Dec 9, 2014
Artist Development
San Francisco, CA – Five films that have received support from the San Francisco Film Society’s Filmmaker360 program will have their world premieres at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. As the festival made its final round of feature film announcements for its January event, it was revealed that Jennifer Phang’s Advantageous, Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me and Kris Swanberg’s Unexpected will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition; Bill Ross and Turner Ross’s Western will screen in the U.S. Documentary Competition; and Jenni Olson’s The Royal Road will appear in the festival’s New Frontier section. Funded by San Francisco Film Society grants and incubated with the support of various Filmmaker360 programs, these exciting and diverse films are poised to make a splash at one of the country’s most important showcases for independent film.
“Our team is immensely proud of these amazing filmmakers, many of whom we have worked closely with for quite a long time,” said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. “To have projects that touch upon so many of our support initiatives—narrative grants, documentary programs and FilmHouse residencies—premiering at Sundance confirms our belief that we’ve got some serious winners on our hands. We are absolutely convinced that all of our supported projects are deserving of global attention, and we look forward to watching these connect with audiences for the first time at one of the year’s most important events for independent film. We’ll be there in January to see it all happen, applauding loudest of all.”
Filmmaker360, the San Francisco Film Society’s filmmaker support program, is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the United States, dispersing nearly $1 million annually across various programs to incubate and support innovative and exceptional films. Filmmaker360’s activities focus on career sustainability for independent filmmakers, and its diverse initiatives offer unparalleled assistance and opportunities designed to foster creativity and shepherd important projects toward completion. Services offered by Filmmaker360 include cash grants, consultation services, project development and fiscal sponsorship, FilmHouse residencies offering free office space to filmmakers in any stage of production, and much more. For more information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
SAN FRANCISCO FILM SOCIETY-SUPPORTED FILMS AT SUNDANCE 2015
Advantageous, directed by Jennifer Phang, U.S. Dramatic Competition
In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world.
· SFFS FilmHouse Resident, September 2012–present (more info)
The Royal Road, directed by Jenni Olson, New Frontier
This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo—all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes.
· Currently enrolled in the SFFS Project Development program (more info)
Songs My Brothers Taught Me, directed by Chloé Zhao, U.S. Dramatic Competition
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
· Fall 2014 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant winner: $60,000 for postproduction (more info)
Unexpected, directed by Kris Swanberg, U.S. Dramatic Competition
When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she’s pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship.
· Fall 2014 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant winner: $50,000 for postproduction (more info)
Western, directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross, U.S. Documentary Competition
For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
· Currently enrolled in the SFFS Project Development program (more info)
San Francisco Film Society-supported projects that have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in recent years include Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie and the Boxer; Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, which went on to win both the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category in 2013; Kat Candler’s Hellion; Jacob Kornbluth’s Inequality for All; Ira Sach’s Love is Strange; Gillian Robespierre’s Obvious Child; and Jesse Moss’s The Overnighters, among others.
For additional information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.