Sundance
I miss my “old way” of blogging.
I’ve been blogging since September of 2006. When I started, it was mostly for myself. To try out a new medium, to capture what I was thinking—and also to connect, to share, and to have a conversation with a group of friends, most of them made on the internet.
To bring back the lightness, I’m going to return to blogging of that ilk. What’s on my mind, what I’m thinking about and doing. I hope it will start some good conversations! And I think it will be good for me, too.
Some recent news —
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Because I’ve focused on tech and investing for the past few years, filmmaking was forced to take a back seat. And last year, if I had to think about how I could bring film back into my life and contribute to film, joining a board wouldn’t have crossed my mind.
But by happenstance, I was asked to interview to be on the board of The Sundance Institute, which is like Y Combinator for the film world. While it may be best known for the annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance also has the vitally important Sundance Labs, which brings in talented independent filmmakers and supports them across their lifecycle via writing/directing labs, along with grants for editing, TV, and VR. Not only does Sundance help artists in their journey, which is often very lonely, but it also provides them with connections to agents, managers, and other players in the industry who can help them. The Labs help identify talented filmmakers and set them on a path.
Sundance was started in Utah in 1981 by Robert Redford with the explicit goal of supporting independent filmmaking, and it was the first true creator community. They launched the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Richard Kelly, Darren Aronofsky, Debra Granik, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao, Dee Rees, and many others.
Covid has been hard for all film festivals, but Sundance pivoted to offer online festivals in both 2021 and 2022. This year, it will be both in-person and online in the second week.
Sundance has been a driving force in independent film. I’m excited to dedicate some of my time to helping the organization think through the years ahead.
Head of Strategy, Project Manager, Creative Operations | Focus: Climate, Arts & Health
1yYour old way of blogging misses you too :)
Founder of trellyz, creator of RefAid, creator of Climate Resilience Salons, serial founder, creator of web user interface language, Silicon Valley veteran
1yThank you for living and sharing your side hustle with us. Women are often shamed for trying to do too many things at once, but it is our nature, and maybe human nature. There is a universal theme that ties all of our individual experiences together in our individual lives... We cannot always see the thread, but you are lucky for catching it and weaving your film passion and your investor passion. We are all better people for embracing the many passions we have. And as you said recently, it is the exchange we have with others that is the most important. Hearing and sharing stories enables us to see our own beautifully individual threads. Enjoy Sundance!
Managing Director | Change Management, Organization Skills, Policy Development, Project Management
1yNice to see you blogging again :)
Director of Advancement @ Swiss Institute | Fundraising, Strategic Communication, Strategy, Executive Leadership, Program Management, Event Production Management
1yAmazing! Film is not just entertainment, it's how we dream and understand the world. So exciting to see that you are bringing your incredible skills to helping film continue to thrive. So many important stories have yet to be told! Congrats again on jumping into the circus again. Hopefully we cross paths again in person soon. I miss our indie film bootcamp!
The Globally Recognised Authority Enabling Leaders & Organisations to Navigate Inflection Moments & FutureProof Success
1yReally enjoyed this “lighter” way of writing Shripriya