For all of SCA's coverage of the Sundance film festival, please visit sundance.usc.edu.

For the twelfth consecutive year, the USC School of Cinematic Arts attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Thirty-two USC alumni were featured on eighteen films with an additional four alumni and three films at the Slamdance Film Festival.

"Each year, Sundance reaffirms the true power of independent filmmaking," said Dean Elizabeth M. Daley. "It is always a pleasure to see the diverse talents of the SCA family on display in Park City."

The USC School of Cinematic Arts hosted two events, an SCA filmmaker’s breakfast with Daley and a party at the Riverhorse Tavern. At the filmmaker’s breakfast, several alumni spoke on camera about their experience at Sundance and how their experience at SCA helped them in their careers.

“It’s an unreal experience,” said Sheldon Candis ‘02, whose film LUV made its debut at Sundance. “You’re here and everyone’s energy is just on the same plane of loving movies. You sit in the theatres and you share in that experience.”

In the aftermath of Sundance, Producer/alum Raphael Swann ‘09 was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for his short Fishing Without Nets, alumnus Franklin Peterson’s ’07 Safety Not Guaranteed was picked up for distribution and alumni Lee Toland Kreiger ’05, Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd and Yana Gorsaka’s ’02 film Celeste and Jesse Forever sold to Sony Classics.

“The support over the years makes Sundance special,” said Josh Comen, the head of Comen VFX whose film Lay the Favorite screened at the festival. “It gives us a sense of home and belonging and it makes us feel comfortable. [The breakfast] is something I look forward to every year.”