- 2 weeks ago
"The Labs are an opportunity for the artists we're supporting to come together and workshop their material," says feature film programming director Michelle Satter about the program that lets people work on their skills.
Category
đ„
Short filmTranscript
00:00Hi everyone, I'm Natalie Heltzel with The Hollywood Reporter and I am here with Feature
00:05Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter, hello, and Labs Director Elise McKimmy from
00:11Sundance Institute.
00:12How are you guys?
00:12Good.
00:13Good.
00:13Thank you for being here.
00:15So for those who may be watching, who may not be familiar, tell us a little bit about,
00:20can you summarize what the Lab Program is and maybe just an elevator pitch to start
00:26off with and then we'll dive a little deeper.
00:28Sure.
00:29The Lab Program is the first program of the Institute.
00:33So we started there.
00:34Most people think we started with a festival but we are starting with labs and the labs are
00:39an opportunity for artists that we're supporting to come together in a community, build that
00:45community together and workshop their material.
00:48So they're there to build their skills as artists in film, theater, documentary, editing, film
00:56music, I mean a whole range of, you know, sort of artist support.
01:00But they're there to be in a kind of contained workshop where they can really, you know, focus
01:06their energy on, you know, on building a project, developing a project and building their skills.
01:11Okay, got it.
01:12And it's for screenwriters and directors and producers also now?
01:15Yes.
01:16And many other artists with, you know, working, you know, if you're talking to us, we're going
01:22to talk to you about our screenwriters and directors and producing labs.
01:25But we have, we have 26 different labs that we have going on.
01:29Yeah.
01:3026.
01:31Okay.
01:32That's a lot.
01:33And Sundance and all over the world.
01:35Yeah.
01:35That's a lot of creativity happening.
01:38And you just wrapped your lab season, correct?
01:40Yes, we did.
01:42And our last lab was our creative producing lab in Summit.
01:46Gotcha.
01:46Yeah.
01:48What are the labs like on the day to day?
01:51How long do they last?
01:53Just for maybe people that are watching who they've kind of heard the name Sundance, they
01:58know a little bit about it, but maybe they're not as familiar with the program.
02:01What's the day to day like and the selection process even?
02:05Right.
02:05Elise, go for it.
02:07Well, it varies depending on what the focus of the lab is.
02:11For the labs that focus on writing, like our screenwriters lab, that's actually a very
02:17brief, at least in comparison, an intensive lab that takes place over five days.
02:22And the day to day of it is a lot of talking and a lot of brainstorming and a lot
02:27of asking
02:28and answering of questions.
02:29Writers have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with different creative advisors and really
02:34get to the heart of why they're telling their story, what their personal connection to it
02:39is, and what they want an audience to take away from their project.
02:43And then it can also get quite granular and go into very specific craft-based lessons and
02:50discussions and getting tips and tricks.
02:52We don't espouse any one right way of making a film or writing a script, but they have the
02:58opportunity to connect with the larger community at the lab and sort of piece together the
03:03bits and pieces that work for their own process.
03:05For our director's lab, it's very different.
03:08That supports eight first-time feature directors, and that's kind of like going into production
03:14on eight short films at once.
03:16We have eight filmmakers, four crews, 24 actors, three different sets of advisors, and they have
03:24the opportunity to rehearse, shoot, and edit selected scenes from their work-in-progress screenplays
03:29in an environment where the focus is on creative process and discovery.
03:34It's not really on results, so the scenes that are shot at the lab, we always say they stay
03:37at the lab.
03:38And that's a month-long for directors?
03:40That's a month-long lab, yes.
03:41So five days for screenwriters, a month for directors, and it's in Utah, correct?
03:46It's also kind of nice you're taking them out of the L.A. bubble or maybe the New York
03:50bubble if they come from the East Coast or wherever they come from, I guess, but it seems kind
03:54of like a very different energy probably, working somewhere a little bit more remote.
04:00Yeah, I think that's an important piece of the puzzle, that really everyone is there,
04:04always focused on the same thing, they all are able to come together without the distractions
04:09of their everyday lives, and it's also such a beautiful place that sometimes when things
04:14get especially challenging, we always say just go outside, lie down on the grass, look
04:18up at the mountains, take some deep breaths.
04:21It's very restorative.
04:22Get some inspiration from nature, maybe.
04:24It's great to get away from the distraction, you know, of everyday.
04:28Very few cell phones work there.
04:30We do have Wi-Fi.
04:32That's amazing.
04:33Yes.
04:33You know, and that's a good, so you can really immerse yourself in the, you know, in the process
04:37of the lab, you know, and bring your most creative self to the work.
04:41That's great.
04:42Yeah.
04:42What are some specific goals that maybe you set with the fellows, I guess?
04:48Well, for the director's lab, they're coming in as first-time feature directors.
04:55So they've all done a short.
04:57They've worked in theater.
04:58They've had experience as a director, and there what we're doing is helping them prep
05:03for the first feature that they're going to direct.
05:06And many of the filmmakers that we're supporting are going to get their movies made.
05:09We take that out of the equation, move that out of it, and then it just becomes a place
05:14for them to learn how to work with actors, how to communicate with actors, you know.
05:19And they're on their feet, so it's a very hands-on workshop for them.
05:23They're also looking to find a visual language and style for their film, a tone for their
05:29film.
05:29They're creating a world in their film.
05:31Each of the directors coming in is different in terms of what they need, but a big part
05:38of it is the fear of actors.
05:42So a big part of the work of the lab is helping them, giving them a space, and a very
05:50protected
05:50space to find their own, you know, find their own voice, find, you know, their, you know,
05:57sort of begin to build that toolbox that they're going to have, you know, toolkit of, you know,
06:02of, you know, of skills for them to be not only more comfortable, but, you know, but to
06:07build their confidence as directors working with actors and, you know, communicating.
06:12What kinds of actors, are the actors also unknowns?
06:14Do you ever bring on anyone that might be a little bit more, you know, more advanced
06:20stage of acting, or what kinds of actors are they working with?
06:23It's a mix of actors.
06:25Generally, it's, well, first of all, Sundance is a place where actors love to come because
06:30their contribution is really valued.
06:32They're a key part of the process.
06:34We really ask of them to be open to the process and to sort of roll up their sleeves
06:40and be collaborators, and because these are new directors who haven't directed before
06:46and also these screenplays that they're working with, they're still works in progress.
06:51Sometimes the actors are getting involved with projects that are changing
06:56and the directors want to try different things out, so they are really, you know,
07:01their generosity is a really key part of the process.
07:04And typically it's people who have some experience.
07:06Sometimes it's people that you've seen their faces in a million things.
07:11It's not generally big movie stars, but, you know, over the years we've had people who have
07:16come to the labs when they were not as known and then have gone on to be big movie stars.
07:20Maggie Gyllenhaal was part of the ensemble one year, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
07:25This year we had Jarell Jerome who was in Moonlight as part of our ensemble.
07:30So we're just really grateful to the actors who come and give of themselves
07:34and really embrace the workshop process.
07:37Yeah, you know, another part of it is having actor advisers come.
07:41So those are the more well-known actors, and Robert Redford has, you know.
07:45You beat me to it, I was going to ask you.
07:47I was like, next question, who are some of the creative advisers?
07:51Yeah, well as, you know, as founder of, you know, of the labs, he, this is his best place,
07:57um, and most creative place for him to be.
08:00So he, he was at the lab for the, you know, for almost the whole month this year as an
08:04advisor.
08:06And he, you know, he really knows how to key in, um, to a director and what a director needs.
08:12Um, Octavia Spencer, um, was here this year.
08:15Ed Harris, um, was there as an advisor.
08:17So the advisors are at a very, very high level of work.
08:21They're accomplished, but they also are coming in a very generous space.
08:26I mean, we create that, you know, sort of that culture of generosity,
08:29but they come and, you know, and enter that space.
08:32And they, you know, they're, they're there almost 24-7 for, you know,
08:37for these directors who are working and also for the actors.
08:40Uh, Robert Ellswood, who's, you know, Academy Award-winning DP is, is there as, you know,
08:46was there as a, um, as an advisor.
08:49Um, we have a range of directors.
08:52We like to bring in directors from other parts of the world and also,
08:55you know, the independent world.
08:57So Iris Sacks, um, was there, um, Karin Kusama, uh, Rick Vamayiwa.
09:03Uh, it's an amazing group of, of directors.
09:07And we have a lot of, what we love is we have a lot of our fellows
09:10who have gone through the lab process and they're coming back as, as advisors.
09:15Walter Mosley was there who we supported on, on Devil in a Blue Dress.
09:19Many, many years ago.
09:21So many of our advisors are, you know, and Rick Vamayiwa, you, you always supported
09:25on the wood, uh, years ago at the lab.
09:28So they're coming back now and, you know, and kind of fulfilling in a sense the, the, you know,
09:34so the mission of the Institute is being a place to develop artists at an early stage.
09:38Um, and then they come back full circle and are part of the process.
09:42That's amazing.
09:44Um, I was just going to ask also, that sounds like a very proud moment to have to see these
09:49people go through the process.
09:50What are some other maybe proud moments that you, that you've had over the years in watching
09:54these artists and filmmakers just sort of, uh, grow?
09:58There, we've had many proud moments.
10:00I'll share some in the lead.
10:01You jump in.
10:02Sure.
10:02Um, it was great working with Carrie Fuganaga on Sin, Sinombre, which was his first feature.
10:09And seeing him create the, uh, for those of you who have seen it, that amazing scene,
10:15which is on the, you know, the roof of the train, um, which he did not on a roof of
10:19a train,
10:20because we don't have that at Sundance.
10:21Um, but, you know, but he was, you know, able to create, you know, that, you know, that
10:27dynamic piece of that scene and the relationship between all those actors and ultimately create
10:32the intimacy between the two main actors.
10:35Um, John Cameron Mitchell, um, came and he wasn't sure whether he wanted, was going to
10:41direct, uh, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and, you know, and at the, he had another, we had
10:47another director come in because he said, let me, let me try it.
10:49Like, I'm going to act in it, but let me, and he wrote, you know, this screenplay, but let me
10:53try
10:53and see if I can, if I can, um, if I want to direct it.
10:58And so then after, you know, after a working with a director, you know, he came in and
11:03brought, I mean, it was extraordinary that, you know, you saw, and this is what we see
11:08all the time, is directors at a very early stage, you know, or someone who's, you know, who,
11:13it's not that they're lacking confidence, they're lacking experience.
11:16And you see that change take place where he, you know, he brought this, I mean, this extraordinary
11:23visual language, um, to, you know, and of course, his great musical talent, um, to telling the
11:29story of, of Hedwig.
11:31You know, Ryan Coogler, who worked with on Fruitvale Station, um, and it was,
11:35John Panther.
11:35Yeah.
11:37And that was pretty great to watch him.
11:39He came to our screenwriter's lab, um, but to, you know, watch him intensely working with,
11:43you know, with screenwriter advisors on an early draft of that script.
11:48Elise, why don't you share some of yours?
11:49Sure.
11:50Yeah.
11:51Well, um, I think one of the more memorable projects that come to mind immediately is
11:57Beast of the Southern Wild.
11:58We supported that project through many touch points across our various programs, starting
12:02with Ben Zeitlin and Lucy Alivar, who co-wrote the script.
12:06And then Ben came to the director's lab and was really exploring working with non-actors,
12:12working with a child actor, just finding the language and the mix of, um, human emotion
12:18and sort of fantastical elements of that project.
12:21We then also supported two of his producers, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn, through our creative
12:26producing program and lab.
12:29Um, and then to see that film eventually premiere at our festival and being in that audience
12:33for the first screening at the Eccles, I mean, there's nothing like it.
12:37To see all of those people finally get to realize their vision and share it with an audience
12:42is an incredibly powerful moment for us.
12:45Um, I also think about someone like Marielle Heller, who directed Diary of a Teenage Girl.
12:49This was a graphic novel that she had fallen in love with, and she created a theater piece
12:54about it, but she had never directed film.
12:57And she wrote a screenplay, came to our writer's lab, came to our director's lab, and was endlessly
13:02inventive in the, uh, elements that she brought, even to the lab scenes, which are, you know,
13:07we always say it's a sketch pad, so it's using, um, just the key creative elements to do the
13:13exploration that they need to do, but, you know, she created, uh, sort of a magical forest
13:18inside a bathroom for one scene, and her characters went on an acid trip on another scene.
13:24And just her endless creativity and her willingness to explore, uh, bring herself fully to the process,
13:30but also sort of know what she didn't know yet, was really inspiring to see.
13:34I feel like a list of your, uh, your fellow, you know, the fellows that have gone through the program,
13:38it's like, basically the, the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards every year.
13:44You can just trace it right back, so something's going right.
13:47Um, and I guess, what are you looking for whenever you, are, are you reading scripts yourselves
13:53whenever they are submitted? What, are you always looking for something as inventive or as imaginative
13:59as Beast of the Southern Wild, or is there something else that just maybe might set something apart
14:04that's a little bit more traditional, but you still have a feeling about it?
14:09And what, what is that feeling when you read a script or when you see a director's work
14:13and you want to bring them on?
14:14Yeah. At least you start not jumping.
14:16Sure. Okay. Yeah.
14:16Well, our mandate is discovery.
14:18Sorry.
14:19Our mandate is discovery, so we are, um, always excited to read a new cinematic voice
14:27that we feel is distinctive, is singular, is bold.
14:31So sometimes that means that we are picking things that are outside the norm.
14:35Like, for example, uh, we also supported Swiss Army Man, made by Daniels.
14:40Um, that is definitely something that I would categorize as outside the norm,
14:43but, you know, we were just in awe of their imagination and their bravery in telling a story
14:49that was both so wild but also had real heart and, uh, authentic human truth to it.
14:55Um, but sometimes it's about finding someone who tells a story in such a way that even if I were
15:01to give you
15:01the elevator pitch for it, it might sound familiar, but there's something in the texture of the writing,
15:07in the specificity of the point of view, in the authenticity of the voice that makes it stand out.
15:12Um, so in addition to finding those voices that feel original and fresh and are telling stories
15:19that we haven't necessarily seen before, we're looking for the unique perspective,
15:23the voices that maybe aren't getting support where they are or they haven't had the access yet,
15:28and are opening up corners of the world and illuminating new characters, uh,
15:33that really make the world feel a little bit smaller.
15:36Yeah.
15:36And bigger, in a great way.
15:38Yeah.
15:38I would say that independent voice and, um, singular vision are, you know, are two, you know,
15:44two of the, uh, I don't know what they're called criteria, but they, you know,
15:48sort of lead us in terms of reading material.
15:51And we both read material.
15:52We both look at, you know, look at a lot of shorts and look at a lot of, you know,
15:56arts across all different, you know, discipline, creative disciplines.
16:00And, you know, it's, you know, I remember early on, you know, reading Reservoir Dogs
16:05and, um, meeting with Quentin Tarantino and that was, you know, he practically acted out the movie.
16:09Um, and that was really cool, but talk about a distinctive voice and a singular vision.
16:17And, and also it was, you know, for us, it was, you know, it was bringing in genre
16:20in terms of the kinds of material that we, you know, that we would support, which was quite exciting.
16:26Um, so it's a real range.
16:27Are you ever afraid of something like Reservoir Dogs?
16:29It's so, um, you know, you see a script like that.
16:32It's the early nineties and he comes in, he's acting out this script.
16:36Is there anything like that?
16:37Does that not sort of scare you a little bit?
16:41How do you know you have the right feeling about the right talent?
16:43Well, when it scares you, it's a good thing, right?
16:46Uh, you've got to take risks.
16:48Sundance has to take risks.
16:49If we don't, why do we exist?
16:51You know, so it's, it's a bold voice and a confident voice.
16:56And, you know, it was adding at the time in the early nineties,
16:59we had mainly character driven material that we were supporting.
17:04So, you know, but it just, it felt like the right thing.
17:08It felt like, you know, we need to add to, you know, sort of the Sundance palette of the
17:11kinds of films that we would support.
17:14Uh, so, you know, every once in a while, I remember, you know, with there, there are scripts
17:18where we think, oh my God, the advisors are not going to know what to do with them.
17:22And that happens and we're okay with that because, you know, we really are looking for the,
17:29you know, those original voices, those worlds we haven't seen before, you know, that, you
17:33know, kind of specific lens, um, where only that particular artist can tell that specific
17:40story and, you know, in that, you know, through that, through that lens.
17:44So we, you know, we are about risk taking and we, you know, we want all the artists that
17:50we were supporting through our labs to push the boundaries of their work.
17:54And going back to what Michelle said earlier, you know, it's, it's about work on a particular
17:59project for sure, but it's also about launching a career.
18:02It's about developing a specific voice.
18:04And sometimes you take a risk on a project and that project may not get made or may not
18:09get made first, but they, you might have given a filmmaker an ability to go and make a
18:14different first film.
18:15For example, we supported a filmmaker named Ritesh Batra on a project that didn't allow
18:20ultimately get made, uh, or at least it hasn't gotten made yet.
18:23It made yet one day.
18:24But he came to us and said, you know, there are a lot of reasons.
18:27I don't think I'm going to be moving forward with this script, but I've got a different
18:30script, uh, that I would love your support on.
18:33And that ended up being The Lunchbox.
18:35And that was a wonderful success for him.
18:37And even though it wasn't the script that specifically went through our screenwriters
18:40and directors labs, much of the learning that he got there and the experience and the
18:45perspective and the tools or what he applied to make a really successful first feature.
18:49And that's a great result for us.
18:51Well, this all sounds like an amazing, um, sort of, uh, environment that you've created
18:58for filmmakers.
18:59Um, and just to, as we're winding down here, what are some other labs besides directing and
19:04screenwriting, um, that you offer?
19:06Just maybe a few more.
19:07Sure.
19:08We do the film music lab, uh, which we do up at Skywalker Sound.
19:12It's an amazing partnership.
19:13And we're bringing directors who are in post production.
19:17So they haven't locked picture yet, but they're coming into that lab to collaborate with a
19:21sound designer and composer.
19:24You know, and we're in the world class space for, um, for music and creating soundscape.
19:29Doesn't get better than that.
19:30It doesn't get better.
19:32Except Sundance, maybe.
19:34Sundance away from Sundance.
19:37Yeah.
19:37We talked a little bit about the creative producing lab and summit.
19:41And that's an important piece of what we do because we're, you know, we, we, you know,
19:46as said, create this, this space.
19:48It's a protected space, um, you know, for artists to push the boundaries of their work,
19:53but we want these movies to get made.
19:55Um, so this is an opportunity for them to take a, you know, we take a snapshot of what's
20:00going on in the industry.
20:01We make a lot of introductions.
20:03It's the beginning of relationships there, um, and a game plan, a way, you know, a path
20:08forward for each individual project.
20:10Um, we're also doing labs all over the world.
20:13So we've been in India, in the Middle East, in China, Latin America.
20:17We've been working in Cuba, which is truly exciting, um, space to be.
20:23And, you know, there's a next generation of, you know, of, of artists that are bubbling
20:27up.
20:28And so we're supporting them.
20:29The other thing that's important to know is, is that we, once a project gets into our
20:33lab, it's a big investment for Sundance.
20:36The lab is the beginning.
20:38Um, and then we're engaged in a process that's a year-round support system, which is customized
20:42to each of the individual, um, writer-directors that we're supporting, teams that we're supporting,
20:49and we're really helping them along every part of the, you know, every stage of getting a movie made.
20:56And that takes on different, you know, different, um, takes on not only different stages, but
21:00different kinds of support.
21:02Um, but we're taking it from script development to audience.
21:06That's great.
21:07I was gonna ask about that, too.
21:08Yeah.
21:08You know, if it's just sort of a, something that it's there for the one month or the five
21:13days, and then you just sort of let them go, or, you know, whether or not you keep, um,
21:18sort of developing, helping them develop.
21:19We never let them go.
21:22We're very proactive, but you want to talk about that?
21:25Yeah.
21:25Yeah, no, I mean, we are committed to remaining a creative and strategic advocate for a filmmaker
21:31and a project throughout the life of that project, and often beyond the life of that project.
21:35And that can take many forms.
21:37Um, it means reading new drafts.
21:39It means making potential introductions to producers if they don't come to us with one.
21:44It means watching cuts of films.
21:46It means strategizing about the best way to get their film to the audience that they want
21:50to reach.
21:51Uh, we don't do all things for all people because not all people need the same thing, and people
21:56come to us in various different stages.
21:58Some people come to a lab and, you know, there are movies in theaters in a couple of years,
22:03and sometimes it's a longer road than that.
22:05So, we're really about the customized, tailored support.
22:09What do you need to, it's, it's really all about helping them sustain momentum wherever
22:14they are in their process.
22:15We also have a granting pool, which can be very, I mean, we use it to leverage and create
22:21momentum for a project.
22:23So, when a, you know, and these are projects that are going through our lab, well, you know,
22:27labs already.
22:28So, if a, you know, if a writer, director has entered the stage of, you know, we've,
22:34you know, we've got a script that's ready to go, but we don't have a budget, we don't
22:38have a cast, we don't have a producer.
22:40So, part of our support will be, you know, will be to give them a, sort of a pre-production
22:45grant to help them move forward and pay for, you know, those, you know, very specific activities
22:51going forward.
22:52Where we're supporting a lot of projects right now is in post, and it's a really key
22:57time because when we, when we engage in a project, it's usually at an early stage, and
23:03we see promise, and we see potential in a project, but often at the end of the road,
23:10which is, you know, in post-production, they've run out of money, ideas, and time.
23:16And that's a great, you know, intervention in a sense for Sundance.
23:20So, we're coming in, you know, with, you know, with a group of creative advisors to look
23:24at, look at, you know, successive cuts of a film, with the money to keep an editor on,
23:30or to bring a supervising editor, you know, on who can really help at that given moment,
23:36and really support the entire process.
23:39And, of course, going to, you know, if a project gets into a festival, whether it's
23:43a Sundance festival or another festival, we want to, you know, we also want to support a project
23:48at that stage.
23:49And it gets more and more expensive to, you know, to go to a festival, you know, go to
23:53a festival.
23:53But in terms of being able to use that opportunity as, you know, as the premiere for their film
24:01is key.
24:02So that's another area where we can provide grant and support to.
24:05That's very smart.
24:06The old, we'll fix it in post.
24:08Oh, no.
24:09I mean, you've gone through your whole movie, you don't have any money left to fix everything.
24:13So, you know, that's really smart.
24:16Well, let's see.
24:17For anyone who may be interested, are there any deadlines coming up?
24:20How can they submit?
24:22Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
24:24Go ahead.
24:24Sure.
24:25We have an open submission period every spring for the following year's January Screenwriters
24:30Lab.
24:31The January Screenwriters Lab is the most typical point of entry, and we also utilize that application
24:37to source a couple of other smaller programs that we run in the spring in our Los Angeles
24:41office as screenwriters intensive for writers and directors who are maybe at an earlier stage
24:48or their project is at an earlier stage than the projects that come to the residency labs,
24:52and that's also for artists who are from underrepresented or under-resourced communities.
24:57And that application is always open March 15th and closes the first week of May, and you
25:04can find all the information about it on the website, which is www.sundance.org.
25:10Well, perfect.
25:11Thank you both so much for being here.
25:12Thank you for what you do.
25:13It sounds like your jobs are amazing.
25:16And thank you all for watching.
25:17Yeah.
25:19Really enjoyed it.
25:20Thank you for coming up.
25:20Yourí룚.
25:23You're welcome.
Comments