Do you have a fantastic idea for a film but aren’t quite sure how to get to the next step? Building on the success of our pitch event last summer, we're excited to offer another opportunity for filmmakers seeking project feedback. Join us for this Filmmaking Deep Dive! Connect with fellow creatives, unlock invaluable insights, and maybe even get a chance to pitch your project to Sundance Institute alumni producers and directors. Including an interactive speed pitching session, a panel revealing industry best practices, and an Ask Me Anything with Sundance Film Festival programmers, this event is designed to help you in your professional development in independent filmmaking. Join us afterward for casual networking and light bites with fellow attendees, panelists, and our team.
If you’re interested in being considered to pitch, please check the box and provide information about your project when you register for the event––details around selection are outlined in the registration form and below. Please note that not everyone who attends this event will be able to pitch.
Schedule
9:30 a.m.                 Check-in begins
10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.        Program
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.      Casual networking and light bites
This event is for:
Fiction or nonfiction directors, producers, editors, and other artists with feature-length or short projects. Beginner, intermediate, and experienced artists are welcome.
Scroll down for more details.
A writer, director, actor, and drag performer, Amrou Al-Kadhi has written for Apple’s Little America and BBC America’s The Watch. They have written and directed four shorts centering queer people of color. Their solo drag show, Glamrou, has toured internationally, and they acted in the recent season of American Horror Stories. Their debut book with HarperCollins, Unicorn, won the Somerset Maugham Award.
Julie Anderson is an multi award winning film producer, director and development executive. She has created programming for ESPN, HBO Sports, HBO Documentary Films, PBS, CNN, CBS Sports, ABC Sports and BET. Julie has been nominated for a Academy Award two times, and is honored to have received five Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards, among others.
Julie was the director of documentary development for HBO Documentary Films and produced the Academy Award nominated documentary God Is The Bigger Elvis. She was the Senior Producer for the launches of Emmy award winning magazine shows OUTSIDE THE LINES (ESPN), Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO) and E:60 (ESPN).Â
She was also Executive Producer of Documentary Development at both HBO and PBS. She executive produced the Emmy, Peabody and Dupont Journalism award winning series The African Americans, Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, as well as Gates’ series Finding Your Roots. Her next film, a biography of Olympian Carl Lewis, will be released next year.
Donna is a producer, investor and philanthropist with decades of expertise supporting the long-term sustainability and finances of arts and education organizations. She supports films, both narrative and documentary, that promote social change and the art of storytelling. Areas of interest include protecting the environment, women and girls issues, education, healthcare, and social justice. Additionally Donna is passionate about working with filmmakers from underrepresented populations, as well as mentoring filmmakers early in their careers. Individual film producing credits include The Bad Kids, House of Z, House of Tomorrow, Night Comes On, Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements, Before You Know It, The Social Dilemma, Late Bloomers, Riddle of Fire (which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes), Aftershock, Queen of New York, Oscar-nominated Cartel Land and Emmy Award winning Chasing Coral. Donna currently sits on the Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees.
Eugene Hernandez is the Director of the Sundance Film Festival and head of public programming. He is responsible for guiding and overseeing the Festival’s overall vision and strategy while collaborating with the programming and leadership team to further the inspiring artistic impact of the Sundance Film Festival. He also leads the Institute’s year-round public programming globally, championing the social and cultural role of artists while developing programs to foster dialogue and community with Sundance-supported work at the center.
Basil Tsiokos is a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, focusing on nonfiction. Previously, he was Director of Programming for DOC NYC and the Nantucket Film Festival, and Artistic/Executive Director of NewFest. Basil serves on the feature nominating committees for the IDA Awards and Cinema Eye Honors. He has written about documentaries since 2010 on what (not) to doc. Basil holds an MA from New York University and two BAs from Stanford University.
Eva Rinaldi is the director of public programming and audience engagement at the Sundance Institute. She serves as the producing lead for year-round public programming in targeted U.S. regions with a dual goal of opening access to Sundance programs to emerging artists, new audiences and embedding the Institute into local communities.
• Twelve attendees will have the opportunity to deliver a 2–3 minute verbal pitch to our panel of experts and receive 2–3 minutes of constructive feedback. Eight registered participants will be pre-selected and four additional participants will be randomly selected at the start of the program for our wildcard slots.
• Pitches can be for features or shorts, documentary or fiction, any genre. No visual materials will be permitted, just wow the panel with your words!
Hosted by Eugene Hernandez - Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming
We’ll review insights from the speed pitching session and then dive into using your pitch effectively—discussing where to locate industry, the best ways to approach them, how to secure meetings, and how to find creative collaborators. Plus, we're ready for your burning questions!
Moderated by Basil Tsiokos - Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
Accessible and companion seating available in auditorium.
Visit Megaplex's website for more information.
Sundance Institute is committed to ensuring our events are as accessible as possible for all who attend. If you require accommodations, please contact accessibility@sundance.org describing your specific request. Every effort will be made to accommodate requests made in advance; requests made within seven days of events are not guaranteed.
If accommodation would support your full participation in this event, please contact us via our Accommodation Request Form to describe your specific request. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; requests made within seven days of the event may not be guaranteed.