Sundance Institute Announces $550,000 in Grants for 9 Documentaries

Sundance Institute Announces $550,000 in Grants for 29 Documentaries Posted Jul 11, 2013

Los Angeles, CA Sundance Institute today announced the 29 feature-length documentary films that will receive more than $550,000 in grants from its Documentary Film Program and Fund (DFP).

Grantees were selected from 772 submissions from 88 countries and include filmmakers working in Chile, Libya, Cuba, Cambodia and Pakistan as well as a broad range of experience, from first-time feature documentary filmmakers to Academy Award nominee Arthur Dong and veteran filmmaker Ed Pincus working with Lucia Small. Submissions were reviewed by a jury of creative film professionals and human rights experts, based on their approach to storytelling, artistic treatment and innovation, subject relevance and potential for social engagement.

Cara Mertes, Director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and Fund said, By providing financial support to nonfiction independent filmmakers, we seek to encourage the diverse exchange of ideas that is crucial to fostering an open society. These 29 stories we've identified reflect both the global reach of Sundance Institute as well as our commitment to supporting artists at all stages of their careers and work.

Since its inception the DFP has awarded more than $14.3 million in grants to more than 600 documentary films in 61 countries, including the projects announced today. Proposals are accepted twice a year; More information at www.sundance.org/documentary.

DEVELOPMENT

Chicago Boys (Chile)

Director: Carola Fuentes

The film tells how a group of Milton Friedman's disciples backed by a military dictatorship in the 70s managed to turn Chile into the first and most extreme model of neoliberalism in the world.

Children (Chile)

Director: Maite Alberdi

Chilean support for people with Down Syndrome ends at 25, but life expectancy is now in the 50s. A group of friends are facing a stage they were never prepared for, because no one ever expected them to grow up or get old.

Concerning Violence (Sweden)

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

From the depths of the Swedish film archive comes newly discovered, powerful footage of the most daring moments in Third World liberation movements. Accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon, the new film will offer timeless reflections on violence and liberation.

Eddie Adams: SAIGON 68 (U.S.A.)

Director: Douglas Sloan

The most influential photograph to come out of the Vietnam War transformed the lives of both photographer Eddie Adams and General Loan, who summarily executed the prisoner. The film explores the surprising backstory and launches a broader inquiry into our perception and understanding of the visual image.

Flickering Time Bomb (New Zealand)

Director: Pietra Brettkelly

Three men align in a passionate campaign to save Afghanistans rapidly deteriorating Film Archive, in a country whose culture and history are once again under threat of an uncertain future.

Freedom Fields (Libya)

Director: Naziha Arebi

At the new dawn of a nation once cut off from the world, a dynamic group of women from fractured sides of the revolution come together with one hunger in common, to empower the women of Libya through sport. Their dream: to form the first national Libyan womens football team.

Hotel Nueva Isla (Cuba/Spain)

Directors: Irene Gutierrez and Javier Labrador

Jorge lives with his four neighbors in the formerly luxurious Hotel Nueva Isla in Old Havana. Now in ruins, it is a shelter for people living on the fringes of society. Evacuation becomes imminent, but Jorge resists abandoning the building.

School of Last Resort (U.S.A.)

Directors: Landon Van Soest and Jeremy Levine

Three students at an experimental school for criminal youth struggle to fulfill their hopes in one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

Simple Justice (U.S.A.)

Directors: Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt

After 435 days in prison, a Chinese immigrant in Indianapolis is free on bail. Can her attorney, Linda Pence, clear the charges of murder and attempted feticide, or will she go to jail for her crime attempting suicide while pregnant?

The Storm Makers (Cambodia / France)

Director: Guillaume Suon

Filmmaker Guillaume Suon turns his cinematic lens on globalization and contemporary Cambodia.

Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four (U.S.A.)

Director: Deborah S. Esquenazi

Four Chicana lesbians languish in Texas prisons, found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls ages 7 and 9. Now, advocates and attorneys believe that a spurned suitors revenge, homophobia and junk science were key factors in their conviction. The film also explores the tedious process of exonerating innocents in Texas.

Untitled Colorado Documentary (U.S.A.)

Director: Eric Juhola

The film follows a landmark case in Colorado, where a 6-year-old male-to-female transgender girl is banned from using the girls' bathroom at her elementary school.

PRODUCTION / POST-PRODUCTION

Barring Race (U.S.A.)

Director: Noel Schwerin

At an infamous prison in California, inmates and staff confront a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and a novel anti-violence program order, revealing America's locked down racial order, and the hidden risks of transformative change.

Chameleon (Canada)

Director: Ryan Mullins

Chameleon is a chronicle of the extraordinary escapades of Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a deep-cover investigative journalist in Ghana.

Elephant in the Room (Working Title) (U.S.A.)

Directors: Lucia Small and Ed Pincus

Two filmmakers of different generations turn the camera on each other to explore friendship, legacy and living with terminal illness. A film that spans the years of their friendship, Elephant in the Room (working title) offers a raw, personal glimpse into a creative partners

LINK:	http://www.sundance.org/press-center/release/sundance-institute-announ...
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