
16 12 2020 - Media release Three Australian projects selected for Sundance Film Festival 2021
Playing with Sharks
Feature documentary Playing with Sharks, virtual reality project Prison X - Chapter 1: The Devil & The Sun and short film GNT will screen at Sundance Film Festival, taking place both online and in-person across the US from 28 January to 3 February 2021.
Sundance has a history of launching Australian works into the US market including feature films Relic (2020), The Nightingale (2019) and Sweet Country (2018), as well as documentaries such as Casting JonBenet (2017).
Screen Australia's CEO Graeme Mason said, Congratulations to these teams, this selection is an incredible accomplishment. These projects each have a distinctive Australian voice and demonstrate the breadth and ingenuity of our industry on the world stage. It's fantastic to have three projects representing Australia all helmed by female directors in this year's program. Last year we saw the influence of the festival and its ability to launch careers with Natalie Erika James' debut feature Relic selected and celebrated and we are delighted that these three can follow in that path.
Playing with Sharks, a documentary about iconic Australian diver and filmmaker Valerie Taylor, will make its world premiere in the World Documentary Competition.
Director Sally Aitken said, To launch this film at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival is a dream come true. Valerie's daredevil exploits and her astounding rich underwater archive are a potent mix for any director. It is a privilege to sink my teeth into her pioneering story. That she is still diving and fighting for sharks at the age of 85 shows Valerie's incredible passion and that her thirst for adventure remains undiminished. Her life-affirming journey as an unlikely conservationist proves to all of us just what is possible with our interconnectedness to the natural world, if we allow it.
Virtual reality animation Prison X The Devil & The Sun will make its world premiere in the New Frontier section which showcases emerging media storytelling, multimedia installations, performances, and films across fiction, nonfiction and hybrid projects. The project takes viewers on a mythological journey inside a Neo-Andean underworld.
Prison X director Violeta Ayala said, As a storyteller, VR gave me the tools and technological capacity to push my imagination to a further degree. But it takes a community to make a film, and I m very proud that the team behind Prison X represents the Australia that we see on the streets. Prison X is a team effort pushing the boundaries of filmmaking, animation and technology from the minds of Bolivian-Australian, Ghanaian-Australian and Filipino-Australian creatives.
Animated short film GNT, which won the Yoram Gross Animation prize at Sydney Film Festival 2020, will screen in the Short Film section. The film follows one woman's outrageous mission to conquer social media and upstage her friends.
Creators Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown said, We are absolutely thrilled that our debut short film, GNT, will be featured at Sundance Film Festival. We put so much love into this chaotic four minutes, and feel especially humbled that it will be shown at Sundance, alongside the same talent that we are continually inspired by. We hope it makes you giggle, or at the very least, question your choices on social media.
Australian projects at Sundance 2021: PLAYING WITH SHARKS
Wildbear Entertainment Pty Ltd
Director: Sally Aitken
Producer: Bettina Dalton
Executive Producer: Alan Erson
Australian Distributor: Madman
International Sales: Dogwoof
Synopsis: Valerie Taylor is a shark fanatic and an Australian icon. A marine maverick who forged her way as a fearless diver, cinematographer and conservationist. She filmed the real sharks for Jaws and famously wore a chain mail suit, using herself as shark bait, in experiments that changed scientific understanding of sharks forever.
Production credit: Playing with Sharks is a Wildbear Entertainment production. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW.
Media contact: Tracey Mair
PRISON X THE DEVIL & THE SUN
UNF Pty Ltd
Writer/Director: Violeta Ayala
Producers: Violeta Ayala, Dan Fallshaw, Roly Elias
Australian Distribution: Contact UNF Films
International Sales: Contact UNF Films
Synopsis: A virtual reality project where heavy doors open up and suck you in as a world of magical realism swirls around you, where you have to hang onto your soul so the devil doesn t take it away.
Production credit: Prison X The Devil & The Sun is an UNF production. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and developed with support from Screen NSW. Financed with support from Sundance Institute, the MacArthur Foundation and Tribeca Film Institute.
Australian media contact: Annette Lin
International media contact: Ingrid Hamilton, GAT PR
GNT
Writer/Directors: Sara Hirner, Rosemary Vasquez-Brown
Producers: Sara Hirner, Rosemary Vasquez-Brown
Synopsis: An animation that follows Glenn, a woman on an unwholesome mission to conquer her clique and social media at large.
Media contact: Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown
A history of Australian titles at Sundance is available here
Related MaterialsDownload PDF
Media enquiries Amy Burgess | Senior Publicist
61 2 8113 5800 | 61 413 190 195 | [email protected]
Lidia Williams | Publicist and Events Officer
61 2 8113 1091 | 61 468 784 170 | [email protected]
All other general/non-media enquiries Sydney 61 2 8113 5800 | Melbourne 61 3 8682 1900 | [email protected]
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
09/07/2025
Explore Love Without Limits in a bold, funny and unapologetic SBS Audio podcast ...
08/07/2025
SBS strengthens commitment to inclusion with new commissioning guidelines
8 July, 2025
Media releases
SBS has launched new Commissioning Inclusion Guidelin...
08/07/2025
Secrets, Spies and Sabotage: 40 years on, SBS podcast investigates historic bomb...
07/07/2025
SBS Farewells Chair George Savvides AM
7 July, 2025
Media releases
Born of Greek Cypriot parents, Mr Savvides joined the SBS Board as Deputy Chair in Febru...
30/06/2025
SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel
30 June, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offeri...
27/06/2025
27 06 2025 - Media release Game, set, action! Screen Australia and ABC announce new mini-series Goolagong
Marton Csokas and Lila McGuire of Goolagong. Image c...
26/06/2025
Buckle up for Great Australian Road Trips launching 31 July on SBS and SBS On De...
20/06/2025
Hit, run, oh sh#t: NITV and SBS get RECKLESS with filming underway in Western Au...
13/06/2025
Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...
12/06/2025
50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...
06/06/2025
06 06 2025 - Media release Award-Winning TV Creators Richard Gadd, Sally Wainwri...
03/06/2025
Stories of love, loyalty and self-discovery among six shortlisted Digital Origin...
28/05/2025
SBS celebrates 50 years of reflecting a diverse and contemporary Australia
28 May, 2025
Media releases
Marking 50 years of broadcasting on 9 June 2025, SBS...
28/05/2025
ABS and Verticloud announce a Strategic Partnership to accelerate Digital Transf...
22/05/2025
SBS and Screen Australia showcase the next wave of Australian storytellers with ...
22/05/2025
Rune Pedersen unpacks How Humans Talk in new SBS Audio podcast
22 May, 2025
Media releases
Ever caught yourself using baby talk with your pet and wondered ...
19/05/2025
Eurovision delivers strong Total TV audiences for SBS, dazzling more than 2.21 m...
16/05/2025
Proper Loved Up Stage One Recipients Announced
16 May, 2025
Media releases
Screen Australia's First Nations Department, the Australian Broadcasting Cor...
15/05/2025
Australia's boldest network SBS launches new brand campaign: We Go There...
15/05/2025
We Go There SBS On Demand's new Hub is entirely bold and unmistakably SBS
15 May, 2025
Media releases
The We Go There Hub brings together over 300 ti...
14/05/2025
ABS and SpaceBridge to Join Forces to Strengthen Managed Services Across Europe,...
13/05/2025
Alone Australia Season 3: The Reunion
13 May, 2025
Media releases
As the latest season nears its end, SBS's hit series brings full cast together for re...
13/05/2025
Teletimes interviews ABS CEO, Mark Rigolle...
12/05/2025
And They're Off! The Pure Drama of the Cycling Grand Tours Continues on SBS,...
12/05/2025
10 05 2025 - Media release Australian Filmmaker Lucy Mckendrick Set For Directin...
07/05/2025
SBS and NITV mark National Reconciliation Week with compelling premieres recogni...
07/05/2025
SBS commences search for a new Western Sydney production hub location
7 May, 2025
Media releases
SBS has today launched a Request for Expressions of Intere...
02/05/2025
SBS On Demand achieves stellar month on the back of Alone Australia and The Hand...
01/05/2025
01 05 2025 - Media release Screen Australia empowers 100 distinctive Australian narratives
All The Boys Are Here writer/director Goran Stolevski and It s All...
30/04/2025
Slam poet Huda the Goddess wins 2025 Les Murray Award
30 April, 2025
Media releases
Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Huda Fadlelmawla...
30/04/2025
SBS, NITV and NIDA partner to empower the next generation of screen creatives
30 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS, National Indigenous Television (NITV) and ...
23/04/2025
We heard that you could use a little pick-me-up, so get ready to sh-sh-shake it ...
22/04/2025
McAvaney takes the lead for SBS' Coverage of the World Athletics Championshi...
16/04/2025
Finalists announced! Five stand-out brands shortlisted for SBS Media's Susta...
15/04/2025
Claudia Karvan, Tom Gleeson, and Mark Coles Smith join in the adventure of a lif...
15/04/2025
SBS and Volleyball World sign landmark deal for Beach Volleyball World Champions...
14/04/2025
SBS becomes first Australian broadcaster to have near-and long-term carbon reduc...
11/04/2025
Isn't that Insightful? Kumi Taguchi dives deeper into Insight's taboo to...
09/04/2025
SBS On Demand partners with Euronews to extend network news offering
9 April, 2025
Media releases
SBS is expanding its international news offering with the...
09/04/2025
SBS announces TV's hottest new couple, Tony Armstrong and Courtney Act, as E...
09/04/2025
09 04 2025 - Media release Screen Australia and ACTF Kids IP Incubator Initiative enters next phase
Kids IP Incubator recipients in Melbourne for the workshop...
07/04/2025
Olympic Gold medallist and World Time Trial Champion Grace Brown joins SBS comme...
07/04/2025
Female focus: New season of Living Black highlights women in Federal Election ye...
07/04/2025
SBS News' Cost of Living Secrets podcast returns to tackle one of the key is...
04/04/2025
SBS announces initiatives to provide all Australians with trusted news and infor...
01/04/2025
01 04 2025 - Media release Bus Stop Films' first feature Boss Cat to begin production in June
Boss Cat cast (L-R): Olivia Hargroder, Penny Downie and Juli...
31/03/2025
Ready, set, Party Time!' SBS News empowers young voters with a new politica...
28/03/2025
Marion Grasby's Flavours of Heart & Home is a celebration of culture and fam...
28/03/2025
SBS delivers Federal Election news to Australians in over 60 languages
28 March, 2025
Media releases
As Australia heads to the polls on 3 May, Australia...