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Sundance Institute, in a new collaboration with Netflix, today announced the recipients of the inaugural Sundance Institute Open Borders Fellowship presented by Netflix. The Institute’s Feature Film and Documentary Film programs worked in collaboration to select three of the most exciting emerging filmmakers, working in both narrative and nonfiction forms.
Designed to support distinctive new voices in world cinema, the fellowship includes a development grant, a trip to the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City to receive the award and attend a curated slate of industry meetings, networking opportunities, panels, and screenings. Further, the filmmakers are eligible to receive year-round creative and strategic support from the Sundance Institute Feature Film and Documentary Film programs for their next feature-length project
The Open Borders Fellowship reflects the Institute’s longstanding commitment to world cinema. Through Labs and Workshops, financial support, and public engagement, the Institute’s Artist Programs strive to support underrepresented voices in regions of the world going through socio-political transitions and where freedom of expression is challenged.
This year’s recipients are Talal Derki (Syria), Tatiana Huezo (Mexico), and Chaitanya Tamhane (India).
Talal Derki was born in Damascus and has been based in Berlin since 2014. He studied film directing in Athens and worked as an assistant director for many feature film productions and as a director for different Arab TV programs between 2009 and 2011. Talal Derki's feature documentary Return to Homs won the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in 2014. His most recent film, Of Fathers and Sons, premiered at IDFA, and is currently in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Tatiana Huezo’s most recent film, Tempestad, was one of the most acclaimed documentaries of 2016. Following its premiere at Berlinale, the film was Mexico’s official submission to the Academy Awards, and won four Ariel Awards, including Best Director and Best Documentary feature. She is currently working on her narrative feature debut, Night On Fire, which was selected for the Sundance | Morelia Screenwriters Lab this past Fall.
Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut feature, the Marathi language courtroom drama, Court, premiered at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, where it won Best Film in the Horizons section, and went on to appear on many best-of lists following its theatrical release last year and served as India’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar. He was selected by Alfonso Cuaron for the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, and is working on his currently untitled second feature.
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Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute's signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Boyhood, Swiss Army Man, Manchester By the Sea, Brooklyn, Little Miss Sunshine, Life, Animated, Sonita, 20 Feet From Stardom, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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