Resources
Sundance-created and curated resources to expand your creative practice
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Producing a Docuseries with Steven Berger (SASQUATCH, LORENA)
In this webinar, producer Steven Berger (LORENA, SASQUATCH) shares advice for producing a docuseries, sharing his experiences with securing rights, working with the big streamers, building relationships with subjects while remaining impartial, and outlining how to tell stories about familiar people in ways they haven’t been told before.
Collab Takeaways: Casting Director Avy Kaufman on Three Steps to Finding the Right Cast for a Film or TV Show
Producers and directors often find it helpful to learn from the expertise of experienced casting directors to help them find the right actor for each unique role in a script. Here, casting director Avy Kaufman (The Ice Storm, Succession, King Richard) shares her insights into the process of scouting, auditions and building healthy communication skills with the production team after working on over 300 films and TV shows.
Filmmakers, Here’s The Top Things Festival Programmers Want You To Know
Film festivals are a vital part of the independent creative ecosystem. The Seed&Spark team has attended hundreds of film festivals — as filmmakers, jurors, programmers, and workshop facilitators — and in doing has compiled this short list of tips for filmmakers navigating the film festival circuit.
View NowProducing a Docuseries with Steven Berger (SASQUATCH, LORENA)
In this webinar, producer Steven Berger (LORENA, SASQUATCH) shares advice for producing a docuseries, sharing his experiences with securing rights, working with the big streamers, building relationships with subjects while remaining impartial, and outlining how to tell stories about familiar people in ways they haven’t been told before.
Collab Takeaways: Casting Director Avy Kaufman on Three Steps to Finding the Right Cast for a Film or TV Show
Producers and directors often find it helpful to learn from the expertise of experienced casting directors to help them find the right actor for each unique role in a script. Here, casting director Avy Kaufman (The Ice Storm, Succession, King Richard) shares her insights into the process of scouting, auditions and building healthy communication skills with the production team after working on over 300 films and TV shows.
Collab Takeaways: Casting Director Avy Kaufman on Three Steps to Finding the Right Cast for a Film or TV Show
Producers and directors often find it helpful to learn from the expertise of experienced casting directors to help them find the right actor for each unique role in a script. Here, casting director Avy Kaufman (The Ice Storm, Succession, King Richard) shares her insights into the process of scouting, auditions and building healthy communication skills with the production team after working on over 300 films and TV shows.
Avy Kaufman
Casting Director
Collab Takeaways: Four Ways to Prep for Your Movie Pitch to Potential Investors
Finding funding is one of the most difficult aspects of a filmmaker's career. Here, Producers Ryan Zacarias (THE MOUNTAIN, GIVE ME LIBERTY) and Jennifer Dana (IT FOLLOWS, THE ASSISTANT) share tips and advice for filmmakers looking to pitch investors and find the money to bring their movies to life.
Ryan Zacarias
Producer
The Director's Cut: A DGA Podcast
Brought to you by the Directors Guild of America, "The Director's Cut" will bring you the behind-the-scenes stories of today's most talked about films. Each episode features a different director interviewed by one of their peers, leading to revealing conversations about the grueling, but rewarding process of bringing their films to life.
Collab Takeaways: Directing Actors: Judith Weston’s Guide to Successful Relationships On Set
Judith Weston has been coaching directors on working with actors for nearly 30 years. Here, Weston shares insights for up-and-coming directors on the importance of establishing meaningful relationships with actors through auditions, rehearsals and filming and maintaining honest communication throughout the process.
Judith Weston
A Toolkit for Inclusion & Accessibility: Changing the Narrative of Disability in Documentary Film
This Toolkit for Inclusion & Accessibility has been created by FWD-Doc in association with Doc Society and supported by Netflix, featuring a case study about Crip Camp (2020) and with a view to best practice, not just compliance. We find ourselves in an unprecedented moment of creative and financial opportunity for the documentary film industry, if we engage with authentic disabled storytelling and talent, make our media genuinely accessible, and better understand and cater to the world’s 1 billion D/deaf and disabled people — currently a seriously underserved audience for film.
Hispanic and Latino Representation in Film: Erasure Behind the Camera (Report)
Chicana Director's Initiative
1in4 Coalition's 10 Ways To Support Disability Representation in Hollywood
1IN4 is an intersectional coalition of disabled creatives currently working in Hollywood focused on long-term institutional shifts to increase employment and authentic representation of disabled people. This resources outlines 10 ways film professionals can start supporting disability representation in Hollywood.
FICM Mexican Filmmaker Directory
Film Fatales Directors Database
A directory of directors for Film Fatales.
Collab Takeaways: The Power of Cinematography: DP Kirsten Johnson Shares Her Filmmaking Philosophy
Kirsten Johnson
Filmmaker
Sundance London: Directors in Conversation
Nikole Beckwith
How the Year's Biggest Movies Layer in Meaning with Symbolic Composition
The Future of Horror Is Female: Watch Karyn Kusama, Jennifer Reeder, and Prano Bailey-Bond Talk Genre’s Future
Collab Takeaways: How Filmmakers Create New Worlds With Music and Sound
Music and sound design are two of the most powerful tools available to film directors. In their Master Class on Building Your Story Soundscape with Music and Sound, Sundance Institute’s Director of Film Music Peter Golub and Glenn Kiser, Director of the Dolby Institute, lead a conversation with award-winning practitioners on how composers and sound designers work with directors to build the world of a film and shape its story and overall message.
Peter Golub
Director, Film Music Program
Collab Takeaways: Crucial Questions to Ask Yourself When Beginning a Documentary Film
Dawn Porter
Filmmaker
Listen to James Cameron and Steven Spielberg Talk About Their Favorite Moments in Sci-Fi
James Cameron and Steven Spielberg discuss their favorite moments in sci-fi, with insights into writing and directing sci-fi.
Collab Takeaways: How to Fail at Filmmaking (and Why You Must)
Heather Rae
Producer
Collab Takeaways: Let Your Career Catch You Off Guard: Chloé Zhao on Navigating the Film Business
Chloé Zhao
Writer / Director / Producer