The Sundance Film Festival has announced that in 2010 they’ll launch a new programming sidebar called NEXT, designed to reflect the fact that “a new aesthetic enlisting low-and no-budget filmmaking techniques has been on the rise.” According to the press release sent out this morning, Sundance “staffers refer to the new section with the symbol < = > which literally translates to ‘less than equals greater than’.” That the new section is happening is not a total shock — Sundance’s John Cooper and Trevor Groth hinted that it was coming at a panel at Cannes — but I must say, the emoticon caught me by surprise.
See the press release in its entirety after the jump.
SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES NEW SECTION FOR 2010 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
NEXT, CELEBRATING CREATIVITY BORN OF LIMITATION, TO SHOWCASE SIX TO EIGHT NEW FILMS SELECTED FOR INNOVATIVE, ORIGINAL WORK IN LOW- AND NO-BUDGET FILMMAKING
PARK CITY – The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will feature NEXT, a new section featuring six to eight films selected for their innovative and original work in low- and no-budget filmmaking. Festival Director John Cooper made the announcement today, citing the desire to discover and promote filmmakers forging new ways to tell their stories, limited by resources but uninhibited by creativity. Presented by the non-profit Sundance Institute, the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 21 – 31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
A new aesthetic enlisting low-and no-budget filmmaking techniques has been on the rise. With NEXT, Festival programmers hope to provide a platform for these filmmakers to connect to audiences, industry and press while at the same time inviting the artists to be a part of an ever-evolving community of filmmakers working outside the system. Festival staffers refer to the new section with the symbol < = > which literally translates to “less than equals greater than”.
Said Cooper, “Programming an event as important to the cultural landscape as Sundance Film Festival, we feel a responsibility both to represent new creative developments in the field and to contextualize films for our Festival goers. Historically, we have done this quite successfully with documentary, and most recently with New Frontier, ‘saving space’ as it were, to support different trends in storytelling. We want filmmakers to feel encouraged and intrigued by this new section of the Festival. We hope to excite audiences as well as inform a budding industry already investing in new models of distribution.”
“The filmmakers who are working in this realm and who I have spoken to about this have a ‘creative impatience’ that I find invigorating,” Cooper added. “These are not just the films that have been labeled mumble core…or dogma or even guerilla. They are an emerging counter culture within our counter culture.”
As of September 1, the 2010 Sundance Film Festival has received over 4,964 applications and 3,689 films. Submissions are still being accepted. Visit www.sundance.org/submissions for more information.
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film, held each January in and around Park City, Utah. Presenting dramatic and documentary feature-length films from emerging and established artists, innovative short films, filmmaker forums and panels, live music performances ranging from solo acts to film composer events, cutting-edge media installations, and engaging community and student programs, the Festival brings together the most original storytellers of our time. Presenting sponsors will be announced later this month.
Supported by the non-profit Sundance Institute, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Trouble the Water, and Central Station and, through its New Frontier initiative, has brought the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julian, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney.
Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a not-for-profit organization that fosters the development of original storytelling in film and theatre, and presents the annual Sundance Film Festival. Internationally recognized for its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Angels in America, Spring Awakening, Boys Don’t Cry, Sin Nombre and Born into Brothels. www.sundance.org.
Kevin Buist
FLAME + CITRON Review
Christopher Campbell
Happy Halloween Links. Today in Film...
Brandon Harris
5 80s Literary Adaptations Worse Than...
Kevin Kelly
John Krasinski, Brief Interviews With...
Karina Longworth
SpoutBlog, Now Available in Book Form
Paul Moore
October 31, Karina’s Last Day
Lauren Wissot
Sasha Grey Interview
isn’t that the butt-to-butt logo from ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW?
Nice emoticon.
filmmakingcentral.com
[...] An IFC blogger, Vadim Rizov, has a somewhat more cynical take on Sundance’s announcement to launch “Next,” a series of 6-8 low-to-no budget films designed to counteract the belief that festival has become increasing driven by major indie fare and possibly to compete with SxSW’s rep in fostering the growth of Mumblecore. I do think that some of Rizov’s skepticism is fair, especially if the “Next” program essentially isolates these films form competition for major awards, even if I think his dig on Miranda July is a little unfair. But it’s a pretty clear admission by Sundance that their programming is beginning to appear increasingly stale. Karina has some further details. [...]
[...] via Sundance Announces New Section, Emoticon | SpoutBlog. [...]
Excited to see what the ‘Next’ section has in store. Thanks for posting on this!