Mexican-US filmmaker Carlos López Estrada will deliver Sundance Film Festival: London’s keynote address at the festival’s third annual industry programme, with further speakers confirmed from Studiocanal, BFI, BBC Film, Film4, Bafta and Sky.
The festival runs at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9.
López Estrada’s director credits include his feature debut Blindpostting which opened Sundance in 2018, and animation Raya And The Last Dragon, which he co-directed with Don Hall.
As a producer, he is founder of Antigravity Academy, a production company specialising in creating opportunities for emerging talent. Antigravity’s first produced project, Dìdi (弟弟), written and directed by Sean Wang, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Utah and won the US dramatic audience award and the US dramatic special jury award for best ensemble cast. It will screen as Sundance Film Festival: London’s closing film.
Further features in the previously announced line-up include Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, David Zellner and Nathan Zellner’s Sasquatch Sunset and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Rob Peace.
“The Sundance Film Festival has become the home for my film community since 2018. I am so happy to join them in London and meet the many independent filmmakers who make up their global network,” said López Estrada.
The festival has confirmed speakers from the likes of Anton Corp, Bafta, Bankside Films, BFI, BFI London Film Festival, Bifa, BBC Film, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, Curzon Film, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Fable Pictures, Film Constellation, Film4, IMDb, The Ink Factory, Lee & Thompson, Monumental Pictures, Nowness, Protagonist, Rocket Science, Saatchi & Saatchi, Searchlight Pictures, Studiocanal, Sky, WestEnd Films, Western Edge Pictures and WME.
The industry talks programme this year will include discussing trends in film finance from both public and private funders; how filmmakers can make the leap from shorts to features; inspiring practical tips from how directors get the best performances from actors; and a deep-dive with the team from Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, including including Eugene Hernandez (director, Sundance Film Festival and public programming), Kim Yutani (Sundance Film Festival director of programming), Mike Plante (Sundance Film Festival senior programmer, short film), and Ana Souza (Sundance Film Festival manager, programming department and programmer).
In addition, the interactive pitch panel gives aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to pitch their film idea in front of an industry panel of top agents, financiers, sellers and producers who will offer personal feedback and advice.
Industry activities include a daily brunch where experts join industry newcomers for personal talks and advice and a daily happy hour for industry networking.
“We’re so proud of the way Sundance London’s industry programme has grown in its first two iterations and know this 2024 industry programme will be our best yet,” said Wendy Mitchell, Sundance Film Festival: London producer. “We hope that our industry attendees aren’t just inspired by the experts they hear speaking on stage during talks, panels and masterclasses, but are also fostering lasting connections during our intimate brunch discussions and buzzy happy hours.”
The full list of speakers will be confirmed in late May. The industry talks are only open to industry badgeholders, and there will additionally be a series of public, ticketed talks included at the festival, to be announced on May 7.
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