FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: March 21 , 2019 Spencer Alcorn 310.360.1981 [email protected] Sundance Institute’s FilmTwo Initiative: Fostering Sustainability, Creativity in Storytelling Two-Day Workshop Supported by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Launches ​ Year-Round Support for Fellows Elizabeth Chomko, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Paul Downs Colaizzo, Rhys Ernst, Carlos Lopez Estrada Atsuko Hirayanagi, Shirlyn Wong, Lisa Kron, Shawn Snyder, Jason Begue Amber Tamblyn, Ed Dougherty, Kristen Tan Los Angeles, CA — The fourth annual FilmTwo Initiative launches today in LA to support the career sustainability ​ ​ of thirteen artists developing their second features. FilmTwo encompasses two days of focused programming, including a writing workshop (led by Joan Tewkesbury), industry mentoring sessions, and one-on-one story ​ meetings, kicking off a year of tailored creative and tactical support as part of the Institute’s continuum of support ​ 2 for artists at key inflection points in their careers. The FilmTwo Initiative is supported by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. “We created the FilmTwo Initiative to directly address the specific challenges that filmmakers face in developing sustainable and dynamic careers” said Michelle Satter, Founding Director, Feature Film Program (FFP) and ​ ​ Shira Rockowitz, Associate Director, FFP. “Over the past four years, FilmTwo has responsively evolved to ​ develop storytelling across formats and platforms -- ensuring that artists can cultivate their skills and visions in a rapidly-changing industry.” Over the past four years, FilmTwo has supported the directors Marielle Heller, Steven Caple, Jr., Andrew Ahn, ​ Sian Heder, Nia DaCosta, Jonas Carpignano, Anna Rose Holmer, Crystal Moselle and Lulu Wang. ​ ​ ​ Creative Advisors for the story sessions include Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12), Gyula Gazdag (A ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Hungarian Fairytale), Liz Hannah (The Post), Phil Hay (Destroyer), James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour), ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Angela Robinson (Professor Marston & the Wonder Women), Ry Russo-Young (Before I Fall), Dana Stevens ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (Love of the Game), Joan Tewkesbury (Nashville) and Rose Troche (The Safety of Objects). ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Industry Advisors include representatives from the feature film space as well as executives working across other storytelling formats and platforms. They include Kat Candler (showrunner, Queen Sugar), Poppy Hanks (Senior ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Vice President, Development and Production, MACRO), Charlotte Koh (Head of Digital Media and Unscripted, ​ ​ Hello Sunshine), Emerlynn Lampitoc (Director, Global Talent Development & Inclusion, Universal Filmed ​ ​ Entertainment Group), Marshall Lewy (Chief Creative Officer, Wondery), DanTram Nguyen (Senior Vice ​ ​ ​ ​ President, Production, Fox Searchlight), Rishi Rajani (Vice President, Production and Development, Hillman ​ ​ Grad Productions), Andrea Sperling (Producer / Principal, Topple Productions) and Priya Swaminathan ​ ​ ​ (Co-Head, Higher Ground Productions). The FilmTwo Initiative is supported by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. The 2019 FilmTwo Fellows are: Elizabeth Chomko is an award-winning American filmmaker, actor and playwright. Her debut feature What They ​ ​ Had, starring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster and Blythe Danner, premiered at the 2018 ​ Sundance Film Festival and had its international premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It has been distributed worldwide and has been nominated for and won multiple awards. Originally from Chicago, Elizabeth is an alum of the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab and in 2015 she won an Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. She was named one of Variety’s '10 Screenwriters to Watch' and was nominated for ​ ​ The Humanitas Prize for Best Drama Feature for What They Had. Her plays have been produced at The Blank ​ ​ Theatre’s Living Room Series, Inkwell Theatre’s LAB and at the Kennedy Center’s New Plays Festival; she has appeared as an actor in films and television and has performed in theatres across the US and in London. She is also a visual artist and musician. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre is a French actress, producer, and director living between Paris and the United ​ States. After graduating with her Masters of History from La Sorbonne, she moved to New York to study acting. Stepping behind the camera, her first two short films played at major festivals from Tribeca to Tenerife and 3 Bordeaux. Laure developed the latter short, "Rabbit," which was selected for Sundance in 2015, into her debut feature The Mustang, which was released by Focus in March 2019. The first draft of the feature screenplay won ​ ​ ​ ​ the NHK award. She is currently directing the pilot and two additional episodes of Hulu's new anthology series The Act, written by Michelle Dean & Nick Antosca, which is based on the true story explored in the HBO ​ documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest. ​ ​ Paul Downs Colaizzo's first play Really Really (Helen Hayes Award) played a sold-out, twice-extended run ​ ​ ​ Off-Broadway at MCC. His second play Pride in the Falls of Autrey Mill premiered at The Signature Theatre in DC. ​ ​ Paul's first feature film and directorial debut, Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019 Sundance Film Festival, U.S. ​ ​ Dramatic, Audience Award Winner), will be in theaters later this year Rhys Ernst is a filmmaker and artist. He was a producer and director on Amazon’s Transparent and created ​ ​ ​ the title sequence for the series. He was nominated for a 2015 Emmy Award for directing and producing the webseries Transparent: This Is Me, which won a Special Recognition GLAAD Award. In 2016 he teamed up ​ ​ with Focus Features to create the online series, We’ve Been Around. In addition to the 2014 Whitney Biennial, ​ ​ Ernst has shown work at Sundance, Oberhausen, and The Hammer Museum; he has won awards at Outfest, Chicago International Film Festival and the LA Transgender Film Festival; and he was a Point Scholar, a Project Involve Fellow, and was awarded with the 2015 Point Foundation Horizon Award and the ACLU Liberty Award for his work on transgender representation in the media. His first feature film, Adam, produced by James ​ ​ Schamus and Howard Gertler, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Carlos Lopez Estrada’s debut film, Blindspotting, premiered opening night at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival ​ ​ ​ and subsequently sold to Lionsgate for a theatrical release. The film was produced by Keith Calder and Jessica Wu at Snoot Entertainment and stars Daveed Diggs. Carlos was selected for Variety’s ‘10 Directors to Watch for ​ ​ 2018’ List and was recently nominated by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for 2018. On the TV side, Carlos recently wrapped an episode of FX’s Legion and has an ​ ​ original piece in development at UCP. Carlos is also a prolific music video/commercial director and a founding partner of the multi-disciplined production studio, Little Ugly. He’s won a Latin Grammy for an animated video he directed for artists Jesse & Joy, which established him as the youngest director to win a Latin Grammy to date. He’s worked with artists like Billie Eilish, Father John Misty, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Capital Cities, Clipping and Passion Pit. Atsuko Hirayanagi was born in Nagano and raised in Chiba, Japan. She is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of ​ The Arts Asia with an MFA in Film Production. Her thesis short film, "Oh Lucy!" received the 1st Prize Wasserman Award and won more than 30 awards around the globe, including prizes at the Cannes, Sundance and Toronto film festivals. The feature-length screenplay of Oh Lucy! was a recipient of the Sundance Institute / NHK Award in ​ ​ 2016. The feature was Hirayanagi’s debut film, and after premiering at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in the Critics’ Week section, went on to receive numerous awards at film festivals worldwide. The film was also nominated in the Best First Feature and Best Female Lead categories at the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards in 2018. Hirayanagi was named as one of ‘20 Rising Female Filmmakers You Need to Know’ by IndieWire. ​ 4 Shirlyn Wong is a Chinese-American filmmaker from Queens, New York. She received her M.F.A. from New ​ York University Tisch Asia in Film and Television Production and a B.A. in Computer Science from Brown University. Her short film, “Love’s Routine,” was the 2013 Jameson First Shot winner and starred three-time Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe. Her other short films, “Baomu” and “The Mobile Stripper,” have had official selections and won awards at international festivals such as Palm Springs, Indie Memphis, BendFilm, and Seattle Shorts to name a few. Lisa Kron is a writer and performer who wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Fun Home, with music by ​ ​ ​ composer Jeanine Tesori, which won five 2015 Tony awards including Best Book, Score, numerous Off-Broadway awards, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Lisa’s other plays include In The Wake, Well, and the Obie Award ​ ​ winning 2.5 Minute Ride. As an actor, she received a Tony award nomination for her performance in Well and a ​ ​ ​ ​ Lortel Award as Best Supporting Actress for her turn in the Foundry Theater’s acclaimed production of Good ​ Person of Szechuan. She is the recipient of Guggenheim, Sundance and MacDowell fellowships, a Doris Duke ​ Performing Artists Award, a Cal Arts/Alpert Award, a Helen Merrill Award, the Kleban Prize for libretto writing, and grants from the Creative Capital and NYFA. She is also a founding member of the OBIE- and Bessie-Award-winning collaborative theater company The Five Lesbian Brothers. Shawn Snyder grew up in suburban South Florida. After receiving a BA in Religion from Harvard, he spent most ​ of his twenties on the road as a singer/songwriter. The last eight years have seen a return to Shawn's long-standing passion for filmmaking, and in 2015, he completed studies at NYU's Graduate Film Program. In 2016, Shawn was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. His shorts, "Festus" and "Lulu," have played in festivals around the world.