This week, the Sundance and Slamdance film festivals announced their 2015 lineups. The festivals, which run during the end of January in Park City, Utah, feature the work of more than 20 CalArtians.

CalArts at Sundance Film Festival 2015

CalArtians’ two short films and a feature will be screened at Sundance:

* Pia Borg (faculty, Experimental Animation) – Abandoned Goods in the Shorts Competition;

* Patrick Brice (Film/Video BFA 11) – The Overnight in the Dramatic Competition; and

* Ian Samuels (Film/Video MFA 11) – Myrna the Monster (trailer above) in the Shorts Competition. Produced by faculty Ki Jin Kim (Film/Video MFA 10) and Giulia Caruso (Film/Video MFA 13). In addition, Ethan Clarke (Film/Video MFA 12) animated the film.

Eliza Hittman’s (Film/Video MFA 10) screenplay Beach Rats has been accepted into the festival’s prestigious Screenwriting Lab. Hittman, who received acclaim this year for her last film, It Felt Like Love, was one of 12 screenwriters selected for the immersive, five-day writers’ workshop at the Sundance Resort. The lab takes place just before the festival opens on Jan. 22. Drawn from the U.S. and around the world, the participants work with lauded screenwriters to develop their works-in-progress. Read more about the Lab on Indiewire.

CalArts at Slamdance Film Festival 2015

Fourteen CalArts’ films were selected for shorts programs at Slamdance this year in the Animation, Experimental and Anarchy Shorts programs:

* Einar Baldvin (Film/Video BFA 09) – The Pride of Strathmoor in Animation Shorts

* Sean Buckelew (Film/Video MFA 14) – Hopkins & Delaney LLP in Animation Shorts

* Sofia Canales (Film/Video BFA 13, Film/Video & Music MFA 16) – Mujer in Documentary Shorts

* Adriana Copete (Film/Video MFA 16) – Busking Tales in Animation Shorts

* Calvin Frederick (Film/Video BFA 12, MFA 14) – Agrabagrabah in Experimental Shorts

* Tian Guan (Film/Video MFA 17) – Drama in Shorts

* Spencer Holden (Film/Video BFA 13) – I’ve Got the World on a String in Experimental Shorts

* Lauren Morrison (Film/Video MFA 14) – Viscera in Anarchy Shorts

* Julian Petschek (Film/Video BFA 14) – Butter Ya’ Self in Animation Shorts

* Matt Reed (Film/Video BFA 10, MFA 15) – Cosmic Egg in Anarchy Shorts

* Grace Nayoon Rhee (Film/Video MFA 13) – Unicorn in Anarchy Shorts

* Josh Shaffner (Film/Video MFA 15) – Pond in Anarchy Shorts

* Brian Smee (Film/Video MFA 15) – Sports in Animation Shorts

* Zachary Zezima (Film/Video MFA 16) – Cruising in Animation Shorts

The Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 22-Feb. 1, and the Slamdance Film Festival spans Jan. 23-29.