Sundance Film Festival

SUNDANCE 2019: Robert Machoian Graham
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SUNDANCE 2019: Robert Machoian Graham

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Filmmaker Robert Machoian recruited his father Bruce Graham and this three sons Arri, Ezra, and Jonah to create the short film The Minors. The Writer/Director/Producer spoke with Neil Kendricks about the end result: the film not only gave Machoian’s family an opportunity to combine quality time with creating cinematic art, but The Minors premiered at Sundance winning a Short Film Jury Award for directing. Not bad for a family with artistic aspirations finding an audience on the film-festival circuit.  

Sundance 2019: Writer/Director Soudade Kaadan
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Sundance 2019: Writer/Director Soudade Kaadan

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Filmmaker Soudade Kaadan lends her darkly comic voice to humanity under siege in the short film Aziza, winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.  In this interview, Neil Kendricks speaks with the filmmaker about how she transformed her experience as a Syrian exile into this award-winning short.

A virtual reality screen grab of a tiger in the jungle.

The Wild Immersion: What is The Role of VR in Saving Wildlife?

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Ready for an unforgettable ride? Fasten your VR headset as Courtney Gardner shares her first experience with VR in The Wild Immersion at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film’s director, Adrien Moisson, takes the journey too, sharing with Courtney his views about the potential for  VR technology to create new forms of compassion and empathy—in this case around the needs of large animals around the world.

Meet the Director: Alice Waddington
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Meet the Director: Alice Waddington

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Courtney Gardner, who attended this year’s Sundance Film Festival (January 23—February 3) shares insights abut Paradise Hills, the feature debut of 28-year-old, Spanish director Alice Waddington. Bringing her love of science fiction and fantasy to the screen, Alice tells a story of women traditionally underrepresented in film.  Alice spoke with Courtney about the identities she holds close, the barriers she sees and has faced in the film industry, and of the symbolism in Paradise Hills

Sundance 2016: Where Black Lives Matter

Sundance 2016: Where Black Lives Matter

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Slave rebellion, a romance for the history books, and girls being their odd, tough selves combine for one potent antidote to Hollywood’s dearth of black lives on screen. Credit goes to Sundance 2016, according to staff writer Neil Kendricks, who says this festival “defiantly flies a multi-racial flag of true diversity.”

Sundance 2016: New Frontier’s VR Spectacles

Sundance 2016: New Frontier’s VR Spectacles

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In its 10th year, Sundance’s New Frontier section abounded with cutting edge technology and immersive, VR experiences. Neil Kendricks and Maddy Kadish wore the headsets, goggles, and assorted cutting-edge tech in order to leave Park City momentarily behind and glimpse the future of storytelling.

Writer/director Sebastian Silva and a baby in Nasty Baby

Sundance 2015 – Nasty Baby is Fun But Perplexing

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The film’s title is a strange dichotomy, writes Maddy Kadish from Sundance 2015, and the first part of Nasty Baby “is like a fantasy you don’t want to end.” She and a fellow audience member confer and decide that this film takes a dark turn, and doesn’t come back.