Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge Premieres International Shorts at 2015 Sundance Film
By: Caryn Robbins Jan. 28, 2015
Sundance Institute today premiered the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge, a program of nine international short films, at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The program is designed to spark global conversation about solutions to challenges like extreme hunger and poverty. Beginning Tuesday (February 3), the short films will premiere on a variety of digital platforms.
Five of these films were selected among 1,387 submissions from 89 countries on Tongal.com, a creative platform which powered a global call for film entries that used the transformative power of storytelling to generate discussion, shift perceptions around extreme worldwide concerns and harness the power of independent film to create a global conversation about these issues. Contributors on Tongal could submit finished films or story ideas based on the above topics. This program is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which encourages people inspired by these stories to join www.globalcitizen.org, a global movement that works towards ending extreme poverty in the world by 2030.
The screening at the Festival includes new short films by Sundance Institute alumni Marialy Rivas (Melody), Diego Luna (Nana), Gael García Bernal (The Visible Hand) and Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The World is as Big or as Small as You Make It).The Short Film Challenge winning films are: 175 Grams / India - (Director: Bharat Mirle) At the face of it Flywild is just another team of enthusiasts who get together at Elliot's Beach, Chennai and play ultimate frisbee, a sport, which is rapidly gaining popularity in India. 175 Grams takes a closer look at lives of the members at Flywild, how they got into ultimate frisbee, the way its shaping their daily lives and what they look forward to in the future as individuals and as a team. World Premiere. A Will of Iron / Nigeria - (Directors: Seyi Fabunmi and Mobolaji Adeolu) A true life story of a homeless blacksmith living under the Third Mainland Bridge (the longest bridge in Africa) in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife and baby for almost 15 years. He shares his struggles, hopes, and dreams while under the bridge. World Premiere Dropping In / South Africa - (Director: Willem Van Den Heever) A coming-of-age skateboard drama inspired by actual events. Sam, a TEENAGE boy living on the streets, gets picked up by Marcus, a skate park owner, who helps Sam escape his vices and introduces him to the skateboard culture and what it's really about. World Premiere Isabelle's Garden / United States - (Director: Jeffrey Palmer) An uplifting story of a community coming together in reciprocity, through the hopes and dreams of a young Choctaw girl and her garden. World Premiere Man in the Maze / United States - (Directors: Phil Buccellato and Jesse Ash) Man in the Maze takes us on a journey through the U.S. borderlands, where we see how people are coming up with innovative solutions to mend our broken food system. Food activist, writer, and conservationist Gary Paul Nabhan sits at the intersection of inspired food activists, farmers, and change-makers. World Premiere
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