Institute History

  • 2018 Sundance Film Festival

Description

A new HBO nonfiction series inspired by the eponymous feminist newsletter from Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, Lenny covers current events, pop culture moments, and everything in between to connect with women of every shape, size, mindset, religion, and aspiration. Each episode features a collection of short-subject films unified around a theme. The six pieces comprising the pilot, “Women in Pursuit,” pulse with provocative experiences and surprising lenses, gleefully delving into sex, identity, culture and death.

In the short “Orgasmic Meditation,” women heal from trauma through assisted, hyper-conscious orgasm. Exploring how community forms in gender-segregated spaces, “J’Adore Nawal” joins a group of Muslim women in a suburban Illinois hair salon. In “Dead Is Better,” a writer investigates the thing she most fears. A high school girl turns to a computer game to take control of her life in the animated “Laws of Another Universe” (adapted directly from a Lenny newsletter essay). Finally, in “Funny Girls,” high schoolers at Second City Comedy Camp lay bare personal struggles to locate the funny girls within.

Screens with Eve
Eve, a 74-year-old widow after 30 years of marriage, journeys through grief, sexual passion, and renewal.

— C.L.

Screening Details

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]