film fans across the country can experience the energy and excitement of a new year in independent film.

For dates, times, locations and ticket information for offscreen events, including the free daily Cinema Caf program, visit sundance.org/festival.

POWER OF STORY' PANELS

Both Power of Story panels will be live streamed at sundance.org/festival.

Power of Story: Evolution of Storytelling

Monday, January 25 at 2:30 p.m. MST

Egyptian Theatre

While story is how we understand ourselves, our society and the world around us, it doesnt exist until it's shared through the mediums we use to communicate - our communication architecture. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of our New Frontier Program, join a group of remarkable minds - storytellers and creative technologists - for a workshop that explores imagination, innovation and the deeply intertwined worlds of technology and storytelling. Led by John Underkoffler (Minority Report, Iron Man, CEO, Oblong Industries), guests Nancy Bennett (CCO and Head of Virtual Reality,Two Bit Circus), John Gaeta (The Matrix Trilogy, Executive Creative Director, ILMxLAB), Kevin Slavin (MIT Media Lab), Lynette Wallworth (Collisions), Reggie Watts (Waves) give us a glimpse into the mind-blowing future of story.

Power of Story: The Art of Film

Thursday, January 28 at 2:30 p.m. MST

Egyptian Theatre

Kicking off Art of Film Weekend, in this celebration of celluloid, we look at film aesthetics, its intrinsic qualities and its appeal to filmmakers who have made the artistic choice to employ film as a shooting format. Since the birth of cinema, artists have found within a thin strip of celluloid film myriad forms of expression and a magical medium through which to tell stories. Join Christopher Nolan (Memento, Dark Knight series, Interstellar), Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed, Jurassic World), and moderator Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip, Queen of Earth).

ART OF FILM' WEEKEND

Friday, January 29

Cinema Caf with D A Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus

11:30 a.m. MST

Filmmaker Lodge

Each morning at the Filmmaker Lodge, Cinema Caf invigorates the culture of conversation with a daily series of informal chats featuring special guests for thought-provoking discussions. This edition of Cinema Cafe during the Art of Film weekend features a conversation with D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

Adapting Genres to Virtual Reality

1:30 p.m. MST

New Frontier Gateway

Close ups, fast cuts, and pacing were all initially accidents that became staples in conveying mood, tone, and story in film. In virtual reality, much of those tools are gone, and with that, our tools to shape genres are also changing. What have we learned so far in approaching story in virtual reality? Join us in an open discussion with virtual reality pioneers Saschka Unseld (creative director, Oculus Story Studio), Jessica Brillhart (principal filmmaker, VR at Google), Eric Darnell (CCO, Baobab, director, Mad

LINK:	http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/SFF16-conversations-with-special-gu...
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