Go behind the scenes to learn from Sundance Advisors in our Conversations from the Labs series. This collection of videos will deepen your understanding of all the creative disciplines that are supported through our Labs including Feature Film Directing and Writing, TV Writing, Emerging/Interdisciplinary Media, Documentary, Producing and Film Music.

In this video, four directors—Ira Sachs, Keith Gordon, Karyn Kusama and Kasi Lemmons—explore the ways in which you mentally prepare to fulfill the role of director. Lemmons (Eve's Bayou) discusses her experience as an actor working for directors Jonathan Demme, Spike Lee and John Woo, and how she learned that intensive preparation before the shoot allowed her to be present and free when on-set. Sachs (Love is Strange), who got his start as a theatre director, shares how he adapted to film directing by listening and responding to his actors, building the space around them to make their job of imagining the world easier. Kusama (The Invitation) speaks about the various rituals she’s developed over the years—things as simple as taking a bath or reading a book—to adapt and cope with the anxiety. She emphasizes the importance of a “feeling” read during prep, when she reads her script once a week to understand her film on a deep emotional level. Gordon (Waking the Dead) describes his approach of embracing disasters on set; as long as he is rooted strongly in the story, he is able to adapt to any challenges that may come up during the shoot. Finally, the directors discuss some specific directing tools to use on set, including giving actors direction privately to protect the space for them, using blocking to help solve performance challenges and much more. The conversation is moderated by Sundance advisor Gyula Gazdag.

Other conversations in this ongoing series include those with editors Michelle Tesoro, Joi McMillon, Teri Shropshire & Dylan Tichenor; cinematographers Stephen Goldblatt, Robert Elswit, Brad Young and Charlotte Bruus Christensen; writer/director Miguel Arteta, writer/director Walter Salles, writer/director Randa Haines and more.

Director / Actor
As an indie filmmaker, Gordon starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced STATIC (Best Actor: Madrid Film Festival), adapted and directed THE CHOCOLATE WAR, (IFP/Spirit Award nomination: Best First Feature), adapted and directed A MIDNIGHT CLEAR (IFP/Spirit Award nomination: Best Screenplay), produced and directed MOTHER NIGHT from the Kurt Vonnegut novel and starring Nick Nolte, adapted and directed Scott Spencer’s WAKING THE DEAD (IFP/Spirit award nomination for Best Screenplay), and directed THE SINGING DETECTIVE starring Robert Downey Jr., Mel Gibson, and Robin Wright. more...
Director | Writer | Actress
Kasi Lemmons is an award-winning director, writer, actress, and professor who has been a staple in Hollywood for nearly three decades. Her acclaimed 1997 feature directorial debut, EVE'S BAYOU, was recently inducted into the National Film Registry, and is considered among the first to showcase the beauty of African American Southern culture. The film received the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and the National Board of Review bestowed her with a special first-time director award. EVE'S BAYOU marked Samuel L. Jackson’s debut as a film producer and helped launch the careers of actresses Megan Good and Jurnee Smollett. more...
Director
Ira Sachs (he/him) is a filmmaker whose work includes the features Frankie, Little Men, Love is Strange, Keep the Lights On and Forty Shades of Blue. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, he has been an artist resident at both Yaddo and MacDowell, as well as a participant in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 1999. In 2009, in recognition of the impact of the AIDS epidemic on queer artists, Sachs founded Queer|Art, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the support of LGBTQ+ artists across disciplines and generations more...
Director
Karyn Kusama is currently an executive producer of Showtime’s coming-of-age survival drama, YELLOWJACKETS. The show has garnered seven Emmy nominations, including one for Karyn’s direction of the pilot episode. Prior to that, she helmed the Golden Globe-nominated film DESTROYER starring Nicole Kidman and written by her frequent collaborators, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Her feature credits include indie thriller THE INVITATION, cult horror comedy JENNIFER'S BODY, sci-fi love story AEON FLUX, and her Cannes and Sundance-award winning debut, GIRLFIGHT. more...

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