Sandbox Films has promoted Jessica Harrop to executive director of the company. In her new role, she will lead in strategic planning, editorial decision-making and the building of new partnerships and initiatives at the nonfiction studio.
Harrop is an Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning producer. She played a pivotal role in launching and growing Sandbox Films, joining the team before the company’s official formation. Serving for the past five years as the head of production and development, she was instrumental in growing the slate of films and played a major role in all productions including Sara Dosa’s Oscar-nominated “Fire of Love.” Before Sandbox Films, she worked as a freelance showrunner, producer and writer for science television.
“I couldn’t be more excited to take on this new role at Sandbox Films, a company that I helped build from the ground up, with a mission I care deeply about,” Harrop said in a statement.
Harrop is an Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning producer. She played a pivotal role in launching and growing Sandbox Films, joining the team before the company’s official formation. Serving for the past five years as the head of production and development, she was instrumental in growing the slate of films and played a major role in all productions including Sara Dosa’s Oscar-nominated “Fire of Love.” Before Sandbox Films, she worked as a freelance showrunner, producer and writer for science television.
“I couldn’t be more excited to take on this new role at Sandbox Films, a company that I helped build from the ground up, with a mission I care deeply about,” Harrop said in a statement.
- 5/9/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Science is one of the central themes of leading European doc film festival Cph:dox. Alongside the broad selection of films on offer in the Cph:science section, the event also opens the floor to conversations on the role of science docs with key players, ranging from filmmakers and producers to commissioners and public broadcasters.
Entitled “Widening the Scopes of Science Docs,” the afternoon conference talk on Thursday addressed the shift in contemporary science doc filmmaking away from overt didacticism.
Moderated by Kat Cizek, a Peabody- and Emmy-winning documentarian and author (“A Short History of the Highrise”), the panel brought together Jessica Harrop, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and founding member of Sandbox Films (“Fire of Love”), Alex Villard-Faure, commissioning editor at Arte, and French filmmaker Marius Léna.
In his upcoming series, “Origins: A Tale of Light” (a working title), Villard-Faure goes back in time to tell the history of the universe – from the unprecedented perspective of light,...
Entitled “Widening the Scopes of Science Docs,” the afternoon conference talk on Thursday addressed the shift in contemporary science doc filmmaking away from overt didacticism.
Moderated by Kat Cizek, a Peabody- and Emmy-winning documentarian and author (“A Short History of the Highrise”), the panel brought together Jessica Harrop, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and founding member of Sandbox Films (“Fire of Love”), Alex Villard-Faure, commissioning editor at Arte, and French filmmaker Marius Léna.
In his upcoming series, “Origins: A Tale of Light” (a working title), Villard-Faure goes back in time to tell the history of the universe – from the unprecedented perspective of light,...
- 3/22/2024
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Filmmakers Alex Gibney, Johan Grimonprez and Laura Huertas Millan, along with industry figures Jessica Harrop from Sandbox and Marie Nelson from Hot Docs will be among the speakers at Cph:conference, the discussion program at documentary festival Cph:dox.
The program, which is curated in partnership with the training initiative Documentary Campus, has the theme “rebuilding narratives.”
The conference will kick off on March 18 with a collaboration with the Disco Network – made up of Ambulante, Aflamuna, DocsMX, Doc Society, DocSP, Docubox, In-Docs and India Docs – who will present and workshop “Our Declaration of Independence.” This session, led by Jad Abi-Khalil (Aflamuna) and Beadie Finzi (Doc Society), is a result of an initiative aiming to “articulate the importance of independent documentaries to culture, society and democracy, and to advocate for the resources and platforms they deserve.”
In the mornings of March 19-21, there will be thought-provoking conversations with filmmakers featured in this year’s Cph:dox program.
The program, which is curated in partnership with the training initiative Documentary Campus, has the theme “rebuilding narratives.”
The conference will kick off on March 18 with a collaboration with the Disco Network – made up of Ambulante, Aflamuna, DocsMX, Doc Society, DocSP, Docubox, In-Docs and India Docs – who will present and workshop “Our Declaration of Independence.” This session, led by Jad Abi-Khalil (Aflamuna) and Beadie Finzi (Doc Society), is a result of an initiative aiming to “articulate the importance of independent documentaries to culture, society and democracy, and to advocate for the resources and platforms they deserve.”
In the mornings of March 19-21, there will be thought-provoking conversations with filmmakers featured in this year’s Cph:dox program.
- 2/14/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Sandbox Films (Fire of Love) and Xtr (Ascension) have teamed to produce feature doc A Life Illuminated, exploring the life and legacy of pioneering marine biologist Edie Widder, in association with ocean exploration nonprofit OceanX.
Set to direct the pic is Tasha Van Zandt, the filmmaker behind such award-winning documentaries as After Antarctica, about legendary polar explorer Will Steger, and One Thousand Stories, about renowned artist Jr.
A Life Illuminated watches as Widder undertakes an extraordinary journey into the magical world of bioluminescence, through which she decodes the language of light that allows deep-sea life to communicate in complete darkness. It’s Widder’s unceasing need to understand and communicate with the most enigmatic forms of life on Earth that leads her to dive into the unknown, exploring the profound mysteries hidden beneath the ocean’s surface.
The film will draw upon Widder’s vast archive, from her earliest dives in deep sea submersibles,...
Set to direct the pic is Tasha Van Zandt, the filmmaker behind such award-winning documentaries as After Antarctica, about legendary polar explorer Will Steger, and One Thousand Stories, about renowned artist Jr.
A Life Illuminated watches as Widder undertakes an extraordinary journey into the magical world of bioluminescence, through which she decodes the language of light that allows deep-sea life to communicate in complete darkness. It’s Widder’s unceasing need to understand and communicate with the most enigmatic forms of life on Earth that leads her to dive into the unknown, exploring the profound mysteries hidden beneath the ocean’s surface.
The film will draw upon Widder’s vast archive, from her earliest dives in deep sea submersibles,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Sandbox Films — the non-fiction studio behind Oscar nominee Fire of Love — has opened new New York City offices, featuring an Atmos theater.
In addition to the 22-seat theater, the studio, located in the Flatiron District, includes two edit suites and a multimedia facility designed to support a variety of production needs.
“We put a lot of thought into the design. We want our nerdy, indie doc filmmakers to feel as loved as A-list celebrities. Because, to us, they are A-list celebrities,” founder Greg Boustead tells The Hollywood Reporter. “These doc spaces don’t traditionally get the love or polish or fanfare.”
Sandbox Films Studio screening room
Boustead, who leads Sandbox with head of production and development, Jessica Harrop, notes that the goal is to bring the teams behind Sandbox productions, which focus on science-centric storytelling, under one roof. The facilities will soon be used by Sandbox production Nocturnes, which centers...
In addition to the 22-seat theater, the studio, located in the Flatiron District, includes two edit suites and a multimedia facility designed to support a variety of production needs.
“We put a lot of thought into the design. We want our nerdy, indie doc filmmakers to feel as loved as A-list celebrities. Because, to us, they are A-list celebrities,” founder Greg Boustead tells The Hollywood Reporter. “These doc spaces don’t traditionally get the love or polish or fanfare.”
Sandbox Films Studio screening room
Boustead, who leads Sandbox with head of production and development, Jessica Harrop, notes that the goal is to bring the teams behind Sandbox productions, which focus on science-centric storytelling, under one roof. The facilities will soon be used by Sandbox production Nocturnes, which centers...
- 11/6/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With documentary distribution in a state of disruption, most independent nonfiction filmmakers have been left on their own to find new and creative solutions to ensure that their films reach audiences.
Ian Cheney is the latest director to turn to a bespoke distribution method for his docu “The Arc of Oblivion.” Cheney wrote, edited, and directed the film, which explores people’s impulse toward preservation and how it relates to the natural world, memory and legacy. During the course of the docu, produced by Sandbox Films, a wooden ark is constructed on Cheney’s parent’s property in Maine. The structure serves as both a physical storage space for archival materials and a symbolic representation of humanity’s desire to retain meaning in an impermanent world.
During the month of August, Cheney, along with Sandbox Films’ Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop decided to transform the ark into the Ark Light...
Ian Cheney is the latest director to turn to a bespoke distribution method for his docu “The Arc of Oblivion.” Cheney wrote, edited, and directed the film, which explores people’s impulse toward preservation and how it relates to the natural world, memory and legacy. During the course of the docu, produced by Sandbox Films, a wooden ark is constructed on Cheney’s parent’s property in Maine. The structure serves as both a physical storage space for archival materials and a symbolic representation of humanity’s desire to retain meaning in an impermanent world.
During the month of August, Cheney, along with Sandbox Films’ Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop decided to transform the ark into the Ark Light...
- 8/8/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
After launching less than three years ago, production company Sandbox films celebrated Oscars weekend this year with a nominated documentary, “Fire of Love.” The company will also premiere two new documentary films, “Confessions of a Good Samaritan” from Penny Lane and “The Arc of Oblivion” from Ian Cheney.
Founding director Greg Boustead tells Variety that the boutique company seeks to share stories that pack an emotional punch, as he felt that element was often missing when it came to the science non-fiction genre. “One of the motivations for founding a company is to find those stories of where science and technology intersect with society in interesting and unexpected ways,” Boustead says.
Cheney’s film is executive produced by Werner Herzog. Set against the backdrop of the filmmaker’s quixotic quest to build an ark in Maine, the doc heads far afield — to salt mines in the Alps, fjords in the...
Founding director Greg Boustead tells Variety that the boutique company seeks to share stories that pack an emotional punch, as he felt that element was often missing when it came to the science non-fiction genre. “One of the motivations for founding a company is to find those stories of where science and technology intersect with society in interesting and unexpected ways,” Boustead says.
Cheney’s film is executive produced by Werner Herzog. Set against the backdrop of the filmmaker’s quixotic quest to build an ark in Maine, the doc heads far afield — to salt mines in the Alps, fjords in the...
- 3/13/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The Oscar-nominated documentary “Fire of Love” is getting the narrative remake treatment.
The acclaimed non-fiction movie, concerning the scientific research and on-the-job romance of French volcanologist filmmakers Katia and Maurice Krafft, will become a live-action narrative feature film. Searchlight Pictures snagged remake rights to the acclaimed documentary, which debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before being acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films.
Searchlight will finance and distribute, with Jamie Patricof’s Hunting Lane developing and producing. “Fire of Love” director/producer Sara Dosa and producer Shane Boris are attached to produce this version as well, while producer Ina Fichman will be an executive producer. Other executive producers include Josh Braun and Ben Braun from Submarine Deluxe, and Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop from Sandbox Films.
Also Read:
Oscar Voting Has Begun: Here’s What Not to Do, Voters
There is no word on who will direct the picture or anything regarding casting.
The acclaimed non-fiction movie, concerning the scientific research and on-the-job romance of French volcanologist filmmakers Katia and Maurice Krafft, will become a live-action narrative feature film. Searchlight Pictures snagged remake rights to the acclaimed documentary, which debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival before being acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films.
Searchlight will finance and distribute, with Jamie Patricof’s Hunting Lane developing and producing. “Fire of Love” director/producer Sara Dosa and producer Shane Boris are attached to produce this version as well, while producer Ina Fichman will be an executive producer. Other executive producers include Josh Braun and Ben Braun from Submarine Deluxe, and Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop from Sandbox Films.
Also Read:
Oscar Voting Has Begun: Here’s What Not to Do, Voters
There is no word on who will direct the picture or anything regarding casting.
- 3/2/2023
- by Scott Mendelson
- The Wrap
The most romantic documentary of all time may be getting the full-fledged romance movie treatment. Searchlight Pictures is making a deal to remake “Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa’s Oscar-nominated doc about French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, into a narrative feature film, IndieWire has confirmed.
Dosa’s original film, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of the Kraffts’ two romances: with each other and with volcanoes. Narrated by filmmaker Miranda July, the film uses archival footage videotaped by the two scientists during their research to recount their lives, which ended tragically in a volcanic eruption in 1991.
No director or screenwriter is attached to the narrative remake of the documentary, but Dosa and the documentary’s producer Shane Boris are both on board the project as producers. Huntin Lane productions will develop the film and produce, while Searchlight will finance and distribute. Ina Fichman, who produced the original documentary,...
Dosa’s original film, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of the Kraffts’ two romances: with each other and with volcanoes. Narrated by filmmaker Miranda July, the film uses archival footage videotaped by the two scientists during their research to recount their lives, which ended tragically in a volcanic eruption in 1991.
No director or screenwriter is attached to the narrative remake of the documentary, but Dosa and the documentary’s producer Shane Boris are both on board the project as producers. Huntin Lane productions will develop the film and produce, while Searchlight will finance and distribute. Ina Fichman, who produced the original documentary,...
- 3/2/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Searchlight Pictures is making a deal to turn Fire of Love into a narrative feature. The film, which tells the story of the scientific research and romance of preeminent French volcanologist filmmakers Katia and Maurice Krafft, is a frontrunner in the Oscar race for Best Documentary after premiering atthe 2022 Sundance Film Festival, winning a Jury Prize and being acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films.
The docu is filled with stunning footage of the couple braving the dangers of volcanoes that exploded and spewed red-hot lava, but the core of the tale that lends itself so well to a narrative version is the love story between them, before they paid the ultimate price for their passionate pursuit of erupting volcanoes. The couple died together in a volcanic eruption in 1991.
Searchlight Pictures will finance and distribute, and Jamie Patricof’s Hunting Lane will develop and produce. Fire of Love director-producer Sara Dosa...
The docu is filled with stunning footage of the couple braving the dangers of volcanoes that exploded and spewed red-hot lava, but the core of the tale that lends itself so well to a narrative version is the love story between them, before they paid the ultimate price for their passionate pursuit of erupting volcanoes. The couple died together in a volcanic eruption in 1991.
Searchlight Pictures will finance and distribute, and Jamie Patricof’s Hunting Lane will develop and produce. Fire of Love director-producer Sara Dosa...
- 3/2/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Cph:dox also sets work-in-progress, Change co-production selections.
New feature documentaries from Honeyland director Ljubomir Stefanov and Ascension filmmaker Jessica Kingdon are among the 33 projects selected for Cph:Forum, the financing and co-production market of Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.
Macedonian filmmaker Stefanov is presenting House of Earth, about a transgender sex worker who returns to her Roma community after 30 years on the run, only to be torn between her biological kin and her chosen queer family. The Macedonian-us co-production is produced by Maya E. Rudolph and Sarah D’hanens, and is looking for €405,000 funding to supplement its €45,000 in place from Louverture Films and private equity.
New feature documentaries from Honeyland director Ljubomir Stefanov and Ascension filmmaker Jessica Kingdon are among the 33 projects selected for Cph:Forum, the financing and co-production market of Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.
Macedonian filmmaker Stefanov is presenting House of Earth, about a transgender sex worker who returns to her Roma community after 30 years on the run, only to be torn between her biological kin and her chosen queer family. The Macedonian-us co-production is produced by Maya E. Rudolph and Sarah D’hanens, and is looking for €405,000 funding to supplement its €45,000 in place from Louverture Films and private equity.
- 2/10/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films have announced the 10 projects and filmmaking teams selected as the latest recipients of grants from the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund.
Related Story Sundance Film Festival 2023 To Show 25th Anniversary Edition Of 'Slam', Uncensored Director's Cut Of 'The Doom Generation' Related Story Sundance Institute Unveils 35 Documentary Projects To Receive 1.4M In Grants; 2022 Marks 20th Anniversary Of Documentary Film Program Related Story Sundance Unveils Ticketing Details, On-Sale Dates & Venues For 2023 Film Festival As Online Platform Launches
The fund offers grants to projects in stages ranging from development to post-production, along with engagement events and other opportunities for independent artists seeking to explore the intrinsic link between science and culture through innovative nonfiction storytelling. The 10 selected project teams will receive non-recoupable grants totaling 300,000, also claiming bespoke film support and joining Sundance Institute’s year-round artist community, with opportunities to connect with Sundance’s network of alumni and creative advisors,...
Related Story Sundance Film Festival 2023 To Show 25th Anniversary Edition Of 'Slam', Uncensored Director's Cut Of 'The Doom Generation' Related Story Sundance Institute Unveils 35 Documentary Projects To Receive 1.4M In Grants; 2022 Marks 20th Anniversary Of Documentary Film Program Related Story Sundance Unveils Ticketing Details, On-Sale Dates & Venues For 2023 Film Festival As Online Platform Launches
The fund offers grants to projects in stages ranging from development to post-production, along with engagement events and other opportunities for independent artists seeking to explore the intrinsic link between science and culture through innovative nonfiction storytelling. The 10 selected project teams will receive non-recoupable grants totaling 300,000, also claiming bespoke film support and joining Sundance Institute’s year-round artist community, with opportunities to connect with Sundance’s network of alumni and creative advisors,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon in association with National Geographic Documentary Films said director Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love will cross 1 million at the box office this weekend, becoming the biggest documentary release of the year for combined domestic and international gross. The film opened this summer and is entering its ninth week in theaters nationally. It will stream on Disney+ later this year.
National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the worldwide rights to Fire of Love following its Sundance debut (awarded the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award). Produced by Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa, the Miranda July-narrated film explores the passionate lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through their striking, rare archival footage.
Executive Producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of National Geographic Documentary Films and Josh Braun and Dan Braun of Submarine.
The intrepid scientists captured some of the most spectacular imagery...
National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the worldwide rights to Fire of Love following its Sundance debut (awarded the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award). Produced by Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa, the Miranda July-narrated film explores the passionate lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through their striking, rare archival footage.
Executive Producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of National Geographic Documentary Films and Josh Braun and Dan Braun of Submarine.
The intrepid scientists captured some of the most spectacular imagery...
- 9/2/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Sandbox Films and Gamechanger Films will develop “Under the Dream,” a new documentary feature that will be co-directed and co-produced by Saelyx Finna, Mia Imani and Laurie Polisky. The film is a creative documentary about the uncharted realm of dream technology and the Black-led movement to protect our minds at night. Gamechanger CEO Effie Brown, and Sandbox Film’s Jessica Harrop, head of production and development, and founding director Greg Boustead will be executive producers on the project.
Sandbox is the documentary studio behind “Fire of Love,” a look at married volcanologists that debuted at Sundance before selling to National Geographic Documentary Films, and Gamechanger Films is the production company behind the upcoming A24 release “The Inspection.”
“Under the Dream” was the recipient of the new creative science nonfiction accelerator, which is a collaboration between Gamechanger and Sandbox. The initiative was launched last year as an open-call award designed to amplify diversity,...
Sandbox is the documentary studio behind “Fire of Love,” a look at married volcanologists that debuted at Sundance before selling to National Geographic Documentary Films, and Gamechanger Films is the production company behind the upcoming A24 release “The Inspection.”
“Under the Dream” was the recipient of the new creative science nonfiction accelerator, which is a collaboration between Gamechanger and Sandbox. The initiative was launched last year as an open-call award designed to amplify diversity,...
- 8/31/2022
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.
Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).
Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...
The Sundance Institute has unveiled the producers and the projects selected for this summer’s Producers Lab and Producers Summit. Taking place July 25-28 and July 29-31, respectively, the events are being held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Producers Lab will feature six fiction films’ and five nonfiction films’ producers and their projects while the summit will host 40 industry insiders and 26 indie filmmakers.
Advisors for the feature film program include David Hinojosa (Zola, Bodies Bodies Bodies), Amy Lo (Nancy, Sugar), Riva Marker (The Guilty, Relic), Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jason Michael Berman (Nine Days, Uncorked) while the documentary film program features Daffodil Altan (PBS’ Frontline), Violet Feng (Hidden Letters, Tigre Gente), Andrea Meditch (Ernie & Joe, Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives, Softie) and Amanda Spain (MSNBC Films).
Industry participants in this year’s summit include Maria Altamirano...
- 7/25/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sundance Institute, the nonprofit organization that puts on the yearly film festival in Park City, has announced the entrants for its Producers Lab and Producers Summit.
Both events, the former taking place from July 25 to 28 and the latter from July 29 to 31, will be held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Institute picked six fiction film and five non-fiction film producers and their projects. Producers Lab and Producers Summit, which counts more than 40 industry leaders and 26 independent filmmakers among its participants, supports up-and-coming producers through year-round mentorship, granting, educational resources, strategic introductions, and networking opportunities with the industry.
“It has been three years since we have been able to gather in person, and over this time, the landscape for independent storytelling has shifted dramatically. It’s never been more critical to work to create a sustainable future for independent producers, a key priority for the Lab and Summit,...
Both events, the former taking place from July 25 to 28 and the latter from July 29 to 31, will be held in person at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort. The Institute picked six fiction film and five non-fiction film producers and their projects. Producers Lab and Producers Summit, which counts more than 40 industry leaders and 26 independent filmmakers among its participants, supports up-and-coming producers through year-round mentorship, granting, educational resources, strategic introductions, and networking opportunities with the industry.
“It has been three years since we have been able to gather in person, and over this time, the landscape for independent storytelling has shifted dramatically. It’s never been more critical to work to create a sustainable future for independent producers, a key priority for the Lab and Summit,...
- 7/25/2022
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
The Sundance Institute has named the participants for its 2022 Producers Lab and Summit, both of which are set to take place in person this year at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort.
The Fellows and projects selected for the Lab’s Feature Film Program are Apoorva Guru Charan (The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper), Leah Chen Baker (The President’s Cake), Eli Raskin (Starfuckers), Chloe Sabin (Sales Per Hour), and the duo of Helena Sardinha and Doménica Castro (Huella). Those set for the Lab’s Documentary Film Program are Lindsey Dryden (Untitled Dwarfism Project), Yoni Golijov (Untitled Sura Mallouh Project), Dawne Langford (Untitled Baltimore Project), Neyda Martinez (Bartolo) and Igor Myakotin (Queendom).
Jade Jackson (Losa), Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Forward), Fox Maxy (Water Tight), Albert Tholen and Aiko Masubuchi (Earthquake), and Séverine Tibi (Birthday) will participate in the Producers Summit on the Fiction Features side, with Nonfiction Feature participants to include Jude Chehab...
The Fellows and projects selected for the Lab’s Feature Film Program are Apoorva Guru Charan (The Rotting Of Casey Culpepper), Leah Chen Baker (The President’s Cake), Eli Raskin (Starfuckers), Chloe Sabin (Sales Per Hour), and the duo of Helena Sardinha and Doménica Castro (Huella). Those set for the Lab’s Documentary Film Program are Lindsey Dryden (Untitled Dwarfism Project), Yoni Golijov (Untitled Sura Mallouh Project), Dawne Langford (Untitled Baltimore Project), Neyda Martinez (Bartolo) and Igor Myakotin (Queendom).
Jade Jackson (Losa), Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Forward), Fox Maxy (Water Tight), Albert Tholen and Aiko Masubuchi (Earthquake), and Séverine Tibi (Birthday) will participate in the Producers Summit on the Fiction Features side, with Nonfiction Feature participants to include Jude Chehab...
- 7/25/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Two lovers, countless volcanoes, and hundreds of hours of footage: “Fire of Love” has an engulfing heat that viewers, much like the documentary’s subjects Maurice and Katia Krafft, can’t help but run toward.
As IndieWire can exclusively announce, National Geographic Documentary Films and Neon will debut the Sundance award-winning documentary “Fire of Love” in theaters July 6. Directed by Sara Dosa (“The Seer and the Unseen”) and narrated by filmmaker Miranda July (“Kajillionaire”), “Fire of Love” centers on married couple Maurice and Katia Krafft who, after meeting on a blind date, share a fascination with explosive volcanoes. IndieWire also shares the exclusive trailer below.
After debuting at 2022 Sundance, “Fire of Love” won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. After its July 6 theatrical premiere in select cities, the film will roll out in theaters nationwide before eventually streaming on Disney+. (IndieWire featured the film on its list of 35 Movies to Know for the 2023 Oscar Race.
As IndieWire can exclusively announce, National Geographic Documentary Films and Neon will debut the Sundance award-winning documentary “Fire of Love” in theaters July 6. Directed by Sara Dosa (“The Seer and the Unseen”) and narrated by filmmaker Miranda July (“Kajillionaire”), “Fire of Love” centers on married couple Maurice and Katia Krafft who, after meeting on a blind date, share a fascination with explosive volcanoes. IndieWire also shares the exclusive trailer below.
After debuting at 2022 Sundance, “Fire of Love” won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. After its July 6 theatrical premiere in select cities, the film will roll out in theaters nationwide before eventually streaming on Disney+. (IndieWire featured the film on its list of 35 Movies to Know for the 2023 Oscar Race.
- 6/1/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Neon will partner with National Geographic to release Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” documentary, following a successful Sundance debut earlier this year. Neon is planning a theatrical release for this summer, with a streaming release on Disney+ set for later this year.
Dosa’s documentary follows the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through rare archival footage. The love story is tinged with passion and tragedy, as the two died while exploring and photographing a volcanic explosion, doing the very thing that brought them together. The film kicked off Sundance’s U.S. documentary competition, and won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the worldwide rights following the film’s Sundance premiere.
Narrated by Miranda July, the film is produced by Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa. Executive producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of...
Dosa’s documentary follows the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through rare archival footage. The love story is tinged with passion and tragedy, as the two died while exploring and photographing a volcanic explosion, doing the very thing that brought them together. The film kicked off Sundance’s U.S. documentary competition, and won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the worldwide rights following the film’s Sundance premiere.
Narrated by Miranda July, the film is produced by Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa. Executive producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of...
- 4/20/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
Distributor plans summer theatrical release ahead of Disney+ streaming launch.
Neon has reteamed with National Geographic Documentary Films to releasee Sara Dosa’s Sundance hit Fire Of Love.
The distributor plans a summer theatrical release ahead of a streaming debut on Disney+ later this year. National Geographic acquired worldwide rights during the festival on the winner of Sundance’s Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award.
Fire Of Love centres on French volcanologists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft ,who had a lifelong obsession with volcanoes and died capturing spectacular imagery of volcanoes. Miranda July narrated the film, which is produced by Shane Boris,...
Neon has reteamed with National Geographic Documentary Films to releasee Sara Dosa’s Sundance hit Fire Of Love.
The distributor plans a summer theatrical release ahead of a streaming debut on Disney+ later this year. National Geographic acquired worldwide rights during the festival on the winner of Sundance’s Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award.
Fire Of Love centres on French volcanologists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft ,who had a lifelong obsession with volcanoes and died capturing spectacular imagery of volcanoes. Miranda July narrated the film, which is produced by Shane Boris,...
- 4/20/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Neon said Wednesday that it has come aboard Fire of Love, Sara Dosa’s documentary that world premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. That’s where Deadline boke the news that National Geographic Documentary Films acquired worldwide rights to the pic, which explores the lives and work of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft through rare archival footage.
Nat Geo and Neon previously partnered on the release last year of Matthew Heineman’s Covid documentary The First Wave. As part of the new deal, Neon will release Fire of Love in the summer ahead of a planned streaming bow on Disney+.
Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa produced Fire of Love, which is narrated by Miranda July. Executive Producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of National Geographic Documentary Films, and Josh Braun and Dan Braun of Submarine.
The feature doc is a Sandbox Films,...
Nat Geo and Neon previously partnered on the release last year of Matthew Heineman’s Covid documentary The First Wave. As part of the new deal, Neon will release Fire of Love in the summer ahead of a planned streaming bow on Disney+.
Shane Boris, Ina Fichman and Dosa produced Fire of Love, which is narrated by Miranda July. Executive Producers are Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop of Sandbox Films, Carolyn Bernstein of National Geographic Documentary Films, and Josh Braun and Dan Braun of Submarine.
The feature doc is a Sandbox Films,...
- 4/20/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Update: That didn’t take long. The deal for Fire of Love is now closed, Deadline has confirmed. Release is below our acquisitions scoop.
Exclusive: National Geographic Documentary Films is closing a mid-seven-figure worldwide rights deal for Fire of Love, the Sara Dosa-directed documentary that opened the festival and created a stampede of bidders in what is the first deal on the virtual ground here. This will be a significant theatrical release for later this year.
As Deadline reported yesterday, bidding began shortly after the film’s Thursday premiere screening. Netflix, Nat Geo, Paramount, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC, Universal and Amazon all were in the mix on this one. Submarine is brokering the deal.
The film focuses on Katia and Maurice Krafft and their love of each other, and getting as close as possible to fiery volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple was seduced by the...
Exclusive: National Geographic Documentary Films is closing a mid-seven-figure worldwide rights deal for Fire of Love, the Sara Dosa-directed documentary that opened the festival and created a stampede of bidders in what is the first deal on the virtual ground here. This will be a significant theatrical release for later this year.
As Deadline reported yesterday, bidding began shortly after the film’s Thursday premiere screening. Netflix, Nat Geo, Paramount, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC, Universal and Amazon all were in the mix on this one. Submarine is brokering the deal.
The film focuses on Katia and Maurice Krafft and their love of each other, and getting as close as possible to fiery volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple was seduced by the...
- 1/23/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Burgeoning documentary production company Sandbox Films has hired Patrick Hurley to fill the newly created position of Distribution Producer, also announcing today that it has launched construction on a new headquarters in New York City.
As Distribution Producer, Hurley will take the lead on distribution strategy, developing bespoke plans and campaigns for each production and working closely with release partners worldwide to maximize each film’s impact and audience. He comes to Sandbox with a decade of experience in connecting documentaries with release partners and audiences, having previously served as Industry Director at Sheffield DocFest and Distribution Manager at Dogwoof.
“Patrick uniquely understands the needs of independent filmmakers, as well as the nuances of a changing industry landscape,” said Sandbox’s Head of Production & Development, Jessica Harrop. “As an impact-minded company, we hope our films connect with large audiences to inspire critical thinking and expand minds. But this can...
As Distribution Producer, Hurley will take the lead on distribution strategy, developing bespoke plans and campaigns for each production and working closely with release partners worldwide to maximize each film’s impact and audience. He comes to Sandbox with a decade of experience in connecting documentaries with release partners and audiences, having previously served as Industry Director at Sheffield DocFest and Distribution Manager at Dogwoof.
“Patrick uniquely understands the needs of independent filmmakers, as well as the nuances of a changing industry landscape,” said Sandbox’s Head of Production & Development, Jessica Harrop. “As an impact-minded company, we hope our films connect with large audiences to inspire critical thinking and expand minds. But this can...
- 1/19/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Led by Michael Cho and Tim Lee, Olive Hill Media has joined Sandbox Films and Impact Partners to support the Penny Lane helmed documentary entitled Confessions of A Good Samaritan. Olive Hill Media past projects include Hulu’s SXSW 2021 title We Work: Or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn, MGM Studio’s Cannes 2021 title Flag Day, and Tribeca 2021 title Stockholm Syndrome among others coming down the pipeline.
Gabriel Sedgwick will produce the film. Tim Lee and Michael Cho are the executive producers for Olive Hill; Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop are the executive producers for Sandbox Films.
“We are always looking to support visionary filmmakers with something important to share and couldn’t have found a more deserving project than Penny Lane’s Confessions Of A Good Samaritan,” said Mimi Rode, Olive Hill Media’s Acquisition Executive.“With Penny’s innovative approach to storytelling and our incredible partners,...
Gabriel Sedgwick will produce the film. Tim Lee and Michael Cho are the executive producers for Olive Hill; Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop are the executive producers for Sandbox Films.
“We are always looking to support visionary filmmakers with something important to share and couldn’t have found a more deserving project than Penny Lane’s Confessions Of A Good Samaritan,” said Mimi Rode, Olive Hill Media’s Acquisition Executive.“With Penny’s innovative approach to storytelling and our incredible partners,...
- 12/8/2021
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films announced 12 filmmakers who will be in the next batch to receive support for their projects, along with eight films selected to receive unrestricted and non-recoupable grants totaling $255,000, through the Sandbox Fund.
The Sandbox Fund aims to elevate the voices of independent artists working in the realm of science and nonfiction storytelling as they produce and promote work and discourse the highlights that overlap science and art in the U.S. and abroad.
The filmmakers and projects receiving grants are Márton Vizkelety and Zoltán Moll’s “Give Love Create,” Lacey Schwartz Delgado and Mehret Mandefro’s “How Free People Think,” Tasha Van Zandt’s “A Life Illuminated” and Eleanor Mortimer’s Untitled Deep Sea Taxonomy Documentary. Also in the group are Leandro Listorti’s “Herbaria,” Francisco Forbes, Ferran Romeu and Matthew Barton’s “Science Fiction,” Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s “Space Is a Monstrous Animal” and Julie...
The Sandbox Fund aims to elevate the voices of independent artists working in the realm of science and nonfiction storytelling as they produce and promote work and discourse the highlights that overlap science and art in the U.S. and abroad.
The filmmakers and projects receiving grants are Márton Vizkelety and Zoltán Moll’s “Give Love Create,” Lacey Schwartz Delgado and Mehret Mandefro’s “How Free People Think,” Tasha Van Zandt’s “A Life Illuminated” and Eleanor Mortimer’s Untitled Deep Sea Taxonomy Documentary. Also in the group are Leandro Listorti’s “Herbaria,” Francisco Forbes, Ferran Romeu and Matthew Barton’s “Science Fiction,” Natalia Solórzano Vásquez’s “Space Is a Monstrous Animal” and Julie...
- 9/17/2021
- by Jennifer Yuma
- Variety Film + TV
Drew Xanthopoulos directs the film launching June 25 on Apple TV+
This Earth Day, the scientists in the documentary trailer “Fathom” are hoping they can learn to speak whale. And not like in the “Finding Nemo” sense.
“Fathom” shows a team of scientists using sound waves in an attempt to communicate with a pod of humpback whales. Whales, they explain, are a species that pre-date mankind by millions of years, and understanding the ways in which they communicate with each other deep beneath the surface of the ocean could reveal wonders.
“Studying whale culture might be more about glimpsing something about ourselves, how we can connect differently a million years from now,” one scientist says in the trailer.
Also Read:
Why ‘Fireball’ Producer Sandbox Films Doesn’t Need Talking Heads to Make Smart Science Documentaries
“Fathom” is directed and photographed by Drew Xanthopoulos (“The Sensitives”) and follows Dr. Ellen Garland and Dr.
This Earth Day, the scientists in the documentary trailer “Fathom” are hoping they can learn to speak whale. And not like in the “Finding Nemo” sense.
“Fathom” shows a team of scientists using sound waves in an attempt to communicate with a pod of humpback whales. Whales, they explain, are a species that pre-date mankind by millions of years, and understanding the ways in which they communicate with each other deep beneath the surface of the ocean could reveal wonders.
“Studying whale culture might be more about glimpsing something about ourselves, how we can connect differently a million years from now,” one scientist says in the trailer.
Also Read:
Why ‘Fireball’ Producer Sandbox Films Doesn’t Need Talking Heads to Make Smart Science Documentaries
“Fathom” is directed and photographed by Drew Xanthopoulos (“The Sensitives”) and follows Dr. Ellen Garland and Dr.
- 4/22/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
“Fire of Love,” a new feature-length documentary from “The Last Season’s” Sara Dosa, will examine the love story between two intrepid scientists who died in a volcanic explosion.
The film will be co-produced by Sandbox Films, the company behind Werner Herzog’s “Fireball” and the recent Sundance winner “All Light, Everywhere,” as well as producer Ina Fichman’s Intuitive Pictures (“The Oslo Diaries”) and producer Shane Boris’s Cottage M (“Stray”). Dosa will direct and produce the film which centers on volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who sought to understand the magic of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.
“Fire of Love” will use the Kraffts’ rarely seen archive of images, as well as their writings and collected illustrations, to chart their adventures, scientific discoveries and deep emotional bond. The creative team has been given unprecedented access to the more than 200 hours of footage that the...
The film will be co-produced by Sandbox Films, the company behind Werner Herzog’s “Fireball” and the recent Sundance winner “All Light, Everywhere,” as well as producer Ina Fichman’s Intuitive Pictures (“The Oslo Diaries”) and producer Shane Boris’s Cottage M (“Stray”). Dosa will direct and produce the film which centers on volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who sought to understand the magic of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.
“Fire of Love” will use the Kraffts’ rarely seen archive of images, as well as their writings and collected illustrations, to chart their adventures, scientific discoveries and deep emotional bond. The creative team has been given unprecedented access to the more than 200 hours of footage that the...
- 3/16/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Theo Anthony’s documentary All Light, Everywhere, which took home the Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Experimentation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, has been picked by Neon’s boutique division Super Ltd. The distributor has taken the pic’s North American rights.
Written, directed and edited by Anthony, All Light, Everywhere explores the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens.
All Light, Everywhere reps Anthony’s second feature after Rat Film, which received critical acclaim following its premiere at the Locarno and True/ False Film Festivals, and was nominated for a 2017 Gotham Award for Best Documentary Feature film as well as Cinema Eye Honors for Best Debut Feature.
Ayo Kepher-Maat and Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal...
Written, directed and edited by Anthony, All Light, Everywhere explores the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens.
All Light, Everywhere reps Anthony’s second feature after Rat Film, which received critical acclaim following its premiere at the Locarno and True/ False Film Festivals, and was nominated for a 2017 Gotham Award for Best Documentary Feature film as well as Cinema Eye Honors for Best Debut Feature.
Ayo Kepher-Maat and Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal...
- 2/17/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon’s boutique division and incubator Super Ltd has acquired the North American rights to “All Lights, Everywhere,” a documentary that premiered at Sundance about the history of police body cameras and surveillance and their roles in justice.
The documentary directed by Theo Anthony won the Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Experimentation at this year’s Sundance. Anthony wrote, directed and edited the film, and “All Lights, Everywhere” is a production of Memory in association with Sandbox Films.
“All Light, Everywhere” is an exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens.
This is Anthony’s second feature following 2017’s “Rat Film” that was nominated for a Gotham Award and uses a rat problem in Baltimore in...
The documentary directed by Theo Anthony won the Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Experimentation at this year’s Sundance. Anthony wrote, directed and edited the film, and “All Lights, Everywhere” is a production of Memory in association with Sandbox Films.
“All Light, Everywhere” is an exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens.
This is Anthony’s second feature following 2017’s “Rat Film” that was nominated for a Gotham Award and uses a rat problem in Baltimore in...
- 2/17/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Autlook handles international sales.
All Light, Everywhere, the Sundance award-winning selection that premiered last month, has landed a North American deal with Neon’s boutique division and incubator Super Ltd.
Theo Anthony’s film debuted in U.S. Documentary Competition and won a special jury prize for non-fiction experimentation.
It explores of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice and questions the objectivity of point of view amid an explosion in surveillance technology.
All Light, Everywhere is a Memory production in association with Sandbox Films. Riel Roch-Decter and Sebastian Pardo produced for Memory, alongside Jonna McKone. Executive producers...
All Light, Everywhere, the Sundance award-winning selection that premiered last month, has landed a North American deal with Neon’s boutique division and incubator Super Ltd.
Theo Anthony’s film debuted in U.S. Documentary Competition and won a special jury prize for non-fiction experimentation.
It explores of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice and questions the objectivity of point of view amid an explosion in surveillance technology.
All Light, Everywhere is a Memory production in association with Sandbox Films. Riel Roch-Decter and Sebastian Pardo produced for Memory, alongside Jonna McKone. Executive producers...
- 2/17/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Feral State, written and directed by Jon Carlo (First We Take Brooklyn) and starring AnnaLynne McCord and Ronnie Gene Blevins. The indie thriller, which wrapped shooting late last year, will now get a theatrical release in May along with its digital bow.
The plot is set alongside Florida’s gator-infested swamps and rundown trailer parks where a charismatic yet dangerous grifter (Blevins) takes in orphans and runaways off the street. A self proclaimed father to the forgotten, he trains his ragtag gang in the art of thievery and crime, wreaking havoc by knocking off drug dealers and meth labs. With an ass-kicking detective (McCord) already hot on the trail, the arrival of a mysterious young girl turns out to be something far more dangerous to the gang than anyone could have imagined. Octavio Pisano, Jaden Piner, Baldur Thor and Sif Saga also star.
The plot is set alongside Florida’s gator-infested swamps and rundown trailer parks where a charismatic yet dangerous grifter (Blevins) takes in orphans and runaways off the street. A self proclaimed father to the forgotten, he trains his ragtag gang in the art of thievery and crime, wreaking havoc by knocking off drug dealers and meth labs. With an ass-kicking detective (McCord) already hot on the trail, the arrival of a mysterious young girl turns out to be something far more dangerous to the gang than anyone could have imagined. Octavio Pisano, Jaden Piner, Baldur Thor and Sif Saga also star.
- 2/6/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan currently shooting moth feature in India.
Documentary company Sandbox Films, whose credits include Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, has signed on to produce Nocturnes, an Indian film about moths that was one of 10 recipients of the Sundance Institute Sandbox Fund in 2020.
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan are currently shooting the feature on the sub-continent and Sandbox Film’s head of production Jessica Harrop and director and executive producer Greg Boustead plan to be on site with the filmmakers this winter.
Nocturnes centres on a young female scientist studying moths in...
Documentary company Sandbox Films, whose credits include Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, has signed on to produce Nocturnes, an Indian film about moths that was one of 10 recipients of the Sundance Institute Sandbox Fund in 2020.
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan are currently shooting the feature on the sub-continent and Sandbox Film’s head of production Jessica Harrop and director and executive producer Greg Boustead plan to be on site with the filmmakers this winter.
Nocturnes centres on a young female scientist studying moths in...
- 2/1/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan currently shooting moth feature in India.
Documentary company Sandbox Films, whose credits include Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, has signed on to produce Nocturnes, an Indian film about moths that was one of 10 recipients of the Sundance Institute Sandbox Fund in 2020.
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan are currently shooting the feature on the sub-continent and Sandbox Film’s head of production Jessica Harrop and director and executive producer Greg Boustead plan to be on site with the filmmakers this winter.
Nocturnes centres on a young female scientist studying moths in...
Documentary company Sandbox Films, whose credits include Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, has signed on to produce Nocturnes, an Indian film about moths that was one of 10 recipients of the Sundance Institute Sandbox Fund in 2020.
Directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan are currently shooting the feature on the sub-continent and Sandbox Film’s head of production Jessica Harrop and director and executive producer Greg Boustead plan to be on site with the filmmakers this winter.
Nocturnes centres on a young female scientist studying moths in...
- 2/1/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Why ‘Fireball’ Producer Sandbox Films Doesn’t Need Talking Heads to Make Smart Science Documentaries
In Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” the directors show you gloriously colorful images of meteorites containing atomic particles of five-fold symmetry, a geometric shape thought to be impossible in nature. It’s a beautiful sight, but the German auteur concedes that he “won’t torture you” with more testimony from a bespectacled professor about how the math works. That line captures the ethos for the new production company Sandbox Films, which produced “Fireball” and launched last month at TIFF with a lineup of other science-based documentary films all in development. Sandbox Films’ founders, Greg Boustead and Jessica Harrop, are determined to make informative, intelligent documentary films about science, but they want to do so with a sense of real beauty, artistry and experimental creativity all driven from filmmakers. Essentially, science can be awesome, and they don’t want to bore you. “Science television is great,...
- 10/5/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Sandbox Films, a new production company that will back documentary films about scientific inquiry, is launching at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival.
The company is on hand (virtually) for the world premiere of its inaugural effort, “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” a new non-fiction effort from Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer the explores the science, history and mythology around meteors that fell to Earth.
In addition to “Fireball,” Sandbox Films has signed onto executive produce three upcoming documentaries with filmmakers Ondi Timoner, Penny Lane and Theo Anthony (“Rat Film”).
“There is really a hole in the documentary space in terms of commissioning films like these,” said Greg Boustead, who will serve as director and executive producer of Sandbox Films. “Outside of Nat Geo, Discovery and ‘Nova,’ there are not a lot of places where independent filmmakers can go to get resources to tell stories about science.”
The goal, Boustead said,...
The company is on hand (virtually) for the world premiere of its inaugural effort, “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” a new non-fiction effort from Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer the explores the science, history and mythology around meteors that fell to Earth.
In addition to “Fireball,” Sandbox Films has signed onto executive produce three upcoming documentaries with filmmakers Ondi Timoner, Penny Lane and Theo Anthony (“Rat Film”).
“There is really a hole in the documentary space in terms of commissioning films like these,” said Greg Boustead, who will serve as director and executive producer of Sandbox Films. “Outside of Nat Geo, Discovery and ‘Nova,’ there are not a lot of places where independent filmmakers can go to get resources to tell stories about science.”
The goal, Boustead said,...
- 9/10/2020
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Keeping calm and carrying on during the global pandemic, Cph:Dox fittingly launched its five-day Cph:conference series with a program titled “Science is Culture.” The “day celebrating the value of science in society and exploring how new approaches to science storytelling can engage the audience” was moderated by Jessica Harrop, supervising producer of science-centric doc studio Sandbox Films. While every discussion was […]...
- 3/28/2020
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Keeping calm and carrying on during the global pandemic, Cph:Dox fittingly launched its five-day Cph:conference series with a program titled “Science is Culture.” The “day celebrating the value of science in society and exploring how new approaches to science storytelling can engage the audience” was moderated by Jessica Harrop, supervising producer of science-centric doc studio Sandbox Films. While every discussion was […]...
- 3/28/2020
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Over the past few years, BuzzFeed has expanded its coverage reach into a number of different areas. With the site’s blend of reporting on topics crossing sexuality, race, science, internet subcultures, and politics, the new Netflix series “Follow This” doesn’t seem like it’s closing itself off in one specific area.
“Follow This” takes a look at how some of the site’s more in-depth stories come together. Following staff writers and reporters like Scaachi Koul and Azeen Ghorayshi, these journalists become the lens through which the show covers stories related to Asmr, survivalism, sex worker rights, and gender identity. It looks like there’s even going to be a segment touching on DeepFakes, something that has ramifications for not just the film industry, but the future of verifiable video footage.
This is the latest partnership between Netflix and another major media group, following the premiere of the...
“Follow This” takes a look at how some of the site’s more in-depth stories come together. Following staff writers and reporters like Scaachi Koul and Azeen Ghorayshi, these journalists become the lens through which the show covers stories related to Asmr, survivalism, sex worker rights, and gender identity. It looks like there’s even going to be a segment touching on DeepFakes, something that has ramifications for not just the film industry, but the future of verifiable video footage.
This is the latest partnership between Netflix and another major media group, following the premiere of the...
- 8/15/2018
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
BuzzFeed’s newest project will shine a light on its own reporters — who will be the stars in a new Netflix short-form documentary series slated to bow this summer.
The 20-episode series, “Follow This,” will premiere July 9 on Netflix worldwide. Each 15-minute episode will be released weekly, not in Netflix’s usual binge-able release. The new show is an example of shorter-form content Netflix is acquiring, designed to appeal to viewers on mobile devices.
“We’re thrilled that Netflix saw the drama in the work of our journalism and the stories we tell,” BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement. “And we’re so pleased to have brought what we’ve learned to Netflix’s unmatched audience.”
The first episode, “The Internet Whisperers,” follows BuzzFeed reporter Scaachi Koul as she delves into on a story about the “head orgasm” experience of Asmr, or autonomous sensory meridian response.
Along with Koul,...
The 20-episode series, “Follow This,” will premiere July 9 on Netflix worldwide. Each 15-minute episode will be released weekly, not in Netflix’s usual binge-able release. The new show is an example of shorter-form content Netflix is acquiring, designed to appeal to viewers on mobile devices.
“We’re thrilled that Netflix saw the drama in the work of our journalism and the stories we tell,” BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement. “And we’re so pleased to have brought what we’ve learned to Netflix’s unmatched audience.”
The first episode, “The Internet Whisperers,” follows BuzzFeed reporter Scaachi Koul as she delves into on a story about the “head orgasm” experience of Asmr, or autonomous sensory meridian response.
Along with Koul,...
- 4/25/2018
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
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