When you hear the words “Sundance Film Festival” you think of independent films, but there’s truly so much more to this iconic festival than that. It’s an experience filled with special events, music, awards, panel discussions, and red carpet coverage. This year, not surprisingly, there was a resounding and definitive focus on the theme of acceptance, diversity, and equality at Sundance (SFF).
Participating in special events such as the 3rd Annual Horizon Award and the Posse Foundation reminded me of much needed opportunities to groups frequently overlooked, not just in the film industry.
While the SFF has approximately 1/3 of its directors as female, that’s not representative of the real world. To "address the disparity between the numbers of female-to-male directors,” independent film producers Cassian Elwes (“Dallas Buyers Club”), Lynette Howell Taylor (“Captain Fantastic”) and Christine Vachon (“Carol”) established the competitive Horizon Award. Jack Black (“The Polka King”) and Carey Mulligan (“Mudbound”) presented the award to this year’s winners, Brittany “B Monet” Fennell and Andy Villanueva. These talented young women received not only an expense-paid Sundance experience, but a cash prize to further their creative studies and Shivani Rawat, CEO of ShivHans Pictures, donated $25,000.
Creating higher educational opportunities across the country for motivated and bright young students is what the Posse Foundation is all about. Route One Entertainment group sponsored an event at the St. Regis in Deer Valley, complete with displays from Porche and Gulf Stream Jets. Founder and President Deborah Bial
Horizon Award Winners Andy Villanueva and Brittany “B Monet” Fennell
Carey Mulligan waiting to present the 3rd Annual Horizon Award