Los Angeles, California – with the nonprofit Sundance Institute sandbox movie Today, we announced eight projects selected for the 2023 Sundance Institute. Sandbox Fund. The fund provides grants and mentorship to independent artists seeking to explore the essential connections between science and culture through innovative storytelling.
Selected project teams will receive a total of $325,000 in non-recoverable grants for their projects during the development, production and post-production stages. Filmmakers also receive customized film support, join Sundance Institute’s year-round artist community, and access Sundance’s network of alumni and creative advisors, as well as Sandbox Film’s distinguished roster of scientists. You’ll have meaningful opportunities to connect.
The grantees’ projects encourage viewers to marvel at the natural world and consider the plight of scientists caught up in the complex web of migration, exile, diaspora, and geopolitics, especially in colonial It focuses on the dismantling of the legacy of the era and the re-emergence of the local people. Indigenous knowledge and expertise, particularly in relation to local and regional ecology.
“Sundance | We are pleased to announce Sundance’s newest group of Sandbox grantees. This exciting new group of projects continues to redefine what a “scientific film” can be. Introducing an incredibly diverse tapestry of artistic approaches and bold creative visions. From India to the Caribbean, Madagascar to the Everglades, the people and stories spotlighted in these films explore the deeply collaborative nature of scientific practice and work toward a brighter future for humanity and the planet. “We are highlighting its important role in this field.” Paola Mottura, Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Fund.
“We continue to be amazed by the diversity of stories that highlight scientific research that are available through this grant program. It is an honor to work with the team at Sundance and this talented group of artists continues to amaze us. We look forward to helping bring these films to life.” Jessica Harrop, Head of Production and Development, Sandbox Film”
Previous projects supported with funding from the Sandbox Fund include the recent documentary Emmy winner wildcat (acquired by Amazon Studios), nominated for an Oscar fire of love (Premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: US Documentary), all light everywhere (Winner of the Special Jury Prize in the Experimental Nonfiction Category at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival), Confession of the Good Samaritan (Premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival), Fathom (Premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and acquired by Apple),, herbalia (premiered at 2022 Visions du Réel), and user (Premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival).
The latest grantees presented by production stage are:
development
dark sky dream (India)
Director: Anmol Tikhu
Producer: Michaela Beardsley, Raghu Karnad
As Ladakh teems with light, local engineers in Hanle are working with astronomers and nearby nomadic communities to create a new kind of sanctuary for darkness and starlight. But each dark sky has its own different dreams. As they embrace the darkness, what will they discover about themselves, others, and the universe?
time hunter (Germany, Namibia, America)
Director: Daniel Chain Mark Mshiba Ya Mshiba
Producer: David Felix Sutcliffe, Daniel Chain
Revolutionary agents are sent to steal technology from colonial oppressors and use it against them. Will he be able to help people without getting lost in the maze of the diaspora?
untitled scientist project (united states of america)
Director and Producer: Jiayan “Jenny” Shi
production
river of grass (united states of america)
Director: Sasha Wurtzel
Producer: Daniel Varga, Sasha Wortzel
river of grass The intertwining of past colonial violence and present ecological urgency in the iconic and endangered Florida Everglades is explored by the late environmental activist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who today calls the region home. It speaks through the visionary writings of people.
Todo Lo Solido (Everything is solid) (Cuba)
Director: Luis Gutierrez Arias, Zaina Buseiso
Producer: Zaina Buseiso, Luis Gutierrez Arias, Joye Estrella Horvitz
Todo Lo Solido (Everything is solid) A story about an island in the Caribbean Sea. As a nameless castaway searches for an explanation for the island’s fate, reality and fantasy meld as he ponders the burdens of nation-building and progress.
untitled science project (Brazil, America, Belgium)
Director: Emilia Melo
Producer: Elijah Stevens
A young chemistry student is thinking about the nature of black holes.
turn your back to the sky (Madagascar)
Director: Eric Nuding
Producer: Angelo Andrianaina, Kendall Fitzgerald
Bridging bat disease ecology and conservation, this collaborative journey explores the closely intertwined lives of bat trappers, field biologists, and Old World flying foxes in Madagascar’s highly developed forest ecosystems. invites us to. Joy endures in the face of flooding storms, flattening mudslides, and consuming fires.
post production
short gentle light (united states of america)
Director and Producer: Arthur Muser
At the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Ghanaian graduate follows four African students as they strive to become agents of change in their countries: Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Over the course of an intimate 10-year journey, everyone must refine their ideas about the world and themselves, and ultimately how to translate their youthful ideals into action as adults.
sundance institute
About Sundance Institute
The nonprofit Sundance Institute is a champion and curator of independent stories, providing and preserving space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s distinctive laboratories, grants, and mentorship programs are dedicated to developing new research and are conducted throughout the year in the United States and abroad. sundance collaborationis a digital community platform where working artists from around the world come together to learn from Sundance Advisors, connect with each other in a creative space, and develop and share work-in-progress. Sundance and other public programs connect audiences and artists. Generate new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute Artist Program, we have supported projects such as: wild beasts of the south, big sick, bottle rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, boys state, call me by your name, Generosity, coda, Drunktown’s Finest, Farewell, fire of love, run away, 40 years ago version, fruitvale station, Get out, half nelson, hedwig and the angry inch, genetically, Honeyland, infiltrators, the last black person in san francisco, little woods, love and basketball, me and you and everyone we know, mud bound, Nanny, Navalny, OJ: Made in America, one child nation, untouchables, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, reservoir dog, RBG, Shin Nombre, sorry to bother you, souvenir, strong island, Summer of Soul (…or when the revolution wasn’t televised), swiss military, sydney, thousand and one, top of the lake, walking and talking, Will you be my neighbor?and Zola. Through its year-round artist program, the Institute celebrates the early years of artists such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Greg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, and James. I also developed my career. Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling around the world. sundance.org/donate.participate sundance institute upon Facebook, Instagram, tick tock, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
sandbox movie
Sandbox Films is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning production company specializing in creative, boundary-pushing documentaries rooted in scientific ideas that inform society and culture. Our films released in 2020 include: fire of love (The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. “It’s definitely the documentary of the year.”) rolling stone); all light everywhere (Winner of the Sundance 2021 Special Jury Award, released by Neon and Hulu). fireball (Co-directed with Werner Herzog, released as an Apple+ Original). Fathom (Winner of the Emmy Award for Best Documentary Sound).and human nature (Nominated for three Emmy Awards).
###