Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

From Fruitvale Station to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Ryan Coogler Reflects on the Power of Sundance Institute

10/11/2022

By Stephanie Ornelas

It was a full circle moment for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler when he returned to the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to talk about his latest film and his journey with Sundance Institute. Coogler sat down with Still Processing podcaster Jenna Wortham in Park City at the Festival during the Sundance Institute Talent Forum as the two discussed the power of film and what he learned journeying through Sundance Institute's Labs.

It's funny because I get nervous talking in front of a lot of people, but I have to remind myself of how I would go to these kinds of events. I'd be the guy who's waiting in line to see a filmmaker speak and hear their perspective, says Coogler. I used to soak that stuff up. So, when I get the opportunity to do it, I try to seize it.

Coogler is no stranger to Sundance Institute, having made his directorial debut at the Festival in 2013 with Fruitvale Station. He crafted that film as a 2012 Screenwriters Lab fellow and participated in the 2013 Cinereach Project for Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program. Fruitvale Station chronicles the last day in Oscar Grant's life before he became swept up in an altercation with police that ended in tragedy. Through flashbacks, we see Grant cross paths with friends, enemies, family members, and strangers.

I was lucky to go through the Feature Film Lab run by Michelle Satter. They help you throughout the whole process - how to make your script better, how to find financing. I was in the position where I needed to find a crew, Coogler explains. I was looking for a cinematographer and they recommended great people to me. When it came to making Fruitvale Station, I learned that we should never limit ourselves in our search for finding exactly what we need.

Ryan Coogler and Jenna Wortham in Utah at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival during the Sundance Institute Talent Forum. And that ultimately helped shape the film into an award-winning project. Fruitvale Station received a Spirit Award for Best First Feature and the Stanley Kramer Award for the Producers Guild of America in 2014. But the real reward was getting this important story in front of audiences and all the work that went on behind the scenes to make it happen: There isn't one thing that's going to solve these issues [of police brutality and systemic racism]. It has to be attacked on a multi-level front, Coogler says.

You need journalists, filmmakers, activists. You need all of it. And you need to recognize the importance of it and be critical of it. I was young when I made [Fruitvale Station] and I think if I was tasked to make it now, it would be a very different movie, stresses Coogler. But what I've learned since making it is that we have to continue to study and continue to learn. And that has brought me to so many things and has led to so many more connections. We have to just keep doing the work and keep asking ourselves the important questions while respecting everybody's role in the process because they are all equally important.

Examining 2018's Black Panther, Coogler explains why it was important to shift the focus on the people of Wakanda more than the country itself.

Wakanda is a place where African people are allowed to be full human beings. Everywhere else isn't. And you're coming in contrast with a world where that's not the case. I think about that a lot. With Wakanda, the idea was that it's this kind of insular country but they do all this amazing stuff. So, we asked, what makes Wakanda special?' And I thought it would be more interesting if it's actually them who are special. What if this is a place where society not only allows you to reach your full potential but actually encourages it?''

As he looked back at how he got started with the Institute, Coogler was especially thrilled to be in Utah to reconnect with old friends, fellow filmmakers, and Sundance Institute advisors and fellows.

It's Sundance and then you meet the people who are behind it. You meet the wonderful human beings that make this thing work. I just think about the people. Being able to come back is like a reunion. It's really exciting to not just be able to text them and check in, but to actually see them. Every year a bunch of filmmakers gather who I know and respect and have formed relationships with, and it really is like a class reunion every time we get to come back.
LINK: https://www.sundance.org/blogs/from-fruitvale-station-to-black-panther...
See more stories from sundance

More from Sundance Institute

27/03/2024

Inside the Archives: It's Lights, Curtains, Action When Sundance Films Become Stage Productions

By Jen Scott It's time to unwrap those noisy candies and put your phone on ...

26/03/2024

CHOOSE CHICAGO, CITY OF CHICAGO ANNOUNCE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE X CHICAGO 2024 COMING THIS SUMMER

New event championing creative independence will feature three days of screening...

25/03/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Mel Eslyn, the Filmmaker Behind Penelope

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...

21/03/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Brett Story, the Co-Director of Union

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...

19/03/2024

2025 Sundance Film Festival Taking Place January 23-February 2

PARK CITY, UTAH, March 19, 2024 - Save the date to be the first to see next year's independent films and projects that entertain, spark cultural conversatio...

11/03/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know India Donaldson, the Filmmaker Behind Good One

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

08/03/2024

Back to the '80s: Women Documentary Filmmakers Remember the Festival's First Decade

Paula de Koenigsberg and Lucy Winer in front of a porn shop while filming Rate I...

07/03/2024

Film Festival Watch: 23 Sundance-Supported Films to See at SXSW

[Pictured: Doppelg ngers ] By Stephanie Ornelas The sun is shining, the brisket is smoking, and cinephiles are making their way to Austin, Texas, for the 202...

05/03/2024

Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sin Nombre Among Films With March Anniversaries

dgar Flores stars in Cary Joji Fukunaga's feature debut, Sin nombre, which won two awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival....

04/03/2024

Sundance Film Festival Asia returns to Taiwan in 2024

Submissions Now Open for the 2024 Short Film Competition supporting local artists...

01/03/2024

Inside the Archives: One Degree of Sundance Institute at the 2024 Oscars

Director Mira Nair and cinematographer Edward Lachman on the set of Mississippi Masala. Photo by Mitch Epstein...

01/03/2024

Release Rundown: What to Watch This March, From Love Lies Bleeding to Shayda

(L-R) Katy O'Brian and Kristen Stewart star in Rose Glass' thriller Love Lies Bleeding, which premiered in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance F...

29/02/2024

Cinpolis and Sundance Institute partner to launch the first edition of the Sundance Film Festival CDMX

Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 will take place from April 25th to 28th in Cin ...

29/02/2024

Film Festival Watch: Catch These 10 Sundance-Supported Docs at True/False Film Fest

By Stephanie Ornelas One of the rewards of being part of a filmmaker's jou...

29/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, the Co-Directors of Daughters

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

28/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know 6 Black Filmmakers With Shorts at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

A still from Tajana Tokyo's Salone Love, which screened as part of Short F...

27/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know J.M. Harper, the Director of As We Speak

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...

26/02/2024

Past Lives Wins Big as Sundance Institute Projects Are Honored at the 2024 Spirit Awards

The vibe inside the big white tent of the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards wa...

26/02/2024

More Life: An Appreciation of Steve Buscemi in Parting Glances

Parting Glances. 1986. USA. Written and Directed by Bill Sherwood. Courtesy First Run Features...

23/02/2024

5 Takeaways From a Sundance Collab Conversation With Alexander Payne, Director of The Holdovers

By Stephanie Ornelas Alexander Payne has deep roots with Sundance Institute, h...

22/02/2024

Sundance Institute Announces 2024 Momentum Fellows

PARK CITY, UTAH, February 22, 2024 - Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced eight storytellers selected for the 2024 Momentum Fellowship. Now in its s...

16/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Nzingha Stewart and Keyonna Taylor, the Director and Co-Writer of Me/We

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

15/02/2024

Film Festival Watch: 12 Sundance-Supported Films Screening at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival

By Stephanie Ornelas If your film is ready for Sundance, that means you'r...

14/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Titus Kaphar, the Filmmaker Behind Exhibiting Forgiveness

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

13/02/2024

Hard Eight, Velvet Buzzsaw, and More Celebrate Anniversaries in February

Rene Russo and Jake Gyllenhaal star in Dan Gilroy's darkly comic Velvet Buzzsaw....

12/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Dawn Porter, the Filmmaker Behind Luther: Never Too Much

By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...

09/02/2024

Release Rundown: What to Watch in February, From Drift to God Save Texas

Cynthia Erivo is mesmerizing as Jacqueline, the lead character in Anthony Chen's film Drift....

08/02/2024

You Have to Feel Safe to Fail: Quotes From a Conversation With Emerald Fennell, the Writer-Director of Saltburn

By Lucy Spicer From what she jokingly describes as a hostile hotel room in Lo...

07/02/2024

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Kobi Libii, the Filmmaker Behind The American Society of Magical Negroes

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...

26/01/2024

2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Award Winners

Grand Jury Prizes Go To In The Summers (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Porcelain War (U.S. Documentary Competition), A New Kind of Wilderness (World Cinema Documen...

24/01/2024

2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Film Award Winners

PARK CITY, UTAH, January 23, 2024 - Tonight at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival the short film jury awards were announced during the Shorts Awards Party presente...

23/01/2024

Past Lives, The Eternal Memory, and 20 Days in Mariupol Are Nominated for Oscars

As we continue to dig into the best of what's next at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, it's always nice to be reminded of our storied past and the incre...

21/01/2024

Sundance Institute Announces 2024 Merata Mita Fellow and Inaugural Graton Fellow

Libby Hakaraia and Tazbah Rose Chavez to Be Honored at Native Forum Celebration During the 2024 Sundance Film Festival...

16/01/2024

Four Decades of the Sundance Film Festival: Our Global Community's Top 10 Features

A top 10 list is a nearly impossible task to take on by yourself, especially whe...

14/01/2024

How sex, lies and videotape Turns Our Gaze Inward

By Shahnaz Mahmud Thirty-five years ago, Steven Soderbergh debuted his feature film sex, lies and videotape at the Sundance Film Festival, forever changing the...

12/01/2024

Sundance Institute Announces 2024 Screenwriters Lab and Screenwriters Intensive Fellows

12 Projects to Be Developed at Annual January Screenwriters Lab in Utah...

10/01/2024

Read Michelle Satter's Governors Award Speech in Full

photo by Al Seib / @A.M.P.A.S...

05/01/2024

2024 Sundance Film Festival Adds The Greatest Night in Pop to the Feature Film Program and Reveals Beyond Film Lineup

Artist Conversations With Steven Soderbergh, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sue Bird, Jesse E...

04/01/2024

Release Rundown: Brief Tender Light and Sometimes I Think About Dying Reach Wider Audiences This January

Daisy Ridley portrays the socially awkward Fran in Rachel Lambert's Sometime...

03/01/2024

2024 Sundance Film Festival Names Jury Members

All 16 Members of Competition Jury are Festival Alumni in Honor of 40th Edition...

29/12/2023

Watchlist: Pull Up a Seat at These Sundance Film Dinner Tables this Holiday Season

By Stephanie Ornelas We're in the thick of the holiday season, and you know...

12/12/2023

2024 Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Films Lineup and 40th Edition Programming

53 Shorts and Eight 40th Edition Celebration Screenings...

08/12/2023

Affliction and Frank & Lola Among Films Celebrating December Anniversaries

Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots portray the titular characters in writer-director Matthew Ross' thriller Frank & Lola....

06/12/2023

This Is Your First Look at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Program

Are you ready for it? Today we're coming at you full blast with the complete lineup of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival program. All eyes will be on independ...

05/12/2023

Passages, Past Lives and Eileen Pave the Way for Sundance-Supported Film Independent Spirit Award Nominees

This morning, Joel Kim Booster and Natalie Morales announced the nominations for...