Sundance Ones to Watch: Debut Directors

Five first-time feature doc directors on their journey to Sundance

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We are now a week on from the start of the LA fires and still reeling from the ongoing devastation. As we continue to rebuild the city in the months to come, I will be covering its impact on our community and how best to support one another. If you have any resource links like this one you’d like me to share, please send them my way. Thanks for reading Doc Voices, B.

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Five first-time doc makers describe the journey to Park City

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 23. I’ll be in Park City for the first half of the festival and we’ll bring you extensive coverage before, during, and after. Follow Pure Nonfiction on Instagram as we have special guests take over our feed. Here on Doc Voices, we’re rolling out our Ones to Watch series profiling a range of talents at the festival

We start with Debut Directors behind documentaries playing across the Competition and Premieres section:

Still from Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore

We start with directors who are making their debut with docs playing across the Competition and Premieres sections:

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore by Shoshannah Stern

Prime Minister by Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe

Deaf President Now! by Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim

André is an Idiot by Tonny Benna

Seeds by Brittany Shyne

Still from Seeds

Stay tuned in the following weeks as I profile more Editors, Cinematographers, Producers and more.

If you’ll be in Park City, reach out!

How I became a documentary director:

I started my career as a shorts director, producer, and editor in my early twenties. I co-founded the video arm of GOOD Magazine around 2006, back when online video content was still a novel thing. I developed and produced many projects including a daily news show, international mini-docs, and a graphic design series. Eventually, I wanted a new challenge, and realized that my heart was in the edit room. So I took the leap into feature documentary editing, beginning with Bully (2011). Over the next decade I worked with some incredible directors (and editors) and learned so much watching their processes: shooting, interviewing, and crafting a story from a mountain of footage with no script. After many years of exclusively editing, I found myself missing the camaraderie you get in the field and the joy of managing a creative team. I’ve always loved every aspect of the filmmaking process, so it’s a thrill to be having my hands on all of it again.

Still from Prime Minister

My motivations for telling this story:

I have vivid memories of watching Jacinda Ardern’s press briefings during the height of the Covid pandemic and wishing she were in charge here. I couldn’t have imagined I’d get a chance to make a movie about her four years later.

The world is at a perilous political crossroads, and even back in 2020, I recall feeling that we desperately needed the kind of competent, compassionate leadership she represents. When I learned that her husband Clarke Gayford filmed behind the scenes of her rise to power and administration, I realized this story could be a documentary goldmine.

The footage gave the most intimate access to a politician I had ever seen. She is also an amazing character: vulnerable, open, funny, and wickedly smart. As a mother of two young children, I was especially drawn to how she navigated crises while parenting her daughter, Neve. She’s only the second head of state in history to have a child while in office! The world feels particularly dark at the moment. I hope her story can be a much-needed ray of light, and that the way she confronts the darkness, with courage and optimism, can inspire others.

Prime Minister premieres at January 24, 12pm MST at Eccles Theatre