BY CYNDI GREENING, SUNDANCE INSTITUTE, USA — The schedule at the Sundance Independent Producers Conference is intense! We're booked from 8:00 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. We can hike down the canyon, catch a shuttle or take the rental car (guess what I chose) to start the day with a communal breakfast. Everyone is excited. There is a networking frenzy in the air. It's early in the weekend so the industry professionals can move through the crowd with relative anonymity. We are wearing our "FilmZambia" t-shirts. It's effective. We are noticed. It also doesn't hurt that Jabbes is one of very few black faces in the room. We stand out.

The first panel is on documentary and feature Film Production. Our panel consists of Danielle Renfrew, Ron Yerxa, Ross Katz, Cathy Schulman, Cara Mertes, Sheila Nevins, Gary Winick, Diane Weyermann, Ram Bergman and Sunmin Park. One of the things I like best is that they do NOT take the time to introduce the panelists. Moderator Cara Mertes tells us that we're professionals now. We were given a book of bios. Surely, we prepared by reading them, she says. No reason to duplicate the effort. Fortunately, I had a lot of time on Thursday and have thoroughly read it all. I am ready to hear what they have to say.

There is a lot of discussion about the changing market, changing platforms, changing audiences AND the fear that is moving through the industry because people are having a hard time finding something that works reliably. I find myself wishing I had taped the sessions because I want to take down nearly every word they say. The content is so rich. The icons of filmmaking say things that are incredibly profound. It seems to me that many members of the audience don't really hear what they're saying. For example, documentary producer Sheila Nevins says, "I trust people to say the true lines of their lives and that's what makes documentary so powerful." Ron Yerxa says that he loves contradiction in story and in life. What people say they're about versus what they do is at the heart of a good story. Gary Winick of Indigent says, "It's simply having something to say AND knowing how to say it well." Sunmin Park talk of the "knot in her throat" caused by contemplating "honorable warriors." Nearly all of them talk about the importance of having a good story. The panel inspires and challenges me.

In the short session afterwards, I have the chance to tell Barbara Boyle, Cathy Schulman and Ricky Strauss about the FilmZambia projects. I talk about the documentary and the feature. It turns out that Cathy Schulman is considering a project in Africa. I'm thinking her connection to Don Cheadle (after CRASH) may be continuing. Ricky and Cathy have sweet smiles and kind demeanors. Barbara is sharp as a tack and quite an education snob. I think she would look down her nose at Mesa Community College. They seem very excited about and interested in the project. Jabbes is sitting beside me so he talks about BAD T!MING (the feature). I'm happy.

In the afternoon, we have the Film Financing Panel. In this panel, I think I'll find out all of the things I've done wrong in mounting this production. Again, I hear things that I think are incredibly deep and profound. I feel like I'm being given the keys. (I hope I have enough time to write about this before I go to Zambia.) Among the many things I learn, we are told that the BIGGEST CHALLENGE in filmmaking is that EVERY FILM IS UNIQUE. Financing and distribution are totally dependent on the story, the cast, the perceived audience and the P&A. The particpants in the IFP ask a variety of questions about how to find funding and they are told over and over again, "Depends on the film." It's absolutely liberating! There is no "right" answer. You just do what it takes to get it done. At different times, the panelists laugh derisively and tell us that they make lots of mistakes and, at the end of the day, do what it takes to make the things they love. Don't get me wrong, they say financing is tough. Prices are high, profits are low. The talk about the financing for Maria Maggenti's PUCCINI FOR BEGINNERS.

In the next breakout session, I again visit with Ricky Strauss. (I'm afraid he'll think I'm stalking him.) Roseanne Korenberg and Micah Green are also in our mini-group. Ricky is still great ... engaging and supportive. He talks about how he thanks God every day that he gets to do what he does. He clearly loves his work. I think Micah Green is a razor-sharp genius. He's a packaging agent at CAA and he is clearly one smart cookie.

We have dinner and spend the evening at a documentary panel. It feels a bit familiar after the morning production panel. Maybe I'm just tired. It's been a long day.