The Screen International Podcast

Sundance directors discuss their World Cinema Dramatic films

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Episode notes

In a special edition of our podcast series, Screen International donned its winter gear and flew into Park City, Utah, for a chat with four international filmmakers at Sundance Film Festival 2020. Each director’s new film screened in the prestigious World Cinema Dramatic Competition section: Maïmouna Doucouré brought Cuties (France); Fernanda Valadez Identifying Features (Mexico/Spain); Visar Morina Exil (Germany/Belgium/Kosovo); and Aneil Karia Surge (UK). All four films address notions of belonging and human connection, yet in very different ways that reflect the filmmakers’ countries of origin and specific social issues. The directors talk about their stories, how they found financing, what kind of support their respective governments provide for content creators, and what they’re planning next. After this recording took place, several of our guests were honoured at the Sundance awards ceremony. Identifying Features earned the section’s audience award, while Valadez and Astrid Rondero won the juried screenplay prize. Doucouré won the section’s directing award, and Surge star Ben Whishaw won the section’s special jury award for acting. To subscribe to future episodes, search for the Screen podcast, which is available on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and a host of other podcast apps.