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Hillary Clinton Officially Headed To Sundance As Donald Trump’s Impeachment Trial Kicks Off

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The 2020 Sundance Film Festival will be full of stars and legends, but the opening weekend of the snowy Robert Redford-founded shindig looks to solidly belong to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

First, there’s a world premiere of the Hulu docuseries Hillary, about the candidate who won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election but lost to Donald Trump. It’s set to be screened on Saturday, January 25 in Park City. The ex-Secretary of State is also slated to appear for an intimate Q&A the next day, as well as a showing of all four episodes of Hillary in Salt Lake City on January 26.

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While Sundance has long played host to major political players — like failed 2012 GOP candidate and current Utah senator Mitt Romney and video call-ins from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez last year — the former First Lady and one-time potential first female POTUS may eclipse all who have come before, especially when you consider the timing. Although there is little doubt of the acquittal outcome of Trump’s impeachment trial in the Republican-dominated Senate once things start January 22 in D.C., Clinton’s presence at Sundance that week provides a stark contrast.

In fact, both her chat at the Cinema Café with Hillary director Nanette Burstein and their Q&A following the afternoon screening of the docuseries the day before are just Clinton’s latest sturdy steps back into the limelight as fellow Democrats aim to replace the former Celebrity Apprentice host and face the Iowa caucuses. Apart from book tours, late night shows and well paid speaking engagements, Clinton has been looking to form a formal production deal in Tinseltown much along the lines of what Barack and Michelle Obama have with Netflix.

The additional fact is that the ex-New York senator and her former President husband, long beloved by Hollywood, will truly see Hillary among her people at Sundance 2020. Other events involving Clinton at the Park City-set fest are planned, such as private dinners and more, I hear.

Having said that, as 118 films play over the January 23-February 2 festival, Hillary Clinton may be the biggest name on Main Street but not the only one by far — even offscreen.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ai Weiwei, Julie Taymor, and past Clinton supporter Kerry Washington are slated to sit down to discuss the power of art on January 25. As a Taylor Swift docu from Netflix premieres earlier in the festival, jury member and SFF royalty Ethan Hawke and Oscar winner Viggo Mortensen will be letting out some rebel yells January 30 in a presentation inspired by the work of historian Howard Zinn.

Among a plethora of musical performances and likely some surprises, Rufus Wainwright is performing at The Shop on January 25 too. Also, outgoing Sundance director John Cooper will be joined by Tom McCarthy and Tessa Thompson, among others, to talk about the movies that blew their minds January 28.

With the Sundance awards being presented during a February 1 ceremony, take a look at the schedule of off-screen events below.

Deadline co-Editor-in-Chief, Film Mike Fleming Jr., myself and Anthony D’Alessandro will be there for Clinton and much more as we lead our Sundance coverage with breaking news on the films, the deals, the panels, and the word on the streets of Park City. As in past years, our Deadline Studio will be up and running again as our team speaks to filmmakers about their projects and the festival itself.

IMAGINED FUTURES (IF) SCREENINGS

Friday, January 24, 2020

Crip Camp IF Screening

6:00 p.m. Grand Theatre, Salt Lake City

With film team and special guest Shandra Benito, Executive Director, Art Access, Salt Lake City.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

The Assistant IF Screening

8:15 p.m – The MARC Theatre, Park City

With film team and special guest Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Moderated by Shirley Li, The Atlantic.

PANELS

Power of Story: Just Art

Saturday, January 25, 2:30 p.m. – Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St.

Ticket required

Art is uniquely capable of creating public “encounters” that are transformative and that activate our imagination and empathy in order to engage with issues of social justice. We explore the practice of artists who use art to push boundaries, provoke, inspire, disorient orthodoxy, and reshape culture. In asking what the artistic project of justice is, we have only to look at revolutionary narratives and radical forms of expression.

Artists Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ai Weiwei, Julie Taymor, Kerry Washington and Carrie Mae Weems will discuss the nature of artwork as a catalytic cultural and sociopolitical force.

Presented by Netflix

Power of Story: The People Speak

Thursday, January 30, 3:00 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St.

Ticket required

Inspired by the work of the late historian Howard Zinn (A People’s History of the United States), and on the tenth anniversary of his passing, this event brings to life, through readings and songs, the voices of rebels, dissenters, and visionaries from our past—and present.

The live performance features poet Staceyann Chin, Ethan Hawke (Tesla), singer-songwriter Celisse Henderson, Viggo Mortensen (Falling), Ntare Mbaho Guma Mwine (Farewell Amor), singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello with guitarist Christopher Bruce, and Festival juror and actor Isabella Rossellini. Anthony Arnove (co-director of The People Speak with Howard Zinn) narrates.

Presented by Netflix

Mexico’s New New Wave

Friday, January 24, 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Filmmakers Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders

Once again this year we are seeing a remarkable explosion of cinematic energy coming from Mexico. Join Los Angeles Times critic Carlos Aguilar, filmmakers Rodrigo Ruiz Patterson (Summer White [Blanco de Verano]), Fernanda Valadez (Identifying Features [Sin Señas Particulares]), Elena Fortes (Vivos), and Edher Campos (I Carry You With Me) from this year’s program to explore where this energy is coming from, how it is expressing itself through form and subject matter, and how it speaks to a wider contemporary Latin American cinema.

Truth to Power

Saturday, January 25, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

Filipino journalist and protagonist of A Thousand Cuts Maria Ressa and Russian journalist and New Yorker columnist Masha Gessen (Welcome to Chechnya), in their role as truth tellers, have both taken on autocratic heads of state. In this conversation, Patrick Gaspard, president of Open Society Foundations, and journalist and author Farai Chideya explore what it takes for journalists to go up against powerful regimes—and what is at stake if they don’t.

Digital Aerosol and the Re-imaginarium: A Fireside Chat with Kahlil Joseph and Jesse Williams

Sunday, January 26, noon–1:30 p.m. – The Box at The Ray, 1768 Park Ave.

Open to the public

What does world-building look like in a society whose attention is trapped inside a matrix of digital platforms? Is there another way to engage the cloud of silicon, coltan, and liquid crystal displays? Join artist and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph (BLKNWS, The Underground Museum, collaborator with Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar) and actor and cultural critic Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy, The Advancement Project, Ebroji) in an exploration of imagination, self-determination, and entrepreneurialism that creatively tethers earthly terrain with the digital aerosol. Moderated by Charles D. King (founder and CEO of MACRO).

Under Whose AI?

Sunday, January 26, 1:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

Artificial intelligence “learns” from data humans generate—every click, photo, text, post, swipe, and like. Invisible data-selves shadow us, and the consequences are unknown. Pioneering media artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson (The Electronic Diaries of Lynn Hershman Leeson) is joined by MIT computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, featured in Coded Bias, to explore machine learning and the future it predicts, the possibility of algorithmic justice, and ways to subvert what Buolamwini calls the “coded gaze.” In conversation with The Atlantic’s executive editor Adrienne LaFrance.

Creator’ Union – A Workshop on Content Creators Participating in the Data Economy

Monday, January 27, noon–1:30 p.m.

The Box at The Ray, 1768 Park Ave.

Open to the public

Data is more valuable than oil. Digital platforms use storytelling content to engage audiences and then harvest their data. How can creators define terms to ensure their intentions and ethics power this growing data economy? Should their true value warrant financial participation? Join former director of monetization for Facebook Tim Kendall (The Social Dilemma), Karim Amer (Persuasion Machines, The Great Hack), producer Jess Engel, Bethany Haynes (Sloss Eckhouse LawCo), and Jesse Redniss (GM Innovation Lab, executive vice president of data strategy for WarnerMedia) as they illuminate the state of the current ecosystem and brainstorm how creators can get a seat at the table. Moderated by Roya Rastegar (PhD in history of consciousness).

Where the Truth Lies

Monday, January 27, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows


According to Picasso, “Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” Join Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets), Kirsten Johnson (Dick Johnson Is Dead), to explore the very different ways in which they have deployed cinematic artifice and formal experimentation to reveal deep human truths. They will be in conversation with Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson.

AI, the Archive and Creating Human Context on the New Frontier

Tuesday, January 28, noon–1:30 p.m.

The Box at The Ray, 1768 Park Ave.

Open to the public

The human archive represents an immortal reflection of who we are and what our species has accomplished. In today’s digital reality, our archives are tapped as bottomless pools of data—the DNA that powers AI technologies. In a world of deep fakes and virtual beings, how are digital artists embracing the human archive? Join Lynn Hershman Leeson (The Electronic Diaries of Lynn Hershman Leeson), Sandra Rodriguez (Chomsky vs. Chomsky: First Encounter), and Nancy McGovern (director of digital preservation at MIT) as they explore how to retain humanity in our digital communities. Moderated by Kamal Sinclair (Guild of Future Architects).

Discovering Tomorrow

Tuesday, January 28, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

Through films like Tesla, Radioactive, The Current War, The Aeronauts, Hidden Figures, and First Man, period science is having a heyday. Practicing the science of yesteryear, their pioneering protagonists imagine the possibilities of tomorrow. From Curie to Tesla, they wrestle with competition, derision, entrenched beliefs, and discrimination. An ensemble of both scientists and filmmakers, including Ethan Hawke (Tesla), Sarah Treem, P. James Schuck and Danijela Cabric looks at the role of visionary scientists, inventors, and outliers, past and present, in advancing real science, technology, and human knowledge. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Movie That Blew My Mind

Tuesday, January 28, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.

The Ray Theatre, 1768 Park Ave.

Ticket required

Everybody has one—at least one. It’s that film that completely changed how you thought about movies, changed the course of your life, gave you a sense of the power of cinema, made you say, “I want to do that.” An Offscreen event and a kickoff for Sundance Institute Talent Forum, this panel features hosts John Cooper (Director, Sundance Film Festival), Tabitha Jackson (Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program), Tom McCarthy, Tessa Thompson, and other special guests, each of whom has selected a cinema moment that was inspiring or formative (in their life or in shaping their creative sensibility). Supported by Hulu

How Can Artists Reshape Politics?

Wednesday, January 29, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

What would it look like if artists were at the forefront of our political and civic lives? In this U.S. election year, For Freedoms—a nation-wide network of artists and institutions inspired by the history of creative people convening to shape society—is designing a set of guiding principles and a new “artists’ platform” for political engagement. To help design an artist-powered future, join Hank Willis Thomas, Eric Gottesman and Michelle Woo of For Freedoms, artists Kahlil Joseph (BLKNWS), Elissa Blount Moorhead, and Amelia Winger-Bearskin, and the Guild of Future Architects Writers Room.

Welcome to Biodigital Theatre
Thursday, January 30, noon–1:30 p.m.
The Box at The Ray, 1768 Park Ave.
Open to the public

Game engines and immersive technologies are converging with theatre and dance in captivating and powerful ways. This year’s New Frontier lineup showcases pioneering works manifesting this important confluence, which point to new user experiences and opportunities to scale up access. Join Toby Coffey (All Kinds of Limbo; Royal National Theatre in London), Gilles Jobin (Dance Trail, VR_I), Yetunde Dada (Atomu), Theo Triantafyllidis (Anti-Gone), and Noah Nelson (publisher of No Proscenium) as they discuss this emerging world of biodigital theatre. Moderated by Sarah Ellis (director of digital development at the Royal Shakespeare Company).

Inside the TV Writers’ Room: An Interactive Experience

Thursday, January 30, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

Writing a TV series is a uniquely collaborative process that starts in the writers’ room. A team of writers will often chart out the character and story arcs for the entire series before breaking them into outlines for each individual episode. Join showrunner Graham Yost (Justified) for an interactive experience inside the collaborative writing process. This workshop reboots a classic TV series to simulate what happens behind the scenes in a writers’ room.

The Imagined Futures Bonfire

Thursday, January 30, 4:30 p.m.–sunset

Flagpole Parking Lot, 557 Swede Alley

Open to the public as space allows

Come be a part of a ritual as old as storytelling itself as our Festival and Park City communities gather around a sunset bonfire to welcome the start of a new decade and dream of our imagined futures. With remarks by Festival director John Cooper.

The New Aesthetics of Disability

Friday, January 31, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

In The Reason I Jump, sound artist Nick Ryan explores neurodiverse experiences of sound to create a complex audio world. Director Rodney Evans’s Vision Portraits documents how he and other blind artists create in a visual medium. Filmmakers Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht (Crip Camp) and Michelle Miles (How Did We Get Here?), and choreographer Alice Sheppard, defy conventional representations of disabilities through their work. Discover how these artists and others are reaching for new audiences and re-imagining the possibilities of their forms through their own unique perspectives. Moderated by Eric Hynes (Curator of Film, Museum of the Moving Image).

From Sleep

Friday, January 31, 8:00 p.m.

The Shop, 1167 Woodside Ave.

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

Lift yourself out of the Festival’s frenetic pace for a spellbinding evening as Max Richter performs a 90-minute concert version of his eight-hour opus, Sleep, with a string quintet from New York’s American Contemporary Music Ensemble and soprano Grace Davidson. The concert will be followed by a Q&A with Richter, his creative partner and producer of Sleep Yulia Mahr, and filmmaker Natalie Johns (Max Richter’s Sleep).

The Feeling of Exile

Saturday, February 1, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

With increasing threats to freedom of expression for artists, writers, and journalists around the world, filmmakers Nanfu Wang (One Child Nation), Oleg Sentsov (Gamer), and surgeon-turned-comedian Bassem Youssef have found themselves exiled from their home countries, censored, or imprisoned for their work. How have their experiences informed their art, and how has their art informed their experiences? Moderated by Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America.

Film Church

Sunday, February 2, 10:30 a.m.–noon

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St. (2nd floor)

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

What could be more divine than 10 days of film watching? Finish off your Sundance Film Festival experience by sharing a near-spiritual moment with Festival director John Cooper and director of programming Kim Yutani, who will offer nondenominational talks of the Festival that was. Come confess your likes and dislikes. Joining us for the sermon will be a variety of special guests, including a few filmmakers who took home awards the night before (if they can be found the morning after!). All will be forgiven.

Cinema Café

Other noteworthy conversations at the Festival include the Cinema Café daily series of informal chats, which this year will include conversations between Hillary Rodham Clinton, Zazie Beetz, St. Vincent, and Ron Howard, among others. Cinema Café events are presented in collaboration with Variety.

Ron Howard (Rebuilding Paradise)

Friday, January 24, 11:30 a.m-12:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

Carrie Brownstein & St Vincent (The Nowhere Inn)

Saturday, January 25, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

Hillary Rodham Clinton & Nanette Burstein (Hillary)

Sunday, January 26, 11:30 a.m-12:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

Zazie Beetz (Nine Days), Elle Lorraine (Bad Hair) & Taylour Paige (Zola)

Tuesday, January 28, 12:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

Radha Blank (The 40 Year Old Version) & Winston Duke (Nine Days)

Wednesday, January 29, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

Kathreen Khavari (Embrace) & Linas Phillips (The Ride)

Thursday, January 30, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

Haifaa Al-Mansour (The Perfect Candidate) & Bassem Youssef (The Show)

Friday, January 31, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., second floor

MUSIC

Sundance ASCAP Music Café

Friday, January 24 – Friday, January 31, 2:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. (Doors open 1:30 p.m.)
751 Main St.
Open to Festival credential holders 21 and older as space allows
A great film is a feast for the eyes and the ears. For 22 years the Sundance Film Festival and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) have celebrated film’s marriage of sight and sound with the Sundance ASCAP Music Café, featuring eight days of performances from visionary recording artists and songwriters, all held in an intimate space at the heart of the Festival.

Stop by and we guarantee you will hear something great—whether you’re looking for the right musical collaborator for your next project or just coming in to take a break from your screening schedule—courtesy of your friends at ASCAP, home to more than 735,000 of the world’s greatest music creators. Check out the full schedule at sundance.org/program and ascap.com/sundance2020.

Celebration of Music in Film, Presented by Southwest Airlines ®

Saturday, January 25, 7:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
The Shop, 1167 Woodside Ave.

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows
Sundance Film Festival’s annual Celebration of Music in Film concert continues in its tradition honoring the power of storytelling through music and film. Hosted by Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program, the evening spotlights a headlining performance by the award-winning recording artist Rufus Wainwright, whose 9th studio album releases this spring. Critically acclaimed artist Sharon Van Etten, featured in a supporting role in the Sundance Film Festival title Never Rarely Sometimes Always, also joins the stage, as well as Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program Alumni Cuban composer Jorge Aragón Brito. Join us for an evening dedicated to the influential impact of music and film.

BMI Snowball
Tuesday, January 28, 8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. (Doors open at 7:30 p.m.)

The Shop, 1167 Woodside Ave.

Open to Festival credential holders as space allows

BMI invites you to the 18th annual Snowball Music Showcase. This event is an intimate night of music featuring a phenomenal mixture of emerging and iconic artists.This year’s concert features an inspiring all-female roster of highly talented musicians, headlined by acclaimed GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb. Also joining the stellar line-up is California-native songstress Chloé Caroline, who will take the stage with an alt-pop acoustic set followed by Georgia Ku, the illustrious songwriter behind numerous worldwide smash hits including “Scared to Be Lonely” (DJ Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa), “So Close” (Georgia Ku & Captain Cuts), and her debut single “What Do I Do?”.

The Snowball showcase has always featured a phenomenal mixture of buzzworthy and iconic artists at the Festival. Memorable past performances have included Death Cab for Cutie, Christina Perri, Dawes, Terence Blanchard, Rita Wilson, KT Tunstall, Patty Smyth, Devo, Keb’ Mo’, Donovan, Rodriguez, Neyla Pekarek (formerly of the Lumineers), Hailey Knox, Robert Randolph, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Percy Sledge and Spooner Oldham. Check out the Offscreen section at sundance.org/program for details about this year’s lineup.

For dates, times, locations and ticket information for these and other offscreen events, including panels and live music hosted by our sponsors, visit sundance.org/festival.

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