Dec 12, 2022
Meet the SFFILM Makers behind the SFFILM-supported titles
On Wednesday, December 7, the Sundance Institute revealed the slate of films that will premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. After two years of virtual programming, the long-running film festival will return in-person to Park City, Utah on January 19, 2023.
Securing a spot in the Sundance Film Festival lineup is no easy feat. Thanks to our SFFILM Makers programs, which include our FilmHouse Residency, the Documentary Film Fund, the Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship, and the flagship SFFILM Rainin Grant — the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the US — SFFILM helps independent filmmakers break through. And, for the second time, a filmmaker supported by the SFFILM Rainin Grant for Filmmakers with Disabilities has been invited to show their work at Sundance.
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival slate includes a record-setting eight (8!) SFFILM-supported features, validating the integral part SFFILM plays in providing independent storytellers with the necessary advisory services, work space, and artist community for filmmakers to develop, complete, and submit their projects to festivals. “We are thrilled for our supported filmmakers, who will be premiering their films at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival,” said Masashi Niwano, SFFILM’s Director of Artist Development. “Their voices are fresh and diverse, and they all share a similar strength: bold storytelling and unique perspectives that we believe can change the world. We cannot wait for audiences to see these eight powerful films.”
The eight SFFILM-supported projects screening at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival are:
Against the Tide
Sarvnik Kaur, director/producer; Koval Bhatia, producer
SFFILM Support Received—Documentary Film Fund; SFFILM Invest
Appearing In—International Documentary Competition
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Raven Jackson, writer/director; Maria Altamirano, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, producers
SFFILM Support Received—SFFILM Rainin Grant; SFFILM Westridge Grant
Appearing In—U.S. Dramatic Competition
Earth Mama
Savanah Leaf, writer/director/producer; Cody Ryder, producer; Danielle Massie, co-producer
SFFILM Support Received—SFFILM Rainin Grant
Fancy Dance
Erica Tremblay, writer/director/producer; Miciana Alise, writer
SFFILM Support Received—SFFILM Rainin Grant
Appearing In—U.S. Dramatic Competition
Fremont
Babak Jalali, writer/director; Marjaneh Moghimi, producer; George Rush, producer; Laura Wagner, producer; Carolina Cavalli, writer
SFFILM Support Received—SFFILM Rainin Grant
Appearing In—Next
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Joe Brewster, co-director/producer; Michèle Stephenson, co-director/producer
SFFILM Support Received—Documentary Film Fund; SFFILM Invest
Appearing In—U.S. Documentary Competition
Going Varsity in Mariachi
Alejandra Vasquez, director; Sam Osborn, director; Julia Pontecorvo, producer; James Lawler, producer; Luis A. Miranda, Jr., producer
SFFILM Support Received—Documentary Film Fund
Appearing In—U.S. Documentary Competition
The Tuba Thieves
Alison O’Daniel, director/producer; Wendy Ettinger, executive producer; Rachel Nederveld, Maida Lynn, Su Kim, Maya E. Rudolph, producers
SFFILM Support Received—SFFILM Rainin Filmmakers with Disabilities Grant
Appearing In—Next
Since 2009, SFFILM has distributed more than $8.5 million to over 300 films through our various filmmaker-centered initiatives. SFFILM-supported projects include works by SFFILM Rainin Grant recipients, such as Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth, Fernando Frias’ I’m No Longer Here, Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Nia DaCosta’s Little Woods, Nijla Mu’min’s Jinn, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station. On the documentary feature side, SFFILM-supported projects include those by Documentary Film Fund recipients, such as CJ Hunt’s The Neutral Ground, Assia Boundaoui’s The Feeling of Being Watched, Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s Honeyland, Liza Mandelup’s Jawline, Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family, and RaMell Ross’ Hale County This Morning, This Evening, among many other remarkable films.
Sharing compelling works from up-and-coming independent filmmakers with fresh perspectives, inventive ideas, and singular styles aligns deeply with the work SFFILM does. Outside of the San Francisco International Film Festival, events like Sundance help such works reach a wider audience and, hopefully, secure distribution deals that will continue to amplify the films’ messages and increase their visibility.
Congratulations to all the filmmakers on this major accomplishment!
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