Latest news with #BrittanyShyne
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tickets remain for ‘Eye on Ohio' short film program
Video: DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Local filmmakers will see their work hit the big screen in Yellow Springs tomorrow. It's fair to say that excitement is high for this year's Yellow Springs Film Festival Mini-Fest (an extension of the larger film festival scheduled in October). Tonight's screening of John Waters' 'Cecil B. Demented,' is already sold out, as is tomorrow night's showing of 'Seeds,' the Grand Jury Prize winning documentary from Wright State University alum Brittany Shyne. That said, there are still tickets remaining for the event's short film program, 'Eye on Ohio.' The slate of short films will screen tomorrow, at the Little Art Theater, beginning at 5 p.m. and will include (although not limited to): 'Chasers,' by Erin Brown Thomas (which premiered at Sundance 2025). 'Terpsichore,' by Kaeley Beam and Abigail Cunningham. 'Wilis,' by Matthew Johns. 'I Like That Too,' by Eric Rothman. 'Love And Service,' (animated music video) by Justin 'unJUST' Herman. 'Golden Hour,' by Maureen McEly. The screenings will be followed by panel discussions featuring the filmmaking teams. Tickets are $15 and still available as of this writing. Click here for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘I'm still kind of processing it': Wright State grad talks ‘Seeds,' top honor at Sundance
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A Wright State University alum recently won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film festival began in 1978, and this year's festival saw a local face take home one of their most prestigious awards. 'I'm still kind of processing it. You know, it's obviously incredible and it's a very huge acknowledgment, you know. And I'm really grateful for it, but like, it's like every day I'm like, wow, this really happened, you know?' Meet Brittany Shyne. She's a filmmaker who directed, shot and produced the feature documentary 'Seeds,' the Sundance festival jury's pick for best documentary feature. The film is about generational and legacy farmers in the southern United States, specifically centennial farmers (those who've owned their land for at least 100 years — one of the family's presented in the film have owned their farm since 1883). 'So really it's about, you know, the continuation of these family farms and who's going to take over, but also showing like the intergenerational connectedness with this film,' Shyne describes. Sundance Film Festival names Cincinnati a finalist for its new home The film lingers on these lives, using black and white cinematography to express that feeling. The look of the film was inspired in part by the portraiture photography of artists such as P.H. Poke, Roy DeCarava and Gordon Parks. 'My film is a very kind of a slow paced film. It's kind of understated and I wanted to kind of relish in this kind of geographical landscape. So, I really wanted the imagery to kind of linger in the place. Linger in this specific time that was kind of dwindling away.' Shyne began working on 'Seeds,' during her time as a graduate student at Northwestern University, post graduation from Wright State. By then she had already taken to the tutelage of Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar, which would eventually lead to cinematography work on their Oscar-winning documentary 'American Factory,' and the Untilted Dave Chappelle documentary that was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shyne calls them 'pioneers in their field,' spotlighting their rigorous and meticulous work ethic as key influences on her process. From about 2015 to a couple weeks before Sundance, Shyne worked in a myriad of ways to get the film completed. From fundraising (which was the biggest hurdle against the completion of the film), to networking, to several trips to Georgia and Mississippi to film, to post-production, the work was a 10-year process of fortitude for Shyne and her collaborators. Shyne says that two big motivators for completing this film were her parents' guidance, as well as the need to present the story of 'Seeds,' to the world. 'There's so many black stories that — kind of — can get lost, you know, or not duly acknowledged. And I found that there's something very profound about this story, about legacy, the maintenance of legacy, you know, you're archiving, so things are not being forgotten.' She says the extra time was ultimately beneficial to the film. Fast forward to Jan. 25, a surely chilly Saturday morning, and the first time that Sundance audiences got to view the film for the first time. Shyne was among the crowd as well, with family, and the support system that helped bring the film to the screen. Her viewing experience was a juxtaposition of self-critique and of witnessing, seeing how others connected to the film. She recalls the experience being a 'whirlwind.' 'I can't replicate the experience I had because there's so much — many moments that people were just like so open about their own experiences.' Shyne reminisces. 'It was just very lovely, and I'm always just astounded — kind of — how well it did and just — you know — the connections I made too.' Now, post Grand Jury Prize Award, and alongside burgeoning praise, 'Seeds,' remains on a festival tour. 'The film's going to be on the festival circuit throughout this year.' Shyne says that next week she'll tour the film at True/False FIlm Festival in Missouri before traveling to Greece the following week and then to Copenhagen. As she continues her own journey as a filmmaker, her advice to other filmmakers is to follow the stories that you're passionate about and to build community with fellow artists. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Sundance's top prizes go to ‘Atropia' and ‘Seeds'
The Sundance Film Festival announced its annual awards during a ceremony in Park City, Utah, on Friday. 'Atropia,' directed by Hailey Gates, won the U.S. dramatic competition's grand jury prize for its darkly comedic take on the intersection of war and performance, while Brittany Shyne's 'Seeds,' an intimate exploration of Black generational farmers in the South, was awarded the U.S. documentary competition's top honor. A biting satire set inside a military role-playing facility, 'Atropia,' which stars Alia Shankar, Callum Turner and Chloë Sevigny, follows an aspiring actor who falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, forcing them both to reckon with the blurred lines between performance and reality. The jury praised Gates' feature debut as 'both hilarious and damning in its portrayal of the theater of war.' 'Seeds' was recognized for its poetic and deeply personal portrait of Black farmers fighting to preserve their land and heritage. In the world cinema categories, the dramatic grand jury prize was awarded to 'Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)', a co-production from India, the U.K. and Canada directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade. The film tells the story of a city dweller returning to his rural hometown for a mourning period and forming an unexpected bond with a local farmer. The documentary grand jury prize went to 'Cutting Through Rocks,' directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, which follows a groundbreaking councilwoman in a rural Iranian village as she fights against patriarchal traditions. The NEXT Innovator Award, given to a film in the festival's section that highlights bold and unconventional storytelling, was awarded to Charlie Shackleton's 'Zodiac Killer Project,' a meditation on the true-crime genre told through 16mm footage of locations the filmmaker had to abandon after his option rights for a novel were declined. 'Twinless,' a dramedy about two men who meet in a twin bereavement support group, won the U.S. dramatic audience award, while 'André Is an Idiot,' a darkly comic documentary about a man confronting his own mortality, was honored in the U.S. documentary category. In the world cinema competition, 'DJ Ahmet,' about a North Macedonian teenager navigating family expectations and his love for music, took the audience award for drama, while 'Prime Minister,' a behind-the-scenes portrait of former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern, won for documentary. The NEXT audience award went to 'East of Wall,' a neo-Western about a rebellious horse trainer and a group of wayward teenagers. Among other jury awards, the directing prize in the U.S. dramatic competition went to Rashad Frett for 'Ricky,' about a man struggling with the challenges of life after incarceration, while the U.S. documentary directing award was presented to Geeta Gandbhir for 'The Perfect Neighbor,' an examination of Florida's controversial 'stand your ground' laws. The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award went to Eva Victor for 'Sorry, Baby,' a dark comedy about a young woman processing trauma. Dylan O'Brien received a special jury award for acting in 'Twinless,' while 'Plainclothes,' a drama about an undercover officer assigned to entrap gay men in the 1990s, was honored for ensemble cast. In the documentary category, 'Selena y Los Dinos,' a portrait of the late Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla, was awarded a special jury prize for archival storytelling, and 'Life After' won a special jury award for its thought-provoking investigation of a historic right-to-die case. While this year's festival was relatively quiet on the deal-making front, the honorees hope to follow the trajectory of other recent Sundance prize winners that went on to Oscar glory, including 'CODA,' '20 Days in Mariupol,' 'Summer of Soul' and 'Minari.' The 41st edition of the festival concludes on Sunday.
