A youngster and his parents square off in a competitive game of Scrabble yet this match-up has none of the familiar at-home board game trappings. Instead we see each player bringing along a string of icons reflecting his or her unique personalities and imaginations onto a grid consisting of intersecting city streets in an effort to lay claim to key architectural pathways designed after Scrabble game board graphics.
For example, the teenager has an astronaut tethered to an ascending string, an alien craft from an outer galaxy, a large subterranean octopus, and a cannon-laden Spanish galleon.
A voiceover notes that we all have “words that want to come out and play.”
An end tag slogan asks, “What words will you bring to the table?”
This complex mesh of live-action footage and CG animation was directed by James Wahlberg of Rhythm+Hues for Young & Rubicam, Irvine, Calif. This :40 (with :30, :20 and :15 versions) has been customized for worldwide release (except for the U.S.).
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