Excerpt:
This is my second annual Lessons from Sundance podcast, recorded from the heart of Sundance Film Festival 2025. In this special edition, we’ll explore some of the most compelling films and episodic pilots from this year’s festival. not just as viewers, but as screenwriters, breaking down the craft behind what makes these stories so powerful.
Through these discussions, you’ll discover how to build a screenplay where form is function, how to externalize a character’s internal world through structure and visual storytelling, how to craft stories that ask big, thematic questions without forcing answers, and how to transform the limitations of budget or genre into creative strengths.
You’ll also learn how short films can be a powerful stepping stone to a feature, how to adapt your own material into a larger narrative, how to create deeply human characters without judgment, and how to embrace metaphor whether in naturalism or magical realism to elevate your story.
In this episode, we’ll be looking at a groundbreaking pilot and two hugely successful films from Sundance 2025: Chasers, Ricky, and The Thing With Feathers.
Through these selections, you’ll discover how filmmakers are transforming deeply personal questions into universal stories that resonate with audiences. We’ll explore how to build worlds that connect with audiences on multiple levels, from crafting technical innovations that serve your story’s deeper meaning to finding humanity in challenging characters. We’ll examine how each film grew from “one true thing” – whether that’s a bold directorial choice, a character insight, or a burning question about the relationship between artists and their craft.
Whether you’ve seen these films or not, their approaches offer invaluable lessons for writers at any stage of their journey.
What you’ll learn:
- How to organically integrate technical choices with theme
- Methods for expanding short-form content into compelling features and TV pilots
- Techniques for externalizing internal emotional states
- Ways to avoid stereotypes and find humanity in challenging characters
- Strategies for pushing genre boundaries while maintaining emotional authenticity
- The power of starting with “one true thing” and building from there
- How to create impact with limited resources
- Using genre conventions in fresh, meaningful ways
- Building authentic character journeys
- Finding humanity in complex narratives
- Creating powerful work on minimal budgets
- Merging form and function effectively in screenwriting
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