“I’ve always felt that anyone who is truly interested in independent film should pay attention to shorts. They are often an indication of what’s coming down the creative pike.” (Robert Redford, Sundance Institute President and Founder)

The snow-capped mountains of Utah’s finest film festival may not be throwing open its doors for another six months, but filmmakers should be looking ahead to looming submission deadlines. For US & International short films, the earlybird deadline for Sundance 2010 is Monday, August 17 2009. It’s well worth getting your short doc in early, with a palatable $35 entry fee as opposed to $50, or $75 if you’re late.

The Documentary Shorts strand in 2009 showcased a great programme. As ever, there was a wide range of delectable stories, including Eva Weber’s Steel Homes which looks at the poigniant, funny and bizarre stories of people who – for one reason or another – have had to store their most treasured possesions in self-storage units. Like metal cubes rattling with memories, the film juxtaposes the clinical surroundings with intimate stories. You can watch an interview with Eva from the festival here.

On a different note, it’s also worth having a read of this recent article in Voice of America about Robert Redford and Jeff Skoll’s $3-million film project Stories of Change. This was set up by Redford and Skoll in order to give filmmakers $150,000 to produce documentaries. Lovely stuff.