Postproduction/digital media company Utopic has hired Christopher Elliott as director of finishing. He served in the same capacity at Red Car for 10 years. Prior to that, he was on the staff at Optimus where he worked with Tim Kloehn, Utopic’s co-owner and editor.
Elliott’s move to Utopic also reunites him with fellow Red Car alumnus, Kevin O’Rourke, Utopic’s motion graphics designer who came on board in June. O’Rourke is a two-time AICE nominee for Best Motion Graphics Design.
Elliott’s credits include assorted national spots, such as McDonald’s Super Bowl 2013 ad “All American,” and McDonald’s Mighty Wings’ “Play Offs” (both directed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA), as well as Reeses Puffs’ “Ultimate Sessions,” and Miller Light “See and Say” and “Dating.”
Additionally Elliott has lent his talent to a number of short films and documentaries, including the NEA Big Read Series directed by Larry Bridges. Also, Elliott edited the animated short Stubble Trouble for Calabash Animation, which earned an Oscar nod in the Best Animated Short Category in 2001.
Michelle Satter To Be Honored At Sundance Film Festival Gala
The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced details for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s gala fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute, which will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. The event will be an evening in celebration of Michelle Satter, founding sr. director of artist programs at Sundance Institute, for her longstanding commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through the Sundance Labs, where visionary artists convene to develop groundbreaking projects through an in-depth creative process, for the past four decades. The annual Vanguard Awards will be presented during the evening to Sean Wang, writer and director of Dìdi, and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, co-directors of Sugarcane, who premiered their films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The annual gala enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists from all over the world. The 2025 event is made possible with the generous support of Google TV. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025 for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling.
“For over four decades Michelle has been devoted to truly championing independent storytellers,” said Amanda Kelso, acting CEO of Sundance Institute. “She has encouraged artists to own their voice, learn their craft, become fierce leaders, and develop their resilience in our changing ecosystem. Her life-long commitment to supporting artists, especially in underrepresented... Read More