Sundance Institute to Host Filmmaker and Artist Workshops in Philadelphia and Miami, with Support from Knight Foundation

Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced it will bring a series of workshops for emerging screenwriters, directors and multidisciplinary artists to Miami and Philadelphia over the coming year, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The program, the first formal collaboration between Sundance Institute and Knight Foundation, offers greater accessibility for emerging artists to the Institute’s renowned creative artist development programs.

The first workshop in the series is the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive in Philadelphia on October 26, co-hosted with the Scribe Video Center. Emerging writers in Philadelphia working on feature-length narrative screenplays are invited to apply, and from these, as many as 12 participants will be selected. The workshop will be led by veteran screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury (Nashville, Thieves Like Us). Applications can be submitted at http://www.sundance.org/programs/screenwriters-intensive/ through October 4.

Additional events in Philadelphia and Miami to take place in the coming year include a New Frontier Flash Lab for artists working at the convergence of film, art, media, live performance, music and technology; and ShortsLabs for filmmakers on the making of short films.

Four artists will be selected from these programs to attend the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah (January 16-26, 2014). There, the Knight Fellows will attend specially curated screenings and panels and participate in facilitated professional development and educational opportunities.

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “This initiative is in line with our commitment to discovering and supporting independent artists in regions across the country as a means of encouraging diverse stories and greater understanding. It also recognizes the vibrant arts communities in Miami and Philadelphia, which are home to many alumni artists that have contributed to our programs.”

Knight Foundation’s $200,000 commitment is part of an effort to strengthen storytelling across mediums in the two communities.

“In recent years, we’ve seen independent filmmakers in both Miami and Philadelphia tell stories that are unique to their cities but resonate globally,” said Dennis Scholl, VP of arts for Knight Foundation. “Through this program, we hope to not only offer them the best training to hone their skills, but an opportunity to expose their work to a greater audience.”

Knight Foundation’s arts program invests in ideas that engage and enrich eight communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers, including Miami and Philadelphia.

For more than three decades, Sundance Institute has promoted independent storytelling to inform and inspire audiences across political, social, religious and cultural differences. Through labs, funding, special projects with key partners and the Sundance Film Festival, the Institute serves as the leading advocate for independent artists worldwide.

Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America.

Knight Fundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit KnightFoundation.org.