The Film Independent Members And Fellows Off Mute And On Camera At Sundance 2022

With Sundance now officially wrapped—deals inked, awards distributed—and the independent film community nervously breathing a collective sigh of relief and saying, “Okay, let’s never do that again again,” we wanted to take a moment to recognize the incredible number of Film Independent Members and Fellows who made Sundance 2022 so unforgettable. In fact, Fi Fellows—defined as filmmakers who have been directly supported by Film Independent’s Lab Programs, Project Involve, Fast Track and Fiscal Sponsorship programs—were some of this year’s biggest winners: Project Involve and Episodic Lab Fellow KD Davila wins the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Emergency, a project that was first germinated as a 2017 Project Involve short; Fast Track supported project Palm Trees and Power Lines won the Directing Prize in US Dramatic Competition for Fellow Jamie Dack; Fast Track Fellows Nikkia Moulterie and Nikyatu Jusu won the Grand Jury Prize for Nanny in the US Dramatic Competition; Documentary Lab Fellow Shane Boris’s film Navalny won the US Documentary Competition Audience Award; and Project Involve Fellow So Yong Kim produced Special Jury Prize winner Blood.

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Eric Lin, Cinematographer, Blood Directing Lab, 2009 So Yong Kim,Producer, Blood Project Involve, 1995 Carey Williams,Director, Emergency Project Involve, 2017 Kristen ‘KD’ Davila, Writer, Emergency Episodic Lab, 2017 Project Involve, 2017 Michael Dallatorre, Cinematographer, Emergency Project Involve, 2018 Joenique Rose, Co-Producer, Emergency Project Involve, 2017 Nikyatu Jusu, Writer/Director, Nanny Fast Track, 2013 Nikkia Moulterie, Producer, Nanny Fast Track, 2013 Jamie Dack, Writer/Director, Palm Trees and Power Lines Fast Track, 2020

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Margaret Brown,Director, Descendant Grant & Award winner, 2009 Sara Dosa,Writer/Producer/Director, Fire of Love Documentary Lab, 2018 Shane Boris, Writer/Producer, Fire of Love and Navalny Documentary Lab, 2018

WORLD CINEMA COMPETITIONS

Samantha Jennings,Producer, You Won’t Be Alone (Dramatic) Fast Track, 2019 Rita Baghdadi, Producer, Sirens (Documentary) Documentary Lab, 2015 Fi Fiscal Sponsorship

PREMIERES

Ramin Bahrani, Writer/Director, 2nd Chance Grant & Award winner, 2008 Cecily Rhett, Editor, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power Screenwriting Lab, 2002 Directing Lab, 2002 Adanne Ebo, Producer, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Project Involve, 2019 Drew Houpt, Producer, Resurrection Fast Track, 2017

NEW FRONTIER PERFORMANCES

Josh Penn,Producer, 32 Sounds Grant & Award winner, 2014

U.S. LIVE ACTION SHORTS

Steph Zenee Perez,Editor, WORK Project Involve, 2018 Selinda Zhou,Editor, You Go Girl Project Involve, 2021

SPOTLIGHT

Paul Mezey,Producer, After Yang Grant & Award winner, 2001

KIDS

James Ponsoldt,Writer/Director, Summering Fast Track, 2008

40th ANNIVERSARY SHORTS

Hu Wei,Director, Butter Lamp Grant & Award winner, 2004 Guilia Caruso, Director, Deer Flower Project Involve, 2016 Scott Macaulay, Producer, Family Remains Grant & Award winner, 1998 Fast Track, 2008 Robin O’Hara, Producer, Family Remains Grant & Award winner, 1998 Kevin Everson, Director, FE26 Grant & Award winner, 2013 Cedar Sherbert, Director/Producer, Gesture Down (I Don’t Sing) Screenwriting Lab, 2008 Directing Lab, 2009 Project Involve, 2005 Mary Jane Skalski, Producer, Greetings From Africa Grant & Award winner, 2004 Ryan Gomez, Producer, Hold Up Producing Lab, 2005 Nanobah Becker, Producer, Shimásání Project Involve 2007 Chad Burris, Producer, Shimásání Grant & Award winner, 2013 Heather Rae, Producer, Shimásání Grant & Award winner, 2009 Siqi Song, Director/Writer/Producer, Sister Project Involve, 2018 Faren Humes, Producer, T Project Involve, 2018 Fast Track, 2019

Now let’s see which Film Independent Members booked a (virtual) trip to Utah. A reminder: Film Independent is an open access organization open to filmmakers and film lovers all over the world. Not a Member yet? Become one today.

US DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Alex Orlovsky, Producer, Blood Jonathan Fischer, Producer, Emergency Brad Becker-Parton, Producer, Master Rita Walsh, Associate Producer, Master Daniel Lundberg, Producer, Nanny

US DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Essie Chambers, Producer, Descendant Ina Fichman, Producer, Fire of Love Brock Williams, Executive Producer, Jihad Rehab

WORLD CINEMA CATEGORIES

Rick Rosenthal, Executive Producer, The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future (Dramatic) Shrihari Sathe, Co-Producer, The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future (Dramatic) Matthew Chuang, Cinematographer, You Won’t Be Alone (Dramatic) Signe Byrge Sørensen, Executive Producer, A House Made of Splinters (Documentary) Ken Pelletier, Executive Producer, Midwives (Documentary) Jamie Wolf, Executive Producer, Tantura (Documentary), The Martha Mitchell Effect (Short)

PREMIERES

Phyllis Nagy, Director, Call Jane Deanna Barillari, Executive Producer, Call Jane Tyler Davidson, Producer, Emily the Criminal Miranda Bailey, Producer, God’s Country Carolina Groppa, Executive Producer, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul Tim Headington, Producer, Resurrection Martin Marquet, Executive Producer, To the End Rick Rosenthal, Co-Executive Producer, To the End

SPOTLIGHT

Paul Mezey, Producer, After Yang Dale Dickey, Actor, A Love Song

Bill Way, Executive Producer, A Love Song Jesy Odio, Producer, Every Day in Kaimukī Shant Joshi, Producer, Framing Agnes Brooke Sebold, Co-Producer, Framing Agnes

MIDNIGHT

Callie Barlow, Co-Producer, Meet Me in the Bathroom

EPISODIC SERIES

Daniel Pfeffer, Producer, Chiqui

SHORTS

Lauren Domino, Producer, Alone Harris Doran, Director/Writer/Producer, F^¢k ‘Em R!ght B@¢k Tamara Jenkins, Director/Writer, Family Remains Ted Hope, Executive Producer, Greetings from Africa James Schamus, Executive Producer, Greetings from Africa Gabriela Ortega, Director/Writer, Huella Jesy Odio, Producer, You’ve Never Been Completely Honest Chad Burris, Producer, Shimásáni Michelle Steffes, Producer, Short Term 12 Jonathan D Kane, Editor, T Nathalie Seaver, Co-Executive Producer, The Martha Mitchell Effect Peggy Rajski, Director/Producer, Trevor Lidia Nikonova, Cinematographer, While Mortals Sleep

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Nancy Abraham, Executive Producer, Phoenix Rising Lisa Heller, Executive Producer, Phoenix Rising Regina K. Scully, Executive Producer, Phoenix Rising

KIDS

Andrew Karpen, Executive Producer, Summering Kent Sanderson, Executive Producer, Summering

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