BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, AZ, USA — We got the news yesterday via email! I thought the announcement was going to be made on the 10th so I was surprised when it was there. The acceptance letter. I've applied for the conference before AND the workshops but was never selected. Of course, I think this project is by far and away the best project I proposed to them. It has the most potential to make a difference in the world of independent cinema. It was surprisingly short and direct.

Cyndi Greening and Jabbes Mvula
BAD TIMING, First Zambian Feature Film

Dear Cyndi and Jabbes,
Congratulations! You have been selected as participants for the Sundance Institute's 21st Annual Independent Producers Conference! The Conference will be held at the Sundance Village in Utah from August 3 – 6, 2006. We look forward to meeting you soon!

I called Jabbes in Michigan today. He'd gone up there to relax a bit. Like me, he was feeling a bit stressed out and exhausted from the process of getting this film together. He was beside himself with joy. Our goal of launching the film industry in his country and making a powerful feature film that achieves international distribution seems so much closer now. We'll be getting support and guidance from distributors and financiers of independent film. It's really great to be part of all this.