ITVS-funded filmmakers and staff rally for lunch at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT

Sundance 2012 was a record-breaking year year for ITVS and Independent Lens. Six ITVS funded films screened in the documentary competitions and all six were honored with Sundance awards. (ITVS had had seven films playing at Sundance in 2004; six films in 2002; and eight films in 1997 for those interested in banner years).

 Adding to that powerful showing, midway through Sundance two ITVS-supported films received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary including Hell and Back Again by Danfung Dennis (coming to Independent Lens in May) and If a Tree Falls by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman (broadcast on POV).  We were able to celebrate in person as Danfung and Sam (a producer on The House I Live In) were both in Park City.  Even the Utah snowstorms couldn’t slow our momentum because that’s one heck of a week.

From L to R: Danfung Dennis (Hell and Back Again), Lois Vossen, and Sam Cullman (If a Tree Falls)

Independent Lens and ITVS held an intimate lunch to honor our 2012 Sundance and Academy Award-nominated filmmakers. Stepping away from the noise and full-on energy that is Sundance, we wanted to take a moment to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary work of the filmmakers.

Four of the six ITVS films at Sundance are already slated for broadcast on Independent Lens following theatrical distribution, including Grand Jury Prize winner The House I Live In by Eugene Jarecki, Audience Award winner The Invisible War by Kirby Dick, Special Jury Prize winner Love Free or Die by Macky Alston, and Detropia by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, which was honored for best editing. In addition, the Independent Lens film The Island President by Jon Shenk, Richard Berge, and Bonni Cohen screened in a Sundance sidebar program. These five films will make for an exceptional new season of Independent Lens — and they will be joined by a stunning array of other documentaries coming to completion this year.

The two additional ITVS-funded films that premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition and took awards are Putin’s Kiss (Best Cinematography Award) and 5 Broken Cameras (Best Directing).

Sundance 2012 is a wrap, but the impact of these extraordinary films is just beginning. We have an exceptional year ahead, lead by the power of independent storytelling.

The Athena Film Festival  is a celebration of women and leadership, and the only film festival in the nation to focus its content on women’s leadership. With an impressive line-up of groundbreaking films — chronicling the lives of long serving Native American female firefighters to the weekend’s closing film, The Lady, on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi the Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

 Be inspired, join Women and Girls Lead at the Athena Film Festival in New York City on Saturday, February 11^th at 3pm for the special screening of Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock. And tune in for a live online panel discussion with Director Sharon La Cruise following the film, here.

Find more information about the Athena Film Festival.

Watch the Athena Film Festival trailer below:

WINNER OF THE GRAND JURY PRIZE IN U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The House I Live In by Eugene Jarecki
The film weaves together director Eugene Director’s personal narrative with America’s war on drugs. Here, producers including Sam Cullman, Melinda Snopsis, Danny Glover, and director Eugene Jarecki — reflect on the film and its Sundance premiere.

WINNER OF THE AUDIENCE AWARD IN U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The Invisible War by Kirby Dick
The film examines the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence, and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it. Here, director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering reflect on the film’s Sundance premiere.

WINNER OF THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE IN U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Love Free or Die by Macky Alston
The film  follows the historic and controversial rise of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop. Last week, ITVS caught up with filmmaker Macky Alston at a mass held at St. Luke’s Church in Park City, where LGBT leaders showed up to support and discuss the film.

WINNER FOR BEST EDITING IN U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Detropia by filmmakers Rachel Grady and Heiding Ewing; edited by Enat Sidi
The film artfully displays the rapid decline of a once thriving American city. On the brink of bankruptcy, the filmmakers and loyal citizens profiled in the feature, suggest the feeling that as goes Detroit, so goes the nation. Here, co-directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing reflect on the film and its Sundance premiere.

WINNER FOR BEST DIRECTING IN WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
5 Broken Cameras by  Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
A Palestinian journalist chronicles his village’s resistance to a separation barrier being erected on their land and in the process captures his young son’s lens on the world.

WINNER FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Putin’s Kiss by  Lise Birk Pedersen
Nineteen-year-old Marsha is a model spokesperson in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. When she starts recognizing the organization’s flaws, she must take a stand for or against it.

On behalf of everyone from ITVS and Independent Len, congratulations to all the filmmakers on this extraordinary achievement!

The House I Live In premiered last weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. The film weaves together director Eugene Jarecki’s personal narrative with America’s war on drugs. Here, producers including Sam Cullman, Melinda Shopsin, Danny Glover, and director Eugene Jarecki — reflect on the film and its Sundance premiere.

This past weekend, filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering premiered their documentary The Invisible War at the Sundance Film Festival. The film examines the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence, and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it. Watch the video below as both filmmakers recount the Sundance experience.

Sam Cullman, co-director and cinematographer of If a Tree Falls reacts to his Oscar Nomination, which he learned about on Tuesday at Sundance.

The movie takes a behind-the-scenes look at Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmental group that the FBI calls the “number one domestic terrorism threat” in America. If a Tree Falls aired on POV this past fall.

Premiering Monday night at Sundance is Macky Alston’s new film Love Free or Die, which  follows the historic and controversial rise of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop. BTB caught up with Alston at a mass held at St. Luke’s Church on Sunday in Park City, where LGBT leaders showed up to support and discuss the film.

Love Free or Die is an ITVS-funded film slated for broadcast on an upcoming season of  Independent Lens.

The ITVS-funded documentary Detropia held its worldwide premiere on Saturday at the Temple Theatre in Park City. Watch below, as Co-Directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing discuss the film and recount their Sundance experience. BTB will be rolling several video reports from the festival throughout the week.

Detropia artfully displays the rapid decline of a once thriving American city. On the brink of bankruptcy, the filmmakers and loyal citizens profiled in the feature, suggest the feeling that as goes Detroit, so goes the nation.

Congratulations to the filmmakers and keep an eye on BTB this week for more video updates from the festival.

“There could be no better recognition of the diversity and quality of our films and makers than such a large claim of the documentaries in competition at Sundance,” said Sally Jo Fifer, president and CEO of ITVS. “These films represent an extraordinary range of stories – both deeply personal and broadly profound – and it gives us great pride to know that each of them will eventually be presented to millions of viewers on public television.”

ITVS FILMS IN U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Detropia by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
The woes of Detroit are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base. This is the dramatic story of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.

The House I Live In by Eugene Jarecki
For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong, and what is the path toward healing?

The Invisible War by Kirby Dick
An investigative and powerfully emotional examination of the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it.

Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire is Changing the World by Macky Alston
One man whose two defining passions are in conflict: An openly gay bishop refuses to leave the church or the man he loves.

ITVS FILMS IN WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

5 Broken Cameras by directors Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
A Palestinian journalist chronicles his village’s resistance to a separation barrier being erected on their land and in the process captures his young son’s lens on the world.

Putin’s Kiss by Lise Birk Pedersen
Nineteen-year-old Marsha is a model spokesperson in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. When she starts recognizing the organization’s flaws, she must take a stand for or against it.

The participation of these films in the festival brings the number of ITVS-funded films that have screened at the Sundance Film Festival to a total of 77, since ITVS’s first presence at the festival in 1994. Screening dates and times are still pending. Up-to-date information can be found online here.