
By Stephanie Ornelas
I never thought I could be a teacher. Ever.
When director Catherine Tambini's documentary Farmingville took home the Special Jury Prize: Documentary nearly 20 years ago at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, it opened the door to a lot of unique opportunities. The film, which she co-directed alongside Carlos Sandoval, is centered on New York's suburban Long Island after the hate-based beating and attempted murder of two Mexican day laborers. The documentary screened at a slew of film festivals following its premiere, and it had a handful of special screenings that made for a lot of healthy dialogue surrounding immigration. Tambini and Sandoval went on to direct another Sundance-supported documentary (The State of Arizona), and Tambini was later invited to be a temporary advisor at a weekend workshop for Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program (DFP).
As Sundance Institute heads into lab season, it's important to remember just how valuable our advisors and educators are. Tambini's story is a great example of how the Institute's impact goes far beyond the big screen. And the timing couldn't be more perfect as we enter Teacher Appreciation Week - happening May 8-12. Tambini isn't just an award-winning director, she's also an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute of Film and Television. Thanks to her short time as an advisor for Sundance Institute, Tambini was able to discover a passion she never knew existed.
Catherine Tambini speaks at the Filmmaker Lodge at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival
Everybody was saying, Wow, you give really good feedback,' and I thought, Wow, I do?' laughs Tambini over Zoom. It made me realize another potential. It was so eye-opening because that gave me a whole other perspective on myself as a filmmaker, Tambini says of her experience leading the 2016 workshop, which took place over a weekend in Miami.
So when NYU reached out to ask Tambini if she would be interested in teaching a documentary course, she was a little reluctant at first, scared even. But then she considered her time advising for the DFP. If I hadn't had that experience with Sundance, where I just jumped that was literally my stepping-off point for teaching. That really showed me that I could do this. And she did. Tambini was soon hired to teach a Sight and Sound: Documentary class that summer at NYU, a course she recalls being extremely vigorous.
Six weeks, four hours a day, five days a week of me lecturing, showing films, and screening their rough cuts. It was really intense, she says.
During Tambini's class, which NYU undergrad film students are required to take during one summer, student filmmakers work in crews of four to produce four short films throughout the course. Each group is then given the opportunity to show their projects to the class, where students provide feedback and engage in a post-screening Q&A.
It's a really great learning experience because people don't know how things land, says Tambini. And to hear your peers talking about what they get, what they didn't get, what they like, what they didn't like, and what could be improved - that's really valuable to them.
You've got to really cultivate your peers, she continues. That's one of the things that I really stress, and I think we all do at NYU. A lot of [organizations] stress that the people you're sitting in the room with are the people you're going to go through the industry with, explains Tambini. It happens a lot. Once you begin to work with somebody and you find that you like to work with them, you start your careers together. And people help each other that way. Peer support is really important.
Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival
And Tambini would know, since she was once a Sundance fellow herself. In 2003, Tambini and Sandoval were invited to be fellows at Sundance Institute's Documentary Composers Lab to help develop Farmingville. And the insight she gained from her advisors and working alongside other fellows during the lab was invaluable.
It was really helpful to see how much that added to the filmmaking process, says Tambini. We actually used one of the pieces that was composed at the lab in the final film. It was a wonderful community. Sundance was like a booster rocket sending me into the next level.
Today, Tambini is able to take the lessons she's learned as an experienced filmmaker and an instructor and use them to help shape the future of cinema - and in doing so, she's been given a front-row seat to the next generation.
It's so exciting to see [students] grow from one project to the next. They're so creative. They have so many good ideas and they are so ambitious. It's just wonderful to see. Seeing the work is the most rewarding, seeing what they bring to class. And then to hear them talk about how much they learned in the class is really rewarding, too.
Tambini particularly enjoys seeing the women in her class show interest behind the camera. Having women in such positions is crucial in order to create more films centering women's authentic narratives. But she explains how the industry still has so much work to do when it comes to putting women in decision-making roles and specifically male-dominated roles. Right now, women are vastly underrepresented as directors, writers, cinematographers, editors, and producers. But with 54% of the incoming class at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute of Film and Television being women, Tambini hopes that will change.
I'm really proud of NYU. I'm hoping that as there are more of us coming into the industry, as women get into more powerful positions - and it's not just a boys club - as women w
More from Sundance Institute
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
05/05/2025
Shari Sebbens attends the 2024 Sundance Film Festival The Moogai premiere at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donayle West/Shutterstock for Sunda...
02/05/2025
The 85th annual Peabody Awards were a special moment for Sundance Institute-supp...
02/05/2025
The 46th annual News & Documentary Emmys are just around the corner, and this ye...
01/05/2025
Paul Reubens appears in Pee-wee as Himself, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Michael Ochs A...
30/04/2025
Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...
29/04/2025
(L-R) Tim Rarus, Bridgetta Bourne, Nyle DiMarco, Jerry Covell, Greg Hlibok, and Davis Guggenheim attend the premiere of Deaf President Now! at Eccles Theatre ...
25/04/2025
Emily Watson, Isaiah Saxon, Helena Zengel, and Finn Wolfhard at The Legend of Ochi premiere (photo by Soul Brother/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
24/04/2025
We're huge fans of shining a spotlight on the documentaries that empower, en...
22/04/2025
Chloe Sevigny at the Magic Farm premiere (photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
21/04/2025
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...
18/04/2025
Director Andrew Ahn, alongside actors Youn Yuh-jung and Joan Chen, takes a photo of the audience after the premiere of his film The Wedding Banquet at Eccles ...
17/04/2025
Emilie Blichfeldt attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of The Ugly ...
16/04/2025
It's an understatement to say that the Peabody Awards are major. The winners...
14/04/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
11/04/2025
(L-R) Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of One to One: John & Yoko at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2025, ...
09/04/2025
The cast and crew of The Librarians attend the film's 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere at The Ray Theatre. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for S...
09/04/2025
By Jandiz Estrada Cardoso
I am overjoyed to share the eight screenwriting fellows selected to participate in Sundance Institute's 2025 Episodic Intensive. ...
09/04/2025
A still from Captains of Zaatari by Ali El Arabi, an official selection of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courte...
07/04/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
03/04/2025
(L-R) Ji-young Yoo, Pedro Pascal, and Jay Ellis at the Freaky Tales premiere. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Stephanie...
02/04/2025
Pedro Pascal appears in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Freaky Tales, which pr...
27/03/2025
Boulders Vibrant Community of Artists, Enthusiastic Audiences, and Breathtaking ...
26/03/2025
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood reviews the script for her beloved film Love and Basketball, which she workshopped at the 1998 Directors Lab before it premiere...
24/03/2025
Residency Honoring the Legacy of Social Justice Leader Michael Latt Selects Eigh...
21/03/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 23: (L-R) Jos Esteban Alenda, Maximiliano Rivas, Glorimar Marrero S nchez, Isel Rodr guez, Pedro Juan Lopez, and Amaya Izquierdo atte...
19/03/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: (L-R) Shoko Egawa, Chiaki Yanagimoto, Ben Braun, and Andrew Marshall attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival AUM: The Cult at the ...
14/03/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
11/03/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
06/03/2025
The Building Bridges Completion Fund reaffirms a commitment to showcasing
and c...
05/03/2025
By Stephanie Ornelas
(L-R) Kenner Bolt, Brendon Boyea, Hiep Tran Nghia, Sing J. Lee, Andy Sorgie and Dustin Nguyen attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival The...
03/03/2025
The 2025 Academy Awards were a shining moment for Sundance-supported films, underscoring the Festival's role as a launchpad for powerful storytelling and gr...
27/02/2025
Director Rashad Frett and actor Stephan James share a hug on stage following the premiere of Ricky. Photo by Jason Peters
By the Archives team
Though the 20...
26/02/2025
Glenn Close, Michelle Satter, and Marielle Heller at The Sundance Film Festival ...
26/02/2025
Created in 2003 to recognize an outstanding feature film addressing ideas or characters central to science and technology, this juried prize is awarded through ...
26/02/2025
The Gayle Stevens Volunteer Award is given annually to a volunteer who has demonstrated a long-standing passion for and commitment to the work of the Sundance I...
26/02/2025
And just like that, it's awards day! We're here at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah, for the much-anticipated 2025 Sundance Film Festival Awards Cerem...
26/02/2025
It's only been a few days since the 2025 Sundance Film Festival finished up,...
23/02/2025
Today, the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards filmmakers took over Santa Monica...
13/02/2025
By Jessica Herndon
While we're still riding high over our incredible 2025 ...
13/02/2025
12 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Filmmakers Selected for...
12/02/2025
Sly Stone appears in SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) by Ahmir Que...
12/02/2025
By Jessica Herndon
As awards season heats up, a handful of celebrated filmmakers and artists are grabbing our attention, and many of them have shared their ex...
02/02/2025
2026 Edition of Sundance Film Festival to Take Place in Park City and Salt Lake ...
30/01/2025
Steven Yeun and Kristen Stewart at the Love Me premiere (photo by George Pimentl...
29/01/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, January 28, 2025 - Tonight the nonprofit Sundance Institute awarded the prizes for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program at the Sh...
23/01/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: Steven Soderbergh at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Presence premiere at the Library Center Theatre on January 19, 2024, in Par...
23/01/2025
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival is kicking off and the Oscar nominations have dr...
18/01/2025
10 Projects to Be Developed at Annual January Screenwriters Lab;
10 Projects t...