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
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
02/12/2025
Case Study: How Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Moved to All-IP Distribution in 60 D...
02/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Lee Corso, Coach, Commentator, FirebrandBy Ken Kerschbaumer
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | S...
02/12/2025
SVG All-Stars: Dan Nabors, Senior Director, Remote Engineering, TNT SportsThe veteran tech leader is helping guide Warner Bros. Discovery's at-home' re...
02/12/2025
National Lacrosse League Opens Season With New Cloud-Based Official Replay-Revie...
02/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: The Cinematic Look in Live Production - Bridging Aesthetic...
02/12/2025
SVG India Announces Advisory Board; JioStar's Prashant Khanna Named ChairmanBy Ken Kerschbaumer
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 11:15 am
Print This Story |...
02/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: New AI Production Tools Workshop' Features ESPN, F...
02/12/2025
Written and directed by Hailey Gates, Atropia won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival....
02/12/2025
The lightweight and highly portable CORVUS-RAVEN, recently demonstrated at the V...
02/12/2025
The lightweight, rugged Panther 2 tri-band VSAT delivers high-speed data communications for Internet, VPN connectivity and video transmission over commercial an...
02/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
02/12/2025
NGID volunteers in the United States
NGID volunteers in Mexico
NGID volunteers in India
NGID volunteers in Spain
NGID volunteers in Australia
NGID voluntee...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has issued a reminder that stations in DMAs 111 through 120 must implement its audio descrip...
02/12/2025
SAN DIEGO Sony Electronics today introduced the Alpha 7 V (ILCE-7M5), the fifth generation of its Alpha 7 full-frame mirrorless lineup, powered by the newly dev...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has opened a docket for comments on Nexstar Media Group's proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna and se...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters has added a trio of media executives, Veronica Rodriguez, Matt Schnaars and Jeff Warshaw, to its board of di...
02/12/2025
MILAN, Italy Brightcove has released seven new features designed to expand global reach, improve audience engagement, enhance live-streaming quality and streaml...
02/12/2025
BCNEXXT, the developers of the advanced playout platform Vipe, today announced a new Service Provider Partner agreement with NPC Media, the Australian managed p...
02/12/2025
DPA Microphones today announces the immediate availability of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System for customers throughout the U.S. In addition ...
02/12/2025
Hiltron Communications reports a well attended and successful Space Tech Expo exhibition, held at the Messe Bremen from Tuesday November 18 through Thursday Nov...
02/12/2025
The beginning of September saw Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, in association with Channel 9 and Triple M, kick off the 2025 Brisbane Festival in spec...
02/12/2025
SGM Lighting is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with ACT Entertainment, under which ACT will serve as the exclusive distributor for SGM's ne...
02/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that Telia, the second largest telecom operator in Norway, is modernizing its broadband network with the company's i...
02/12/2025
European cloud data protection specialist Keepit is expanding its sales network in the DACH region and has gained TIM AG, one of the leading value-added distrib...
02/12/2025
Featured products at ISE 2026
This year s ISE 2026 theme "Push Beyond" reflects Calrec s direction of travel. The company is dedicated to supporting the AV an...
02/12/2025
Czech Television, the national public broadcaster, has deployed one of the largest LiveU live production projects in the region for live sports and news coverag...
02/12/2025
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced the release of v8.2 software for its ZEN and ZEN-W Series, bringing advanced cinematic camera se...
02/12/2025
Global provider of video streaming software and services, Accedo, and OTT platform provider, Magine Pro, have signed a binding agreement to carve out and merge ...
02/12/2025
With proven success in broadcast, OTT, and content supply chains, K.S Avinash set to scale Skandha's service-first approach across APAC
Skandha Media Servi...
02/12/2025
AJA Video Systems has joined the RAVENNA community, a network of partners devoted to advancing the RAVENNA standard for distributing real-time audio over intern...
02/12/2025
HUNT VALLEY, Md. Sinclair and its wholly-owned subsidiary One Media Technologies have released a new report focused on how ATSC 3.0, the IP-based NextGen TV sta...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has issued a reminder that stations in DMAs 111 through 120 must implement its audio descrip...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON Members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee have elected four industry veterans to three-year terms on the organization's board of direc...
02/12/2025
A new survey from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan highlights how important social media is for younger consumers, with Gen Z spending 5.1 hours a day on so...
02/12/2025
Faculty Notes: Fall/Winter 2025 Recent accomplishments, releases, and events by Berklee faculty.
December 1, 2025
By
Editorial Staff
The cast of Kind of M...
02/12/2025
Ring In The Holidays With Our Biggest Sale Ever On Ivory II Pianos!From now until December 31st, you can save 50% or more on every Ivory II piano and collection...
02/12/2025
Back to All News
Made in America: How Stranger Things' Electrified the US Economy
Entertainment
02 December 2025
GlobalUnited States
Link copied to cl...
02/12/2025
Back to All News
Culinary Class Wars' Season 2 Trailer Teases New Rules, R...
02/12/2025
--
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Unio...
02/12/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Will Redefine Subscribers' Quality of Experience, Lowering Churn SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 2, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today...
02/12/2025
At AWS re:Invent, NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services expanded their strategic collab...
02/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Hollywood blockbusters The Banshees of Inisherin, Barbie and Oppenheimer make their Irish TV debut
Tune into the classics such as Love Actual...
02/12/2025
Showcasing fresh Irish storytelling and emerging talent Storyland 2025 signals a fantastic time for Irish drama
RT and F s ireann/Screen Ireland are proud to...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
Radha Blank
