Please join Film Fatales and United Airlines for a panel discussion and reception during the Sundance Film Festival.
Discover groundbreaking works of independent cinema in this panel highlighting visionary filmmakers who directed feature films premiering at Sundance including Josephine Decker (Chasing Summer), Liz Sargent (Take Me Home), and NB Mager (Run Amok). Moderated by Imani Davis (American Cinematheque). At a time when funding for the arts is drying up, learn from Film Fatales members with Sundance premieres about how they got their films funded and made. How helpful are proof of concepts? What types of institutional support or corporate sponsorships are available? What is the path forward in the current economic climate? Learn about evolving techniques in storytelling, the importance of diverse perspectives, and how these iconic filmmakers are pushing the boundaries of cinema on screen and off. Followed by a networking reception presented by United Airlines.
Josephine Decker is a filmmaker and performer whose work delves into women’s interiority and sexuality. Her feature film Shirley (starring Elisabeth Moss) won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Madeline’s Madeline also played at the Festival and earned nominations at the Gotham Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Liz Sargent is a Korean American adoptee. The proof-of-concept short Take Me Home premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, won American Cinematheque’s 2024 PROOF Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, and screened at the White House for the Olmstead decision’s 25th anniversary (2024). Its feature pitch won the 2025 Tribeca Festival’s AT&T Untold Stories Award.
NB Mager is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker whose recent works include the Oscar-qualifying short Run Amok and the web series Quarantine, I Love You (featured in Beyond Film at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival). Her work has received grants and awards from arts organizations and film festivals across the country.
Imani Davis is film programmer at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and also a producer and writer. At the American Cinematheque, a 501c3 nonprofit boasting over 1,600 film screenings a year, Imani has worked to put on events with A-list filmmakers and talent such as Sofia Coppola, Spike Lee, Sean Baker, Jordan Peele, Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Damien Chazelle, Christopher Nolan, and many more. Imani is also the founder and lead programmer of the American Cinematheque’s newest short film festival called PROOF, which is the only festival completely dedicated to proof-of-concept short films.
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Formed in 1974, the Utah Film Commission is part of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the Utah Office of Tourism. Our mission is to promote the entire state of Utah for film, television and commercial production and foster the development of local talent, industry and crew.
