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SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES RECIPIENT OF 2006 MARYLAND FILMMAKERS FELLOWSHIP

MOTHER OF GEORGE Addresses Modern Immigrant Experience

Salt Lake City, – Sundance Institute and the Producers Club of Maryland have announced the recipients of the MARYLAND FILMMAKERS Fellowship, Andrew Dosunmu and Darci Picoult , and their feature film project, MOTHER OF GEORGE. The annual fellowship assists Sundance Institute Feature Film Program alumni to continue developing their projects by providing a $10,000 bridge grant for pre-production expenses, including casting, budgeting, and location scouting.

Dosunmu and Picoult attended the Sundance Institute’s Directors/Screenwriters Labs in 2005 with MOTHER OF GEORGE, a story about a woman torn between her African culture and new life in America, while struggling to please her husband and give him the son that will carry on his family's legacy.

“The generous support of the Producers Club of Maryland will have a real impact in providing Andrew and Darci with the resources they need to move forward into pre-production,” said Michelle Satter, Director of the Institute’s Feature Film Program. “Selected because of our belief in their unique vision and storytelling abilities, they will now be one step closer to sharing with audiences this culturally relevant story that addresses a modern immigrant experience.”

“When the scripts come in from the Sundance Labs, I pick a small group of readers from a wide variety of backgrounds- this year we had an accountant, a jewelry designer, a marketing executive, and a community volunteer, said Jed Dietz, who is head of the Producers Club and Director of the Maryland Film Festival. “So every opinion can be heard at its fullest, we never meet as a group, but with me as a pivot, there is a lot of discussion. MOTHER OF GEORGE touched everyone in this diverse group. It will make a wonderful movie and we are proud to give it this early push into production.”

Originally from Nigeria, Andrew Dosunmu has served as a fashion creative director and photographer for international editorial magazines, advertising campaigns for Hermes, Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger, and musical artists Outkast, Erykah Badu, and Mos Def. After directing his first music video for Isaac Hayes, Dosunmu went on to direct numerous other music videos, commercials, films and several episodes of the highly-acclaimed South African TV series YIZO YIZO 3. His documentary film HOT IRONS, won Best Documentary at the 1999 FESPACO Film Festival in Ouagaudougou, Africa and the Reel Award at the1999 Toronto Film Festival.

Darci Picoult has an accomplished background in theatre as a playwright, producer and performer. Past projects include her one woman show, MY VIRGINIA, presented in theaters and solo festivals both nationally and internationally; ANCIENT LIGHTS, a play work-shopped at Theater Workshop and read at Lincoln Center’s New York Public Library Reading series; and her newest play, JAYSON WITH A Y, was recently optioned and in development for a New York production. Currently teaching acting at the Tisch School of the Arts/New York University, Picoult has also taught writing for the Legacy Project at the Public Theater and New York Shakespeare Festival.

The Producers Club of Maryland The Producers Club of Maryland was created in 1993 by independent producer Jed Dietz to help the Maryland Film Office promote the state as an ideal place for film and television location work. Past Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship (formerly known as The Producers Club of Maryland Fellowship) recipients and projects include Doug Sadler - SWIMMERS; Michael Burke - THE MUDGE BOY; Rodrigo Garcia - THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER; and DeMane Davis and Khari Streeter - LIFTl.

Sundance Institute Feature Film Program The year round Feature Film Program is dedicated to supporting artist development and the advancement of distinctive, singular independent projects. Each year, 20-25 emerging filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad participate in the program which includes the Screenwriters and Filmmakers Labs, ongoing creative and practical advice, the post-production initiative, and financial support through fellowship opportunities. In many cases, the Institute has helped filmmakers find a producer, financing and other significant resources, helping to bring these projects into production. The Feature Film Program also presents the Screenplay Reading Series, in and New York, which provides a valuable opportunity for writers to hear their scripts read aloud by professional actors.

Sundance Institute Dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2006. Since its inception, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its and artistic development programs which provide a range of concentrated creative and financial support for directors, screenwriters, documentary filmmakers, composers, playwrights and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking, and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute, both with US artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions of the world.

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