On January 23rd, the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival will begin in Park City, Utah. The festival, pushed as an event for filmmakers by filmmakers, has become a prominent part of the festival circuit and the site of discovery for the likes of Christopher Nolan, Lena Dunham, Lynn Shelton and Paranormal Activity‘s Oren Peli.
Included in the lineup this year are the top 12 films from the Fusion Doc Challenge, which wrapped up last November. Filmmakers from around the world competed in Fusion Doc Challenge. They were given five days to make a short 4-8 minute documentary on the same theme: “I’ve got a baaaaaaad feeling about this.” The films were judged and the top 12 will premiere at the Fusion Doc Challenge Slamdance event on January 26, 2015.
Fusion Doc Challenge finalist judges screened the top 12 films to select the winners. The industry expert judges included film producer Sean Covel (most known for producing Napoleon Dynamite), Deny Staggs, Montana’s film Commissioner and Slamdance Festival Director Anna Germanidi.
“It’s an honor to judge the Fusion Doc Challenge because it is literally that; a fusion,” says Covel. “Never before have I seen such a diverse collection of cinema surrounding one theme. While the scope of the subject matter swept across continents, the connection to each piece remained very personal. I hope everyone gets a chance to see the winning films, and the filmmakers enjoy their well deserved recognition.”
The Fusion Judges who pick the Fusion winner include: Richard Shepard director of HBO’s Girls, Snady Climan producer of The Aviator and Simon Chinn, producer & writer of Searching for Sugar Man.
Cash prizes total $4,500. Plus the top 20 films will receive an exclusive 18-month distribution deal with Fusion.
Winners are announced at Slamdance immediately following the screening.
Here’s the lineup of the top 12 films:
Quiet Culture
I am Juli
Hector Picard
Moment of Glitch
Wake Up
The House of Tom of Finland
Escape
Jerry Brown’s Bucking Bulls
WHAT IF
Libero, Middle, Right
Fusion Doc Challenge and Fusion Media will host the Sunday night party for Slamdance. The Fusion Doc films will screen on Monday January 26th
More information about Slamdance can be found here, and for more information about the filmmakers behind the Fusion Doc Challenge finalists, click here.
