Sundance Institute Gathers Emerging Global & U.S. Creators at 2017 Directors and Screenwriters Labs

Radha Blank

Aleem Khan

Francisca Alegria

Reinaldo Marcus Green

Tayarisha Poe

Brett Weiner

Emma Fletcher

Hannah Pearl Utt

Jen Tullock

Grainger David

Cory Miller

Colman Domingo

Amirah Tajdin

Clea DuVall

Marcos D az Sosa

Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr.

Los Angeles, CA - Thirteen new independent feature projects from Cuba, Chile, Kenya, the UK and the U.S. have been selected for the 2017 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs in Utahs Wasatch Mountains. These Labs are the centerpiece of the nonprofit Institute's year-round support for independent artists.

At the Directors Lab (May 29-June 22), filmmakers will rehearse, shoot and edit key scenes from their scripts, working closely with Creative Advisors, actors and production crews in an immersive and practical process that drives creative growth. The one-on-one support of the Screenwriters Lab (June 24-29) focuses on the art and craft of screenplay writing, fostering an environment of support and dynamic inspiration. The Labs kick off a year-round continuum of support for the burgeoning storytellers, including strategic meetings and guidance from industry veterans, and are overseen by Feature Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter and Labs Director Ilyse McKimmie.

Our Lab brings together a community of artists from the U.S. and around the world to learn, discover and take risks in a pure workshop environment, said Satter. These 13 artist-driven projects will advance through our year-round support system, with the June Lab as a centerpiece of our program. Each artist brings a personal voice, unique worldview, and deep humanity to their work, creating an exchange of ideas and distinctive storytelling that resonates profoundly in todays world.

Advisors for the month include: Robert Redford, Gyula Gazdag (Artistic Director, Directors Lab), Michael Almereyda, Scott Z. Burns, Joan Darling, Jonathan Dayton, Rick Famuyiwa, Valerie Faris, Robert Elswit, John Gatins, Stephen Goldblatt, Michael Goldenberg, Keith Gordon, Luca Guadagnino, Randa Haines, Ed Harris, Joe Hutshing, Clark Johnson, Karyn Kusama, Ken Kwapis, Kasi Lemmons, Malia Scotch Marmo, Pamela Martin, Rachel Morrison, Walter Mosley, Ira Sachs, Jennifer Salt, Susan Shilliday, Terilyn Shropshire, Taylor Sheridan, Elena Soarez, Octavia Spencer, Tim Squyres, Dana Stevens, Danny Strong, Joan Tewkesbury, Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgartner, Lynette Wallworth, Doug Wright (Artistic Director, Screenwriters Lab), and Mauricio Zacharias.

Since 1981, the FFP has supported an extensive list of leading-edge independent filmmakers, including Damien Chazelle, Cary Fukunaga, Gina Prince Bythewood, Benh Zeitlin, Haifaa Al Mansour, Ryan Coogler, Dee Rees, Marielle Heller, Paul Thomas Anderson, Miranda July and Quentin Tarantino, among many others.

Five films supported by the Feature Film Program are among those screening at the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival: A Ciambra, written and directed by Jonas Carpignano, and Patti Cake$, written and directed by Geremy Jasper, both of which will screen in Directors Fortnight; and Los Perros, written and directed by Marcela Said, Oh Lucy!, written and directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi, and Sicilian Ghost Story, co-written and co-directed by Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza, which will all screen as part of the Critics' Week sidebar.

Directors Lab projects

The 40-Year-Old Version (U.S.A.) / Radha Blank (writer/director) - The 40-Year Old Version tells the story of a down-on-her-luck New York playwright who decides that the only way to salvage her artistic voice is to become a rapper...at age 40.

Radha Blank is a playwright, performer and writer for television and film. She participated in the 2013 Sundance Institute Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation and is a 2011 Helen Merrill Award recipient, a 2011 NEA New Play Development Award recipient, a NYFA Fellow, a Nickelodeon Writing Fellow, and a member of The Public Theater's inaugural Emerging Writers Group. Blank has written for Baz Luhrmann's Netflix series, The Get Down, Lee Daniels FOX's network series hit, Empire, and most recently served as Writer/Co-Producer for Spike Lee's new Netflix series, She's Gotta Have It. When not writing for the stage or screen, Blank performs as emcee RadhaMUSprime, whose brand of Ghost-Face-Killah-meets-Moms-Mabley Hip Hop Comedy has sold out shows from New York to Norway.

After Love (U.K.) / Aleem Khan (writer/director) - When Mary is suddenly widowed after decades of marriage to her Pakistani husband, she discovers he has a secret family living just across the English Channel in Calais. As she sets out to meet her husbands mistress, Mary navigates her new reality and the Muslim faith she embraced for her husband many years ago.

Aleem Khan is a writer/director of mixed English-Pakistani heritage, based in London. He studied Film Direction at The University of Westminster before shooting his multi-award winning debut short film, Diana. Khan's third short film, Three Brothers, premiered at The BFI London Film Festival and received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Short Film in 2015. Recently named as one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow, Khan is the recipient of the John Brabourne Award and is a current participant on Guiding Lights, the U.K. film industry's leading high level development program.

The Cow That Sang a Song About the Future (Chile) / Francisca Alegria (writer/director) - In rural Chile, a herd of cattle suddenly and mysteriously falls dead, a deceased woman inexplicably returns home, and an estranged family reunites with its oppressive patriarch to face up to their own complicated history together.

Francisca Alegr a is a Chilean writer/director who received her MFA from Columbia University. Her short film And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow's Eye, a rec

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