The first full-length film, Savvusanna s Sisters , by Anna Hints, an Estonian-French-Icelandic collaboration, has received a $40,000 production grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Fund. 1,100 projects from all over the world applied for support, while 18 were shortlisted.
The producer Marianne Ostrat said that the competition for support from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund is very intense. It is one of America s most important independent filmmaking organizations. There were 1,100 applications by filmmakers around the world. Of the 18 projects selected, only three have both film directors and producers from Europe, Ostrat said.
She added that going through such a tight selection is a huge recognition and feedback that the film is touching and its completion is considered important. A large number of documentaries supported by the Sundance Institute will be screened at the world s most important film festivals and nominated for an Oscar.