Chicken & Egg Pictures presented Dan Cogan of Impact Partners with a Rooster Award at their party during Sundance on Tuesday.  They also celebrated three Sundance films partly funded by Chicken & Egg: A Small Act, The Oath and My Perestroika. Dan Cogan receives his Rooster award. Dan Cogan with Wendy Ettinger and Julie Parker Benello from Chicken & Egg. Laura Poitras (The Oath), Jennifer Arnold (A Small Act), Robin Hessman (My Perestroika) and Patti Lee (A Small Act) Awesome…

Ok we know film competitions are a dime a dozen but we’ve gotten behind this one from Mofilm because the prizes are awesome (and there are lots of them) and if you enter through Shooting People you also stand the chance of winning a bonus prize: the Canon 5D. Plus you’ll get flown to Barcelona which ain’t half bad. Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to make an ad of less than 90 seconds for any one…

Telefilm Canada hosted a party to promote Canadian films in the festival, and some funding for opportunities for Canadian co-productions. Likely the only party where you could find tuna tar-tar paired with Molson Golden. Find out more about possible options: official co-production, co-venture and film production services here. Adam Roffman– of the very wonderful International Film Festival of Boston, Filmmaker Hannah Rosenzweig The Gang — Adam Roffman, Sean Flynn (Principle Pictures), David Nugent (Hamptons International Film Festival), Bryan Stamp Nice…

Actor James Franco answers some questions about playing Allen Ginsberg Holy something. Just saw Howl and was pretty blown away. The title sequence itself is gorgeous. Although pretty different, it made me think of the brilliant graphic design of Terminal Bar. Directed by 2-time Oscar winner Rob Epstein, Howl is built around Allen Ginsberg’s poem. It’s his first time directing a narrative, and he sprinkles actual “beat generation” footage throughout, and frames the film with a documentary style interview that…

When I first started making films I made it a habit to come home with some small item from the production as a memento. I’m sure you’ve all done it. Like a cricketer snatching a stump or a footballer taking his opponent’s shirt. Those first films were all so hard and so beautifully enjoyable that it felt vital that I clung onto some small piece of the divine wreckage. A crumpled envelope addressed to “no one, nowhere” from our film…

One of my favorite places to seek refuge in Park City to catch up on emails, or even just to catch my breath, is the New Frontier on Main. This digital dungeon is a great place to hang out but it’s also a place to discover new work at the convergence of film and art. I attended a day-long Digital Dive workshop at New Frontier this year. More on this in the Tools Blog soon. New Frontier artists with Shari…

Last time I saw Jacqueline Wright and Alice Lowe they promised that they were working on their very own web portal through which they could splurge their own beautiful brand of silliness. Delightfully they’ve held good to that promise and recently gave electric birth to www.jackalfilms.co.uk. You can watch all their older material here including the brilliant Straight8 film “Stiffy”, but to celebrate this new bloom on the face of the internet they’ve given us two new music videos. One…

Late night’s at the Fimmaker’s Lodge is one of the best things this year – and last. A relaxed way to hang out and talk with fellow filmmakers. The new frontier exhibits inspired a lot of really interesting conversation – thinking about alternative formats for showcasing projects. There were great ideas about how footage can be turned into exhibits, and ways to interact more with storytelling online. The tools to “break the 4th wall” with films are here, and it…

Documentaries are usually strong at Sundance and this was a very good year for them. So three cheers for docs and here are some of the people who make the community so supportive, friendly and downright awesome (which let’s face it is very necessary in a climate where everyone is competing for funding and battling it out on the distribution frontier). Cynthia Kane (ITVS), Debbie Zimmerman (Women Make Movies) and Sandra Whipham (Executive Producer, Enemies of the People) Sandra Whipham…

Two images from my time here so far. Banksy seems to be the man of the festival – even though no one has actually seen him (at least as far as they’re aware)! I’m very sad to have missed Exit Through the Gift Shop and and am determined to track it down to watch soon. This was on a wall on Main Street. I haven’t seen the others he has left around Park City (four in total I hear). And…