Lawrence, Kansas is a city happy to be what it is: a city doing things in its own way, with free thinkers not trying to be anyone else. Lawrence has continually defined itself as an open, energetic and welcoming community. The arts and foodie scene can be enjoyed through Lawrence’s many art museums and galleries, and restaurants. You’ll find live music almost every day of the week in Lawrence’s live music venues. The walkable downtown district, known to the locals as “Mass Street” is the top destination in Kansas and offers unique shopping, coffee shops, and entertainment. Explore the history of the area at the Watkins Museum of History or with a self-guided tour. Lawrence is a college town with two universities, the University of Kansas (KU) and Haskell Indian Nations University. Explore the attractions on KU’s campus including the Natural History Museum, Dole Institute of Politics, Spencer Museum of Art, and DeBruce Center – where you can view Dr. James Naismith’s original rules of “basket ball”. Lawrence has no shortage of beautiful outdoor spaces to enjoy including more than 50 public parks, Clinton State Park, and Baker Wetlands. Explore all there is to do in Lawrence, KS!
FRIDAY, JAN. 28: ☀️ 🎥 @sundanceorg in Lawrence, Kansas starts TODAY and the @mamafilm1 team is headed to Liberty Hall!
2:30pm: Shorts Program:
Kicking the Clouds / United States – World Premiere.
Chilly and Milly / United States – World Premiere.
4:30pm: Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul / U.S.A. (102m.) – World Premiere.
7:30pm: Sirens / U.S.A. , Lebanon (80m.) – World Premiere.
Kicking the Clouds / United States
(Director: Sky Hopinka) — An experimental documentary centered on a 50 year old cassette tape of a Pechanga language lesson between the director’s grandmother and great-grandmother, and contextualized by an interview with his mother in his Pacific Northwest hometown. World Premiere. Fiction.
Chilly and Milly / United States
(Director and Screenwriter: William David Caballero, Producers: William David Caballero, Elaine Del Valle) — Exploring the director’s father’s chronic health problems, as a diabetic with kidney failure, and his mother’s role as his eternal caretaker. A combination of 3D-modeled/composited characters, with cinema verité scenes from a documentary shot over 13 years ago. World Premiere.
Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul / U.S.A.
(Director and Screenwriter: Adamma Ebo, Producers: Daniel Kaluuya, Adanne Ebo, Rowan Riley, Amandla Crichlow, Jesse Burgum, Matthew Cooper) — In the aftermath of a huge scandal, Trinitie Childs, the first lady of a prominent Southern Baptist megachurch, attempts to help her pastor husband, Lee-Curtis Childs, rebuild their congregation. Cast: Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown. World Premiere. Fiction.
Sirens / U.S.A. , Lebanon
(Director, Screenwriter and Producer: Rita Baghdadi, Producer: Camilla Hall) — On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East’s first all-female metal band, wrestle with friendship, sexuality and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars. World Premiere.
Locally Sponsored by CinemaKC and John & Naomi Shipp
SATURDAY, JAN. 29: Despite the KU basketball game tonight, this evening’s films: @everydayinkaimuki & Marte Um are SOLD OUT! Long live indie film and Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!
4:50 pm: Marte Um (Mars One) / Brazil (112m.) – World Premiere.
7:40pm:
ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) / U.S.A. – World Premiere.
Every Day In Kaimukī / U.S.A. (77m + 8m short.) – World Premiere. Fiction.
Marte Um (Mars One) / Brazil
(Director and Screenwriter: Gabriel Martins, Producer: Thiago Macêdo Correia) — In Brazil, a lower-middle-class Black family of four tries to keep their spirits up and their dreams going in the months that follow the election of a right-wing president, a man who represents everything they are not. Cast: Rejane Faria, Carlos Francisco, Camilla Souza, Cícero Lucas. World Premiere.
ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) / United States
(Director: Brit Hensel, Producers: Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavi Pillay, Tracy Rector) — This film explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker. World Premiere.
Every Day In Kaimukī / U.S.A.
(Director: Alika Tengan, Screenwriters: Naz Kawakami, Alika Tengan, Producers: Jesy Odio, Chapin Hall, Alika Tengan, Naz Kawakami) — A young man is determined to give his life meaning outside of Kaimukī, the small Hawaiian town where he grew up, even if it means leaving everything he’s ever known and loved behind. Cast: Naz Kawakami, Rina White, Holden Mandrial-Santos. World Premiere. Fiction.
SUNDAY, JAN. 30: Our final day of #sundance screenings starts at noon with @fcsl_film, Emergency, La Guerra Civil and finally @alicethemov – Thank you Lawrence for showing indie film all the love and to Liberty Hall for being an incredible venue!
12:00pm: Free Chol Soo Lee / U.S.A (83m.) – World Premiere.
2:20pm: Emergency / U.S.A (90m.) – World Premiere.
4:50pm: La Guerra Civil / U.K. (100m.) – World Premiere. Documentary.
7:30pm: Alice / U.S.A. (98.) – World Premiere.
Free Chol Soo Lee / U.S.A
(Directors: Julie Ha, Eugene Yi, Producers: Su Kim, Jean Tsien, Sona Jo, Julie Ha, Eugene Yi) — After a Korean immigrant is wrongly convicted of a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gang murder, Asian Americans unite as never before to free Chol Soo Lee. A former street hustler becomes the symbol for a landmark movement. But once out, he self-destructs, threatening the movement’s legacy and the man himself. World Premiere.
Emergency / U.S.A.
(Director: Carey Williams, Screenwriter: KD Davila, Producers: Marty Bowen, Isaac Klausner, John Fischer) — Ready for a night of partying, a group of Black and Latino college students must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police when faced with an unusual emergency. Cast: RJ Cyler, Donald Watkins, Sebastian Chacon, Sabrina Carpenter. World Premiere.
Alice / U.S.A.
(Director and Screenwriter: Krystin Ver Linden, Producer: Peter Lawson) — When a woman in servitude in 1800s Georgia escapes the 55-acre confines of her captor to discover the shocking reality that exists beyond the treeline…it’s 1973. Inspired by true events. Cast: Keke Palmer, Common, Jonny Lee Miller. Gaius Charles. World Premiere.
La Guerra Civil / U.K.
(Director: Eva Longoria Bastón, Producers: Eva Longoria Bastón, Grant Best, Bernardo Ruiz, Ben Spector, Andrea Cordoba) — The epic rivalry between iconic boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez in the 1990s sparked a cultural divide between Mexican nationals and Mexican-Americans. A chronicle of a battle that was more than a boxing rivalry, and examines a fascinating slice of the Latino experience in the process. World Premiere. Documentary.
All photos are copyrighted. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
“Building on our experience last year, we’ve discovered new possibilities of convergence, and we embrace the fact that we are now an expanded community in which active participation matters and audience presence — however and wherever it manifests — changes everything.”
“We are delighted to continue our Satellite Screen program in year two of our ongoing experiment into what a Festival can be, and this partnership expresses our strong belief in the vital contribution of regional cinemas in upholding a thriving cinema culture for independent artists and adventurous audiences. Sharing Festival films with these theaters and democratizing the audiences who can access the brand-new work expands the conversation we’ll be starting in Park City and on our Festival Platform, and it’s a privilege for Sundance, and an asset for the filmmakers.” – Tabitha Jackson, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming
Lela Meadow-Conner, Founder of mama.film, said, “We are so excited to bring the Sundance Film Festival experience to Kansas for the second year in a row and to be showcase the festival to audiences in Lawrence. Along with our Sundance Film Festival screenings we are thrilled to partner with several film organizations, makers and universities across the state to converge for a weekend a celebration of the amazing talent and creativity across our state.”
“Regional cinemas are a crucial part of independent film and are vital centers of discovery, conversation, and convening in their communities. We are looking forward to partnering with each of them to do what we all love: watch and talk about films together.” – Gina Duncan, Producing Director, Sundance Institute
SUNDANCE SATELLITE SCREENS
A message from Festival Director Tabitha Jackson on the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, scheduled for January 20–30, 2022.
The 2021 Festival unfolded online and through Satellite Screens across the country. Bold, distinctive, expressive works met their first audiences. There were breakout hits and beautiful discoveries — and to our relief, people showed up! Last year’s Festival welcomed more young people and more people who had never been able to participate before. There was nothing “virtual” about the connections forged in the New Frontier space or the shared experience of watching films that have stayed with us ever since; all of this was real.
In other words: It was Sundance, in a new form.
SUNDANCE SATELLITE SCREENS [2021 Official Partner]
Expanding beyond its Utah home, the Festival has created a network of partnerships to bring feature films and customized local programming — talks, events, artist meet-ups — to communities across the country. In addition to these Satellite Screen partnerships, the Institute will program screenings at The Ray in Park City and the Rose Bowl and Mission Tiki Drive-Ins in Los Angeles, health and safety guidelines permitting. Each Satellite Screen will create and host their own events, sharing local cultural conversations with broader Festival audiences, with most also screening selections from the 2021 program.
“These partners are the backbone of independent artistic communities across the country, where filmmakers are born and cinephiles are developed,” said Jackson. “We’re entering these partnerships because a healthy ecosystem for artists and audiences requires that independent cinemas across the country survive and thrive.”
Sundance Institute Announces Satellite Screen Partners for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival
mama.film named as one of Seven Satellite Screens
[Park City, UT] — The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 2022 Sundance Film Festival Satellite Screen partners, 7 independently owned arthouse cinemas across the United States that have been selected, and each will connect the Festival and its artists directly with local audiences. This year the Festival will take place not only in-person in its home state of Utah and online, but across seven other different states — California, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington — at its partner theaters. The 2022 Sundance Film Festival takes place January 20 – 30.
The selected Satellite Screen theaters are:
- Amherst Cinema in Amherst, Massachusetts
- a/perture cinema in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Indie Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee
- mama.film in Lawrence, Kansas
- Media Arts Center of San Diego / Digital Gym in San Diego, California
- Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, Washington
- SNF Parkway Theatre, home of the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore, Maryland
Each Satellite Screen will show a specially-curated selection from the Festival’s official program during the Festival’s closing weekend, Friday, January 28, through Sunday, January 30, 2022. The selections will speak to the breadth and diversity of the multifaceted official program, which will be announced later this year. Ticket details and on-sale dates are available through each individual theater’s box office.
“Regional cinemas are a crucial part of independent film and are vital centers of discovery, conversation, and convening in their communities. We are looking forward to partnering with each of them to do what we all love: watch and talk about films together,” said Gina Duncan, Producing Director, Sundance Institute.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Sundance Institute again to bring festival selections to Kansas,” said mama.film CEO & mother/founder Lela Meadow-Conner. “In 2021 we had the opportunity to bring Sundance Film Festival Films to Wichita and in 2022, we’re road tripping to Lawrence to screen films at the historic Liberty Hall, and we look forward to celebrating independent film with this community.”
“We’re also taking this opportunity to facilitate a convening of Kansas & Kansas City-region’s film communities – connecting filmmakers, festival organizers, programmers & curators, film students, and women in film with education and networking throughout the course of the weekend,” she said. Principal program partners include Free State Festival, Department of Film & Media Studies at the University of Kansas, Wichita State University School of Digital Arts & Shocker Studios, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission & National Endowment for the Arts, Explore Lawrence, Kansas City Film Office, Film Festival Alliance, Transgender Film Center, Women in Entertainment and Lawrence Arts Center.
Launched at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Satellite Screens are a partnership between Sundance Institute and regional cinemas and arts organizations that brings the Festival experience to communities across the country. Satellite Screens was designed with the intention of connecting audiences with independent films and filmmakers and engaging with artist communities across the country.
Sundance Film Festival requires all participants to be fully vaccinated to participate in the Festival in-person in Utah and to wear masks when inside any venues. Each Satellite Screen theater partner will be following these protocols as well as their own additional COVID-19 health policies.
The Festival will be taking place in Utah (Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort), as well as online. For more information, please follow the Festival news at Festival.Sundance.org and for information about mama.film visit mama.film/sundance.
# # #
Media contact:
Lela Meadow-Conner/lela@mama.film
323.810.6909
