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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: June 14, 2007 Cynthia Wornham, 310.360.1981 Emily Brunt, 435.658.3456

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES FELLOWS FOR 2007 EDITING AND STORY LAB AT SUNDANCE RESORT

Developed Projects Tackle Topics Ranging from Jihad to Hurricane Katrina and its Aftermath

Los Angeles, CA – Sundance Institute announces the selection of four projects to participate in the fourth annual Documentary Film Editing and Story Laboratory, June 22 – 29 in Sundance, Utah. The annual editing and story lab is an integral part of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and supports filmmakers from around the world who are committed to telling untold stories about pressing contemporary issues. This year’s projects explore a wide range of subjects including the role of music in Tibet's assertion of cultural heritage, women in the Nepalese army, a moderate Muslim in Jordan forced to confront Jihad, and the emotional journey of several Ninth Ward, New Orleans residents through Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

The Documentary Film Editing and Story Lab is a creative environment that provides the participating artists and creative advisors alike with an intensive, week-long experience focused on the editing process for documentary film, and the role it plays in developing stories and characters. Each Sundance Institute Lab is an open, creative environment in which Fellows advance works-in-progress and are encouraged in the spirit of experimentation and risk-taking.

The 2007 Documentary Film Editing and Story Lab fellows are:

• Ngawang Choephel (director) and Tim Bartlett (editor) for TIBET IN SONG • Julie Bridgham (director) and Mona Davis (editor) for THE SARI SOLDIERS • Mahmoud Al Massad (director) for RECYCLE • and (directors) and Woody Richman (editor) for TROUBLE THE WATER

“We are welcoming a dynamic circle of visionary directors, producers and editors, each with an important original story to tell,” said Cara Mertes, Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. “Each film on its own is an inspirational testament to artistic courage and the enduring spirit of humanity. Together, they are a powerful contribution to documentary as a new, transnational cultural language."

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During the Lab, the Fellows will work directly with an acclaimed group of Creative Advisors, including two directors and four editors, who jointly engage the creative process. The Creative Advisors for the 2007 Documentary Editing and Story Lab are: editors Jean-Philippe Boucicaut (CITIZEN KING and MATTERS OF RACE); Kate Amend (THIN, and Academy Award-winner THE LONG WAY HOME); Lewis Erskine (JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PEOPLES TEMPLE and MARCUS GARVEY: LOOK FOR ME IN THE WHIRLWIND); Mary Lampson (A LION IN THE HOUSE and HARLAN COUNTY) and accomplished directors Robb Moss (SECRECY and THE SAME RIVER TWICE) and Ra’anan Alexandrowicz (THE INNER TOUR and JAMES’ JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM).

The participants for the 2007 Sundance Institute Documentary Editing and Story Lab are:

TIBET IN SONG Through the story of Tibetan music, this film depicts the determined efforts of Tibetan people, both in Tibet and in exile, to preserve their unique cultural identity after more than a half-century of Chinese occupation. It evokes the courage, defiance and determination that have preserved Tibetan culture in contemporary consciousness.

Ngawang Choephel (director) While documenting traditional music in Tibet in 1995, renowned Tibetan musician and music scholar Ngawang Choephel was arrested and imprisoned by Chinese authorities for seven years on charges of espionage. He now lives as a political asylee in the US.

Tim Bartlett (editor) Bartlett became involved with TIBET IN SONG as a cinematographer on Choephel's most recent trip to India. He has been shooting and editing since the age of ten , and his credits include Emmy Award-winning seasons of "The Amazing Race," the documentary UNITED BEGINNING, and his own super-short sort film A MAN CROSSES THE STREET.

THE SARI SOLDIERS Six Nepali women on opposing sides of Nepal's political conflict battle to transform their country's future. Amidst an autocratic Monarch's "War on Terror" against the Maoist rebels, the film follows their journey from the war-torn hillsides, to the extraordinary street revolution to reclaim democracy, and their struggles and pursuits for justice.

Julie Bridgham (director) Bridgham has produced and directed numerous documentaries in Nepal, including INDENTURED DAUGHTERS about Nepali girls sent into bonded labor, HOPE IN THE HIMALAYAS and AT THE EDGE OF SUFFICIENT. She has produced films for the as well as for the BBC, the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel and TLC.

Mona Davis (editor) Davis' credits include LOVE AND DIANE which premiered at the New York Film Festival, THE FARM: ANGOLA, USA, nominated for an Academy Award, and Emmy Award-winner for best editing. Other credits include THE PERFECT CANDIDATE and DREAM DECEIVERS, and films broadcast by PBS, BBC, Arte, CBS and Showtime.

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RECYCLE A moderate Muslim father in Jordan faces a setback at every turn. Forced to collect cardboard in the streets of Zarqa, he is barely sustaining his family. As his situation deteriorates he has to make a radical decision to save himself from humiliation.

Mahmoud Al Massad (director) Al Massad was born in Jordan and studied Film & Art at Yarmouk University. He left the country in 1988 for Romania, Italy, Germany and finally The Netherlands, where he directed and produced 10 shorts films. His debut short SHATTER HASSAN was an official selection at Festival de Cannes.

TROUBLE THE WATER A streetwise young couple survives the flooding of New Orleans by any means necessary, rescuing dozens of neighbors along the way, and using video to capture the storm and its aftermath. This redemptive tale of outlaws who become heroes is set against one of the largest diasporas in American history.

Tia Lessin (director) Lessin was a producer of ’s FAHRENHEIT 9/11, winner of the Palme d'Or, and Academy Award-winning . Lessing was awarded the Sidney Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism for BEHIND THE LABELS, a documentary she directed about labor trafficking in the U.S. garment industry.

Carl Deal (director) Deal was Archival Producer for FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. He has contributed to other documentaries, including recent Sundance Film Festival audience favorites MURDERBALL and GOD GREW TIRED OF US.

Woody Richman (editor) Richman edited FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and was Associate Editor of BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. He has cut several independent features, including a forthcoming documentary DESTINATION UNKNOWN. Richman honed his craft as Assistant Editor in the cutting rooms of Nick Gomez, Spike Lee and Oliver Stone.

Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program provides year-round support to nurture nonfiction filmmakers worldwide. The program advances innovative nonfiction storytelling about a broad range of contemporary social issues, and promotes the exhibition of documentary films to a broad audience. Through the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Edit and Story Laboratory, Documentary Composers Laboratory as well as the Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Institute Independent Producers Conference and a variety of international initiatives, the program provides a unique, global center for documentary film. Films that have received the financial and/or creative support of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program include , IN THE PIT, MANDA BALA, PARAGRAPH 175, MR. DEATH, LOST BOYS OF , THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT, IN FRAGMENTS, and WHY WE FIGHT.

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Sundance Institute Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is dedicated to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their work. Since its inception the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for filmmakers and other artists. Sundance Institute conducts national and international labs for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, playwrights and theatre artists. The Sundance Film Festival, a major program of Sundance Institute held each January, is considered the premier showcase for American and international independent film. The Sundance Institute Feature Film Program is a year-round program supporting artist development and the advancement of distinctive, singular independent projects through Screenwriters and Filmmakers Labs, ongoing creative and practical advice, the post-production project, and financial support through fellowship opportunities. The Sundance Institute Theatre Program invigorates the national theatre movement with original and creative work, and nurtures the diversity of artistic expression among theatre artists. The Documentary Film Program provides year-round support to nonfiction filmmakers through the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund and programs that nurture growth and innovation in documentary storytelling. The Film Music Program supports and nurtures emerging film composers and inspires new ways for independent filmmakers to approach music in their films. The Institute maintains The Sundance Collection at UCLA, a unique archive of independent film.

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