The Sundance Institute awarded 29 documentaries grants from their Documentary Film Program and Fund. Combined all the films will receive over $550,000 in grants.
Here are the women directed documentaries that received funding.
DEVELOPMENT
Chicago Boys
(Chile)
Director: Carola Fuentes
The film tells how a group of Milton Friedman’s disciples – backed by a military dictatorship in the ’70s- managed to turn Chile into the first and most
extreme model of neoliberalism in the world.
Children
(Chile)
Director: Maite Alberdi
Chilean support for people with Down Syndrome ends at 25, but life expectancy is now in the 50s. A group of friends are facing a stage they were never
prepared for, because no one ever expected them to grow up or get old.
Flickering Time Bomb
(New Zealand)
Director: Pietra Brettkelly
Three men align in a passionate campaign to save Afghanistan’s rapidly deteriorating Film Archive, in a country whose culture and history are once again
under threat of an uncertain future.
Freedom Fields
(Libya)
Director: Naziha Arebi
At the new dawn of a nation once cut off from the world, a dynamic group of women from fractured sides of the revolution come together with one hunger in
common, to empower the women of Libya through sport. Their dream: to form the first national Libyan women’s football team.
Simple Justice
(U.S.A.)
Directors: Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt
After 435 days in prison, a Chinese immigrant in Indianapolis is free on bail. Can her attorney, Linda Pence, clear the charges of murder and attempted
feticide, or will she go to jail for her crime – attempting suicide while pregnant?
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four
(U.S.A.)
Director: Deborah S. Esquenazi
Four Chicana lesbians languish in Texas prisons, found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls ages 7 and 9. Now, advocates and attorneys believe that a
spurned suitor’s revenge, homophobia and ‘junk science’ were key factors in their conviction. The film also explores the tedious process of exonerating
innocents in Texas.
PRODUCTION / POST-PRODUCTION
Elephant in the Room
(Working Title)
(U.S.A.)
Directors: Lucia Small and Ed Pincus
Two filmmakers of different generations turn the camera on each other to explore friendship, legacy and living with terminal illness. A film that spans the
years of their friendship, Elephant in the Room (working title) offers a raw, personal glimpse into a creative partnership and the delicate
process of capturing life’s precious moments.
The Hand that Feeds
(U.S.A.)
Directors: Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick
Twelve undocumented immigrant workers take on a well-known New York City restaurant chain owned by powerful investors. This David-and-Goliath story
explores what it takes for ordinary people to stand up for their dignity, and win.
Private Violence
(U.S.A.)
Director: Cynthia Hill
Have you ever wondered, “Why doesn’t she leave?” Private Violence follows domestic violence advocate Kit Gruelle as she accompanies women on the
pathway from victim to survivor.
Radical Love
(U.S.A.)
Director: Hillevi Loven
Cole, a transgender Christian teen in rural North Carolina, searches for love and a spiritual community to call home.
DISCRETIONARY
Out in The Night
(formerly
The Fire Next Time
)
(U.S.A.)
Director: Blair Doroshwalther
A lifetime demanding self-defense. One night they fought back.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
Girl Model
(U.S.A.)
Directors: Ashley Sabin and David Redmon
Girl Model
follows a 13-year-old Siberian girl and the American scout who discovers her through the complex, global human supply chain of the unregulated and often
murky world of the international modeling industry. The Audience Engagement award supports a girl-fueled campaign to encourage the Department of Labor to
extend child labor protections to under age models.
