Los Angeles, CA, October 29, 2024 — The nonprofit Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films today announced 15 projects and teams that will receive support through the Sundance Institute. Sandbox Fund. The fund provides grants to projects at every stage from development to post-production, giving filmmakers the opportunity to explore the connections between science and culture through nonfiction storytelling. At a critical time for documentary support, the foundation is increasing its grants to $500,000 annually. Since its creation in 2017, the number of project submissions to the fund has increased by 500% from around the world. This program expansion will allow the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP) and Sandbox Films to secure larger grants and support more artists to tell important stories in compelling ways. It will be.
Themes that emerged within this year’s grant scope include animal adaptation to climate change, the effects of trauma on the human brain, the environmental impact of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, scientific ethics, biological mortality and human mortality rates, the future of space and humanity in Africa. A review of scientific programs and human intervention in water management systems. The breadth of topics explored in these projects speaks to the potential of nonfiction storytelling as a means to deeply and creatively explore scientific subjects.
The supported projects have roots in 12 countries: Canada, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Germany, North Macedonia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and 80% of the projects are created by artists from the community. being directed. traditionally marginalized (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQ+, artists who identify as women and/or gender nonconforming, people with disabilities).
“As we enter our seventh year of this great collaboration with Sandbox Films, we at the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program are excited to continue working with the Sundance Institute to bring together groundbreaking non-fiction projects being developed and produced around scientific topics on a global scale. It’s clear that there is no shortage of fiction, and it’s great to be able to support that production demand in an expanded way thanks to increased funding,” said Paola Mottura, Director of the Documentary Film Fund at the Sundance Institute. he said. “We would like to thank the filmmakers who have entrusted us with their work, and who have been great collaborators and committed to this work as we seek to empower storytellers through financial and creative resources. Thank you Sandbox for deepening your investment.”
“We have been really impressed by the high quality of projects that we have been able to support through this initiative. One of our key objectives at Sandbox is to promote diversity in science documentary, and this Through the Fund, we have been able to connect with artists who are exploring scientific topics in very innovative ways,” said Jessica Harrop, Executive Director of Sandbox Films.
Previous projects supported with funding from the Sandbox Fund include Nocturne, which was released this month by Grasshopper Films and won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize in the Craft category at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival; Winner), Wilfred Bach (premiered at CPH 2024), and others. DOX), the Oscar-nominated Fire of Love (a US documentary that premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award), and All Right Everywhere ( Nonfiction Experimentation) (winner of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival US Documentary Jury Special Award), Fathom (premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and acquired by Apple), Users (premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival) (American documentary that was screened and won the director award).
Latest Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund grant recipients for each stage of production are as follows:
development
Artificial clouds (Chile)
Director: Josefina Bushman Mardonez
Producer: Daniela Camino Valdivia
Artificial Clouds is a creative documentary that explores the ecological impact of artificial intelligence through a journey from mineral extraction to electronic ruins in Chile.
Ever and the Sharks (Peru, Spain)
Director: Lucia Flores
Producer: Shemi Perez, Joel Cazorla, Sofia Tapia
A boy from a fishing family and a marine researcher embark on an adventure to tag the first whale shark in Peru.
In celebration of alien species (Canada)
Director: Mira Aung Swin
Producer: Bob Moore
For some, hunting and destroying “exotic species” such as Burmese pythons and Japanese knotweed is a moral issue. For others, this idea is pseudoscience and contrary to our concept of nature. The film examines the escalating politics of the new wild.
My Friend the Bear (USA)
Director: Drew Santhopoulos
Producer: Bennett Elliott, Drew Xanthopoulos
The feature-length documentary My Friend the Bear depicts the unprecedented decades-long relationship between a severely dyslexic researcher and a bear. Their stories challenge our basic ideas about how humanity fits into the rest of nature.
Sing at My Wake (USA)
Director: Jonathan Pickett
Producer: Jonathan Pickett, Josh Polon, Sarah Stewart
Sing at My Wake is an observational documentary that explores an innovative green death care company, documenting the emotional journey of a family as they come to terms with this novel end-of-life option.
Congolese astronauts (Democratic Republic of Congo, UK, Germany, USA)
Director: Maisha Mane
Producer: Maisha Mane, Leo Nelke, Joson Hernheiser, Dale Dobson
Two young rocket engineers, driven by the memories of African dreamers and a strong belief in their homeland, work to build the first Congolese space program.
Vortex of Extinction (North Macedonia, USA)
Director: Lyubomir Stefanov
Producer: Maya E. Rudolph
After discovering a population of turtles mysteriously trapped in a pattern of barbaric and sexual destruction, a young ecologist is the first to map the “extinction vortex” occurring in wild populations, marking the end of the species. I end up in an ethical and existential spiral that goes beyond that.
Valley of the Night (tentative title) (USA)
Director: Lynn Seifert
Producer: Lynn Seifert
Valley of the Night is a science fiction documentary that imagines a near-future world in Phoenix, Arizona, the hottest city in the United States. There, nighttime becomes a natural refuge as people adapt to survive extreme daytime temperatures.
production
Badlands (USA)
Director: Hanna Jayanti, Alexander Porter
Producer: Hannah Jayanti, Alexander Porter, Keith Wilson
In South Dakota’s majestic badlands, seemingly “bad” wastelands reveal themselves to be teeming with life, buried history, and important lessons about managing a rapidly changing world.
Caption required (US, Mexico)
Director: Natalia Almada
Producer: Natalia Almada, Josh Penn, Esther Robinson
Captions Will be Needed is director Natalia Almada’s cinematic response to living with a rare cancer. A magical realist, sci-fi documentary about embracing uncertainty in an age where we believe in the omnipotent power of technology to answer all our questions.
Only on Earth (Denmark, Spain)
Director: Robin Petre
Producer: Signe Skov Thomsen, Marlene Flint Pedersen
A trip to southern Galicia, one of the most vulnerable wildfire zones in Europe. There, for centuries wild horses roamed the mountains under the watchful eye of local cowboys. During the hottest summer on record, humans and animals alike are struggling to cope with the never-ending fires approaching.
Providencia (Colombia)
Director: Julianna Schatz Preston
Producer: Guillermo Zuain, Wendy Muniz, Tanja Tawajo
A large Colombian family with a 50-50 chance of losing their memories grapples with their fate as researchers race against time to access the answers that lie within them.
Terminal (USA)
Director: Abby Ellis
Producer: Fletcher Keyes
An environmental nuclear bomb is coming to Utah. Two brave scientists and a political veteran bide their time to save their home from an unprecedented environmental catastrophe.
The River (USA)
Director: Caitlin Green
Producer: Caitlin Green, Sarah Archambault, Claire Haley
The River is a lively, character-driven film about the complex relationship between Louisiana and the Mississippi River.
Untitled PMSR movie (USA)
Director: Tracy Jarrett
Producer: Emma Morley
The untitled PMSR film explores postmortem sperm retrieval (PMSR), a medical procedure that extracts sperm from men within 72 hours of their unexpected death, by embedding a very personal experience of love and grief. .
sundance institute
The nonprofit Sundance Institute is a champion and curator of independent stories, providing and preserving space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s distinctive laboratories, grants, and mentorship programs are dedicated to developing new research and are conducted throughout the year in the United States and abroad. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings together working artists from around the world to learn from Sundance Advisors, connect with each other in a creative space, and develop and share work-in-progress. Sundance and other public programs connect audiences and artists to generate new ideas, discover original voices, and build communities dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute Artist Program, we have produced songs such as “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Big Sick,” “Bottle Rocket,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Boys State,” and “Call Me by Your He has supported projects such as “Name,” “Clemency,” “CODA,” “Drunktown’s Finest,” and “The Farewell.” , Fire of Love, Free, 40 Year Old Version, Fruitvale Station, Get Out, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, Honeyland, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love and Angry Inch Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, The Nanny, Navalny, OJ: Made in America, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raging Victor・Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry, The Souvenir, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…or Revolution is on TV) “Swiss Army Man”, “Sydney”, “A Thousand and One”, “Top of the Lake”, “Walking and Talking”, “You Will Be My Neighbor” Don’t you? ‘, and Zola. Through its year-round artist program, the institute welcomes artists such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Greg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John – Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute’s efforts to uplift bold artists and powerful storytelling around the world by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. × (formerly Twitter), YouTube.
sandbox movie
Sandbox Films is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning, mission-driven production company specializing in creative, boundary-pushing documentaries rooted in scientific ideas that inform society and culture. Our films released in 2020 include: FIRE OF LOVE (Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature) ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE (Sundance 2021 Special Jury Award Winner, released on Neon and Hulu). FIREBALL (co-directed by Werner Herzog, released by Apple). FATHOM (winner of the Emmy Award for Best Sound Documentary). and HUMAN NATURE (nominated for three Emmy Awards). Our films have premiered at top festivals around the world, including Sundance (back-to-back Jury Prize winners), SXSW, Telluride, Tribeca, Toronto, and CPH:DOX. Sandbox Films’ films have been acquired and released around the world by some of the world’s leading platforms and distributors, including Netflix, National Geographic Documentary Films, Apple Original Films, NEON, BBC, and PBS.
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Media Contacts: Tammie Rosen, tammie_rosen@sundance.org; Tiffany Duersch, tiffany_duersch@sundance.org; Sylvy Fernandez, sylvy_fernandez@sundance.org; Alex Courides, alex_courides@sundance.org
