Once again this year, the pre-Sundance buzz is headline news worldwide, with The Daily Telegraph asking if, at age 30, the renowned festival still has its edge. There and in widespread coverage, the latest news from filmmaker Steve James leads the way. Steve’s new Kartemquin Films feature documentary “Life Itself” executive produced by Martin Scorsese will have its world premiere at this year’s festival, and he will also be honored during a 20th anniversary Sundance screening set for “Hoop Dreams,” his very first film, which is also one of history’s highest-grossing and most-acclaimed documentaries. Steve continues breaking new ground as a director and I am definitely a huge fan. I also have much love, respect and admiration for Loretta “LJ” Jeneski of Nonfiction Unlimited, the LA-based commercial production company that has represented Steve and many of the planet’s best documentary filmmakers for commercial and creative assignments since 1995. In 1994, “Hoop Dreams” swept every major documentary prize – including winning Sundance’s Audience Award as well as Peabody and Robert F. Kennedy Awards – and Steve was the first director LJ signed when she started Nonfiction the following year.
The 2014 Sundance Film Festival runs from 16-26 January in Park City, Utah. For more information please visit https://festival.sundance.org.
Congratulations to Steve James and his colleagues at Kartemquin Films, LJ and her colleagues at Nonfiction Unlimited, and everyone involved in this year’s fun in Park City. We hope you all have a wonderful time. Thank you for the inspiration!
