Five fellows and their non-fiction projects, all women-directed, are taking part in the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Edit and Story Lab, starting today (June 21).
Held at the Sundance Resort in Utah, five non-fiction film project teams combine director and editor teams in the later stages of post-production, with renowned documentary filmmakers. Together they’ll reimagine dramatic structures, explore character and story development, and refocus around the director’s original vision for their work.
Director advisors for the Documentary Edit and Story Lab are Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton (The Bad Kids), and Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation); while editor advisors are Kate Amend (The Case Against 8), Andrea Chignoli (Cielo) and Alex O’Flinn (The Rider).
The Lab will also host a writer-in-residence, Manuel Betancourt, who will join to immerse film critics in the creative process.
The projects selected for the Documentary Edit and Story Lab are below, with descriptions provided by the Sundance Institute:
A Photographic Memory (USA)
Director/Producer: Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Producer: Danielle Varga
A photographer attempts to piece together a portrait of her mother, Sheila Turner-Seed, a daring journalist and a woman she never knew. Uncovering the vast audio-visual archive Turner-Seed produced, including lost interviews with iconic photographers, the film explores memory, legacy and stories left untold.
Fox (USA)
Director: Garrett Bradley
Editor: Gabriel Rhodes
After being given a numerical life sentence for a first time offense in a Louisiana state prison, a mother of six takes on the role of a modern day abolitionist, dedicating the next 21 years of her life to the release of her husband and unification of their family.
Singing in the Wilderness (China)
Director: Dongnan Chen
Editor: Matthieu Laclau
Producer: Violet FengAfter hiding in the mountains for a century, a Miao ethnic Christian choir is discovered and becomes a national sensation. This is an intimate story about two young Miaos and how their faith, identity and love are challenged when they step into the real world of China.
Truth or Consequences (USA)
Director/Editor: Hannah Jayanti
Producer: Sara Archambault
Truth or Consequences is a speculative documentary about a small desert town in southern New Mexico. Set in a near future where humans have left Earth for other planets, the film tells the story of the people who stayed. Combining observational footage, archival, and experimental new media, Truth or Consequences is a lyrical meditation on striving, memory, and finding what we’re looking for in the unlikeliest of places.
Through the Night (USA)
Director: Loira Limbal
Editor: Malika Zouhali-Worrall
Producer: Jameka Autry
To make ends meet, Americans are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider – whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, NY.
