UM Student Documentary Wins Big at Sundance Film Festival
MISSOULA – A short documentary produced by eight seniors in the filmmaking program at the University of Montana School of Media Arts recently won several awards after its premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
The film “Everyone in Between” was one of 12 selected to premiere at the festival, and it won best original score, best editing, best directing and best LGBTQ film in the festival’s Fusion Doc Challenge. In addition, the film won a distribution deal with Fusion networks.
UM School of Media Arts student filmmakers (left to right) Hiroka Matsushima, Andrew Daly, Whitney Skauge, Lane Brown, Paris Bread, Sean Rudolf celebrate the premiere of their short documentary “Everyone in Between” at Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Not pictured: Production team members Sean Guslander and Jeffrey Neubauer. (Photo: UM)
It was created in five days as part of the Fusion Doc Challenge by Whitney Skauge of Bozeman; Sean Guslander of Missoula; Drew Daly of Spokane, Washington; Paris Bread of Great Falls; Jeffrey Neubauer of Billings; Hiroka Matsushima of Yokohama, Japan; Lane Brown of Missoula; and Sean Rudolf of Helena. It highlights, in a progressive manner, social issues typically not addressed in mainstream media. It profiles the lives of two transgendered women working on their personal identity and focuses on larger issues of gender nonconformity.
“As seniors in the film program, this group worked hard for this career-defining moment,” said Talena Sanders, a UM School of Media Arts assistant professor. “Acceptance into Slamdance is a rare occasion for any filmmaker, and these media arts students are proud to represent the University of Montana, the Missoula community and Montana with such high-caliber work.”
The student filmmakers attended Slamdance, where they met and networked with professional filmmakers and industry leaders, providing a chance to bridge their academic careers with real-world applications.
As part of the Fusion Doc Challenge, the film also will screen in Missoula during the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in February.
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