Being able to pitch a film effectively can be the key to making your project a reality. This event offers a close-up look at the pitching process. Four emerging filmmaking teams selected by Sundance Institute will pitch their feature-length projects to a panel of industry experts for constructive feedback about their films and presentations. In addition to observing the pitch and feedback, attendees will be able to ask questions to the panel. Networking time will follow.
The panel will include Andrea Meditch (Producer), Anish Savjani (Producer), Bob Moore (Producer), and Basil Tsiokos (Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival). The event will be moderated by Eugene Hernandez (Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programs).
The selected projects are:
Beasts of the Field
Lucy Nebeker (Writer/Director)
Max Nebeker (Writer/Director)
In a remote Western town, an unnaturally skilled taxidermist keeps a terrible secret from her apprentice, one which will uproot his world as he peels away its rotten exterior.
I Have No Tears, and I Must Cry
Luis Fernando Puente (Co-writer/Director)
Daniel Yen Tu (Writer)
A Mexican immigrant starts a bakery in the US and must navigate USCIS, avoid bankruptcy, and learn to survive in the cutthroat world of small business as she tries to achieve the American Dream.
Little Hollywood
Lane Bender (Writer)
Ed McCulloch (Director)
Benjamin Thevenin (Writer/Producer)
An aimless art student and their prickly grandma embark on a comedy of errors as they wrestle with their strained relationship and the upkeep of an unruly movie museum full of cowboy nostalgia.
Totally Awesome Documentary: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of SuperDell Schanze
Cameron Sawyer (Director)
Dane Christensen (Producer/Cinematographer)
Aaron Hinton (Producer/Editor)
"SuperDell" Schanze was one of Utah's most famous figures in the 1990s. A serial entrepreneur, SuperDell bird-dogged his way from running Karate studios to overseeing the fourth largest computer retail company in the western United States before losing it all to scandal.
Thank you to the Utah Film Commission for their outreach support.
Join us July 26–29 for nine free indoor and outdoor screenings of Festival favorites from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Don’t miss these exciting four days in Utah, including events for local artists, and film intros and Q&As from filmmakers and actors in attendance. View the full schedule of events.
Andrea Meditch has produced, advised, and executive produced Oscar and Emmy winning films that have premiered at most major festivals and enjoyed successful streaming, theatrical, and broadcast runs. They include Fathom, Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops, Man on Wire, Buck, Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World, and Dangerous Acts, among others. She frequently leads master classes on story development, creative producing, pitching, and film financing. For the last dozen years she has focused on supporting emerging independent artistic voices through the American Film Showcase; the Sundance Producer Labs; Points North, where she also serves on the board; and the Santa Fe, NM Film and Digital Media Commission. Before starting her own production company, Back Allie Entertainment, Andrea built the first Discovery Films. She holds a PhD in cultural anthropology with a concentration in media from the University of Texas, and a BS degree in communications from Northwestern.
Anish Savjani
With filmscience, Anish Savjani has produced numerous features that have been nominated for six Independent Spirit Awards and screened at festivals around the world, including Cannes, Berlinale, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Telluride. These films include Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, First Cow, Certain Women and Old Joy, Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes the Stairs, Jeremy Saulnier’s Hold the Dark, Green Room and Blue Ruin, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore and Ritesh Batra’s Photograph. A number of other projects by emerging and established independent filmmakers are currently in development and production, including a new film by Saulnier. Additionally, Anish was the recipient of a Cinereach Producer Award in 2018 and the Piaget Producers Award at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards.
Basil Tsiokos is a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, focusing on nonfiction. Previously, he was Director of Programming for DOC NYC and the Nantucket Film Festival, and Artistic/Executive Director of NewFest. Basil serves on the feature nominating committees for the IDA Awards and Cinema Eye Honors. He has written about documentaries since 2010 on what (not) to doc. Basil holds an MA from New York University and two BAs from Stanford University.
Bob Moore is Co-President and Creative Producer at EyeSteelFilm in Montreal where he has produced over 40 feature documentaries since 2008. Together with his talented partners and collaborators, he has been the recipient of over 100 international awards, including Emmys, Cinema Eyes, Golden Horses, Owls, Phoenixes, and a variety of other celebratory animal-themed prizes. He loves to share the arcane knowledge that he’s randomly accumulated over the years, working as an advisor with groups such as the Sundance Institute, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Documentary Film Festival South Korea, QUMRA, Tokyo Docs, Dhaka DocLab Bangladesh, Montreal International Documentary Festival, and Hot Docs.
Eugene Hernandez is the Director of the Sundance Film Festival and head of public programming. Going into the Festival’s 40th edition, he is responsible for guiding and overseeing the Festival’s overall vision and strategy while collaborating with the programming and leadership team to further the inspiring artistic impact of the Sundance Film Festival. He also leads the Institute’s year-round public programming globally, championing the social and cultural role of artists while developing programs to foster dialogue and community with Sundance-supported work at the center.
Eva Rinaldi is the director of public programming and audience engagement at the Sundance Institute. She serves as the producing lead for year-round public programming in targeted U.S. regions with a dual goal of opening access to Sundance programs to emerging artists, new audiences and embedding the Institute into local communities.
The Sundance Institute is committed to ensuring our events are as accessible as possible for everyone who attends. If any accommodation would support your full participation in this event, please contact us via our Accommodation Request Form to describe your specific request. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; requests made within seven days of the event may not be guaranteed.
If accommodation would support your full participation in this event, please contact us via our Accommodation Request Form to describe your specific request. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; requests made within seven days of the event may not be guaranteed.
If accommodation would support your full participation in this event, please contact us via our Accommodation Request Form to describe your specific request. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; requests made within seven days of the event may not be guaranteed.