2013 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Andrew Dosunmu

2013 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Andrew Dosunmu – Mother of George Dosunmu’s first narrative feature, Restless City, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. His documentary Hot Irons (1999) won best documentary at FESPACO and the Reel Award at Toronto. Dosunmu has also directed episodes of the widely acclaimed South African TV show “Yizo Yizo” and many music videos. Brett Morgen - Juror Brett Morgen is a documentary director/ producer and the recipient of several awards and honors. His credits include the recent Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane, as well as The Kid Stays in the Picture, 30 For 30: June 17, 1994, On The Ropes, and Nimrod Nation. The New York Times has called him the "mad scientist" of documentary, a term Morgen wholeheartedly embraces. Brit Marling – THE EAST Premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Marling stars in Zal Batmanglij’s The East, which she also co-wrote and co-produced. In 2011, Marling made an indelible mark at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival as the first female multi-hyphenate to have two films premiere side by side. Marling's first feature length narrative film, Another Earth, premiered at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category. Cherien Dabis – MAY IN THE SUMMER Dabis returns to Sundance with her second feature film May In The Summer, slated to open the festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition. In it, she makes her acting debut as well as writing and directing the feature. She has been an advisor for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in both Turkey and Jordan and has taught in the graduate film program at Columbia University. Chris Nelson – ASS BACKWARDS Chris Nelson first feature film is Ass Backwards and he recently completed the feature Gay Dude for Lionsgate and Laurence Mark Productions. Nelson started his directing career in commercials with clients that include HBO, Budweiser, Reebok, MTV, and ESPN. The HBO Voyeur project that he co-directed with Jake Scott won the 2008 Promotion Grand Prix award in Cannes. Christine Lahti – Sundance Institute Artist Trustee Christine Lahti is an actor and director whose work has appeared in TV, film, regional theatre, Broadway, and Off- Broadway. In 1998, Lahti won both the Emmy and her second Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Dr. Kathryn Austin on Chicago Hope. Three years later her feature film directorial debut, My First Mister, opened the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Drake Doremus – BREATHE IN Drake Doremus is a film director and screenwriter best known for directing the films Like Crazy, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Douchebag which was in Dramatic Competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and Spooner (2009). Heather Rae – Sundance Institute Artist Trustee Heather Rae has been engaged with Sundance Institute on many levels. She served as the head of the Sundance Institute Native American Program from 1997 to 2001, as a Creative Advisor at the Institute’s Native Lab, and has also been involved in the Creative Producers Initiative. She produced Frozen River, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. James Ponsoldt – THE SPECTACULAR NOW James Ponsoldt’s first feature, Off The Black, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and his second feature, Smashed, won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination (for lead actress, Mary Elizabeth Winstead). James is an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and writes for Filmmaker magazine and co-authored the award- winning graphic novel Refresh, Refresh. Jeremy Scahill – DIRTY WARS Jeremy Scahill is a writer and producer of Dirty Wars, a film in the Sundance U.S. Documentary Competition. He is National Security Correspondent for The Nation and author of the international bestseller Blackwater. Scahill’s second book, Dirty Wars, will be published this spring. He has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and the former Yugoslavia. Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Don Jon’s Addiction Joseph Gordon-Levitt has appeared in a number of films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival including Manic (2001), Rian Johnson's Brick (2005), Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin (2004), (500) Days of Summer (2009), and Hesher (2010). Additionally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s project hitRECord.org was featured at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier performances and installations. Liz Garbus - Juror Liz Garbus’ latest film, Love, Marilyn (Studiocanal), internationally opened as a Gala Premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival and was acquired by HBO for a 2013 debut. In 2011, Garbus’ Bobby Fischer Against The World premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, earned an Emmy nomination for Best Non-Fiction Special and won the prestigious UK Grierson Award for Best Cinema Documentary. Lucy Walker- THE CRASH REEL Lucy Walker is a two-time Academy Award nominated British film director, whose films have won over 50 awards. Lucy Walker is best known for directing four feature documentary films: Devil's Playground (2002), Blindsight (2006), Waste Land (2010) and Countdown to Zero (2010), as well as one documentary short film, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011). Lynn Nottage – Sundance Institute Artist Trustee Lynn has been an active participant and supporter of the Sundance Institute Theatre Labs and has served as a Creative Advisor. Lynn’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Ruined played Off- Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club. Ruined has also, received an OBIE, the Lucille Lortel Award, NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, and many more. R.J. Cutler – THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DICK CHENEY R. J. Cutler directs for television and film. He specializes in film documentaries and "serious reality TV." He was educated at Harvard University and graduated in 1983; he also attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Rob Epstein – LOVELACE Rob Epstein, a two-time Academy Award winner, has the rare honor of having two films at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival: The Battle of amfAR in the Documentary Shorts Competition, and Lovelace in the Premieres section. Epstein’s previous Sundance films include 2010’s opening night selection HOWL, The Celluloid Closet, Paragraph 175 and The Times of Harvey Milk. Robert Redford President and Founder of Sundance Institute. Roger Ross Williams – GOD LOVES UGANDA Roger Ross Williams wrote, produced and directed the 2010 Academy Award short film winner, Music By Prudence, which also premiered on HBO in May 2010 to great critical acclaim. He is the first African-American director to win an Academy Award in the category of Documentary Shorts, and the first ever African-American director to win an Academy Award for directing and producing a film, short or feature. Ryan Coogler – FRUITVALE A filmmaker from the Bay Area, Ryan Coogler spent most of his life dodging tackles on the football field before discovering a love for making movies in college. He attended USC’s MFA program, where he made several award-winning short films including Locks, Gap, and Fig. Will Calhoun, Composers Lab Fellow, Bronx-born drummer Will Calhoun graduated from Berklee College of Music with a BA in Production and Engineering. He was a co-founder and member of the multi-platinum band Living Colour, with which he won two Grammys. He has recorded and toured with stars as varied as Mick Jagger, Oumou Sangaré, Wayne Shorter, and Mos Def. Will was a Sundance Institute Composer Lab Fellow in 2002. Yotam Silberstein, Sundance Institute/Time Warner Fellow, Yotam has performed with some of the world's premiere artists allowing him to learn from the masters and hone his incredible talent. Whether playing straight ahead jazz, modern, Brazilian, world music, blues or bebop, Yotam's performances receive rave reviews from critics and fans. Yotam is a 2012 Sundance Institute / Time Warner Fellow. .

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