LOS ANGELES - The Sundance Institute today announced recipients of the Sundance Institute | Kendeda Short Film Fund in partnership with TIME Studios, aimed at elevating stories that underline gun violence in popular discourse. This new initiative, which is an extension of the work The Kendeda Fund has been supporting at Sundance for several years, awards five non-recoupable and unrestricted $50,000 grants to new nonfiction short-form work in production. The films showcase a wide range of cinematic approaches and amplify stories that move beyond tragedy reporting, to explore the intersectionality of gun violence with broader pressing issues including racism, police brutality, white supremacy, violence against women, and trans rights.
In addition to financial support, each project will receive creative, strategic, and editorial advice from the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and TIME Studios teams. Once completed, the shorts will have the opportunity to launch on TIME.com, which reaches a global audience of 90 million people monthly.
With this initiative, we are thrilled to be able to partner with The Kendeda Fund and TIME Studios to elevate stories that unpack the systemic, social, and structural forces that underlie gun violence, said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, the Institute's Director, Granting. In particular, we are excited to be uplifting the voices of artists from communities most affected by gun violence, who have been far too long marginalized, and who have been personally affected by this issue.
The Kendeda Fund applauds Sundance and TIME Studios for investing in artists and filmmakers who are willing to speak truth about the role of guns in America, said David Brotherton, Fund Advisor for Kendeda's gun violence prevention program. We also hope this project will encourage other foundations to recognize the unique power of documentary storytelling to inform and inspire change as we confront the public health crisis of gun violence.
To fully understand this epidemic of gun violence, we need to continue to probe both its root cause and its impact in communities across the United States, said Rebecca Teitel, Executive Producer for TIME Studios. Through our partnership with the Sundance Institute and the Kendeda Fund, TIME is redoubling its commitment to covering this complex issue, and we are proud to support these talented filmmakers whose work provides powerful new perspectives on this ongoing national crisis.
Today also marks the release of Nonfiction Storytelling on Gun Violence in the US: Where We've Been And Where We Can Go, a report commissioned by the Sundance Institute and conducted by an independent team of researchers on gun violence and documentary film. This in-depth piece of research led by Eliza Licht, Will Jenkins, Michon Boston and Alice Quinlan highlights key learnings for filmmakers, funders, and advocacy groups working at the intersection of gun violence and storytelling.
Some of the report's main takeaways include:
a deeper understanding of the intersections of race, guns and gun violence prevention
the value of centering stories about community-based solutions
an embrace of complexity and a broad narrative frame beyond what is typically considered a gun violence prevention film,' for filmmakers and issue funders alike
the importance of empowering BIPOC film teams and participants with lived experiences, while providing appropriate mental health support, to prevent teams and participants from being retraumatized.
Our hope is that this work will contribute to generate more equitable collaborations among stakeholders, grounded in partnerships with the communities most affected by gun violence. said Paola Mottura, Sundance Institute's Director, Documentary Film Fund.
The Sundance Institute | TIME Studios Short Film Fund Grantees are:
House of Tulip Director: Cydney Tucker; Producer: Cydney Tucker
House of Tulip follows two Black trans activists as they run for office and work to build Louisiana's first housing refuge that provides residency solely for trans and gender non-conforming residents. We'll follow the founders as they fight to use their organization to protect and build community in a state with one of the highest gun-related murder rates in the country. Their journeys will highlight the dangerous, yet beautiful, reality of what it means to be Black trans women in the deep South.
Cydney Tucker
Cydney Tucker is a journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in Atlanta. She has written and produced content for a variety of legacy and digital media organizations including The New York Times, CBS News, NBC News, Al Jazeera International (AJ+), and RYOT Studio. Cydney is presently working on a film for The New York Times Presents's Hulu/FX documentary series. Her current personal projects include producing limited documentary videos and photo-series capturing Black Joy.
Women Count Director: Davina Pardo; Producers: Davina Pardo, Alisa Payne
A school nurse in Texas is on a mission to count every woman killed by a man in the United States since 1950. Her campaign reveals staggering numbers, a painful history, and a woman haunted by forgotten victims.
Davina Pardo
Davina Pardo is an Emmy -award winning filmmaker who produced the HBO documentary VERY SEMI-SERIOUS. She is the director of several award-winning documentary shorts 116 CAMERAS (POV, New York Times Op-Docs), MINKA (True/False, Hot Docs, Full Frame, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Aspen Shortsfest, Cinema Eye & ID), and BIRDLINGS TWO (Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca) for which she's been nominated for Cinema Eye Honors and IDA Awards and shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
Alaskan Son Director: Joshua Albeza Branstetter; Producers: Samantha Eyre-Harrison, Joshua Albeza Branstetter
Indigenous people
