The Sundance Diaries Part I: Tania Gunadi
This week, we’re sharing reflections from Tania Gunadi, the 2024 Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellow about her experience at the festival in Park City. We’ll be posting more thoughts from Tania throughout the week — make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss anything!
Before I start my journal, I’d like to share with you a little bit about my background. I was born and raised in Java, Indonesia, and moved to Los Angeles when I won a green card lottery as a teenager. I learned English by working at Pizza Hut, so some of my first spoken words in English were, “Welcome to Pizza Hut, home of the Big Foot pizza!”
One day, a friend convinced me to tag along on an open casting call for a Disneyland commercial. When the casting director asked me to “sit in a chair and pretend like you’re having the time of your life,” I was instantly hooked! I ended up with my first ever acting role that required me to ride a roller coaster for hours on end at Disneyland, which was by far the most fun place that a girl from Indonesia would have ever been!
While trying to fulfill my family’s dream, I found work at a top accounting firm. But it wasn’t my dream. My Disneyland experience had left such an indelible desire within me that I enrolled in acting classes and began auditioning on the side. Over time, I left the firm and have been enjoying the fantastic industry to this day.
A few years ago, my father passed away. One night, he visited me in a dream where he shared a logline for a dog movie. It seemed so improbable; but nonetheless, I found the story idea so compelling that I had to write the screenplay.
I’d read a lot of scripts but knew nothing of writing one. Yet, I felt as eager as a kid at Pizza Hut at the idea of learning how to write one. Having spent the last couple of years learning from professional writers, I finished my first screenplay, TEDDY, a story about a man and his dog.
In September 2023, I submitted TEDDY to the Black List Cassian Elwes Screenwriting Fellowship at Sundance. It was the only Fellowship I applied to because the prize would be an all-expenses paid trip to the 2024 Sundance Film Festival with producer Cassian Elwes, where the winner would be able to shadow Cassian and learn how to get movies made. And I really wanted to learn how producers get screenplays onto the big screen.
The Black List informed that the winner of the Fellowship would be announced in December. By December 31, I was sure I wouldn’t be going to Sundance.
On Jan 5, I received a call from a 310 area code. I never picked up calls from unknown numbers. But this one felt different. I told my husband that I really wanted to pick this up. So, I did. “Hello?” I said. I heard, “This is Cassian Elwes. Is this Tania?” I gasped and responded, “No way! Yes!”
Cassian then said the loveliest thing: “Tania, you are the winner of the Cassian Elwes fellowship and we’re going to Sundance.” I shrieked in joy, trying so hard to sound cool, calm and collected, but I couldn’t help it.
DAY 1
Thursday Jan 17
GAME CHANGER
I met Cassian for the first time at the Burbank Airport gate. It felt like I knew him already because over the prior 2 weeks, I’d been watching all his interviews and had written down some burning questions about movie making that I was looking forward to asking.
Before saying hello, I promised myself not to bombard him with all my questions. I wanted to treat my time at Sundance like watching a movie and just let it unfold. I felt that my questions would be answered by the end of the trip whether I actually asked them or not.
To my surprise, just chatting with him for that 1 hour while waiting to board the plane, a lot of my questions were answered. Within that time, I got to see Cassian in action. He received many phone calls, some were issues that needed to be resolved with actors and directors, some were financing opportunities, and some were decision making calls regarding reshoots. I came to find out that Cassian produces 4–6 films per year, so at any given point, there is always one in pre-production, production and post. And I got to witness him handling each issue like a puzzle solver. I was blown away in just that hour. This is exactly the career that I wanted for me. It’s been a dream of mine to be a producer. I knew right then that this Sundance trip would be a game-changer for me.
We arrived in Salt Lake City, where I got to meet Tom Culliver who works with Cassian. The three of us drove to Park City. On our way there, Cassian explained how movies get made. I learned about international rights, equity, bank loans, gap loans, completion bonds and tax credits. I studied tax laws and business accounting prior to becoming a full-time actor, so all this business talk was very exciting, especially combining that with the creative side.
As we pulled into Park City, I realized that it was snowing. I had been so focused on listening to Cassian and Tom, that I forgot to look out the window. The snow over the houses in Park City was so beautiful — it felt like I was entering a Hallmark greeting card.
We immediately went to the premiere of FREAKY TALES. The lines were so long, and everyone was yelling out Pedro Pascal’s name. Due to the new rule, they let Cassian in with his Industry Express Pass, but they were not letting me and Tom in. And though I couldn’t tell you all the details (what happens in Sundance stays in Sundance), let’s just say that we were all able to watch the premiere. Though I liked FREAKY TALES, I must say that the way Cassian and Tom hustled to get us in was both thrilling and maybe even a freakier tale than the movie itself.
After the premiere, we went to have dinner at Grappa, where we recalled the fun we had in getting into the premiere earlier. During dinner, I asked Tom and Cassian what their Top 5 Films of all time were. I was curious if the three of us share the same. These were their answers:
Tom Culliver: HEAT, BARRY LYNDON, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, CITY OF GOD, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (Tom also likes RUMBLE FISH and LORD OF THE RINGS.)
Cassian Elwes: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, APOCALYPSE NOW, THE GODFATHER: PART II, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, BORSALINO (Cassian also likes DOG DAY AFTERNOON, SERPICO, JAWS, 12 MONKEYS, and LORD OF THE RINGS.)
Tania Gunadi: LORD OF THE RINGS, BOWFINGER, THE GODFATHER: PART II, NOTTING HILL, and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.
Upon hearing BOWFINGER, Cassian and I laughed while explaining to Tom, who hadn’t seen the movie, the premise of the movie. Then we quoted lines like, “Keep it together, keep it together,” “Kit Ramsey,” and “Chubby Rain.” What a fun night.
On our way back to the AirBnb, we stopped by a beautiful museum, and we just had to take a picture with Einstein.
Day 2
Friday Jan 18
THE EXCITEMENT OF POSSIBILITIES
Sundance is packed! As we walked on Main Street to get coffee and breakfast, lines of people were everywhere. As an NYU alum, Tom suggested we have breakfast at Tisch on Main, a place just for NYU students that morning. And they gave away cute purple NYU beanies if you ate there - BONUS! Unfortunately, they only allowed Tom to bring one guest, so he had to choose between me and Cassian. I insisted that I eat alone elsewhere. Being the gentleman, Tom suggested we all go to Don Galo across the street where there was very little wait.
But Tom later surprised me with an NYU beanie! He must have seen how much I wanted it, despite my attempts to have kept a cool, calm, and collected vibe about the hat. Check out Cassian with the photo bomb below!
As we sipped our coffee at this authentic Mexican restaurant, Cassian explained more about how movies get made. I learned the ins and outs of how financiers invest their money through escrow accounts and bond companies. I inquired about the difference between gap loans versus bank loans, and the timeline of when the foreign sales would pay the bank directly. It was all so fascinating. As Cassian guided through the steps, my mind swirled in excitement of the possibilities.
I then chatted with Tom and learned that he studied directing and writing at NYU and that the first movie that he directed was a heist movie. I love heist movies! Especially bank heists. Cassian and I wanted to see it, so Tom promised to send us a copy when back in LA.
By day two at Sundance, what I’d observed so far was that Cassian and Tom know pretty much everything about the movie industry. They know who the players are, the agents, the directors, the stars, the distribution companies, the investors, AND they know what the industry is looking for at the current moment. They understand the market and they are really good at what they do.
After breakfast, we met Seth and Mike. I won’t write their full names or their company name because I didn’t ask for permission to include them in the blog. Let’s just say they formed a new distribution company. Prior to the meeting, Cassian explained to me how the original model of film distribution was set up. Then he said, “now, let’s hear about the new model.” After the meeting with Seth and Mike, Cassian and Tom discussed the pluses and minuses of this new model. It was fascinating to hear the different points of view.
From there, we went to the LOVE ME premiere starring the wonderful Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun.
We enjoyed the acting in LOVE ME and discussed the film’s concept as we headed to the Audible lounge where they offered complimentary matcha tea, s’mores, and some cute tents in which to listen to Audibles. Several people recognized Cassian, and they approached to say hello, and many ended up pitching him their projects.
From there we went to see a panel at the MACRO Lounge. Cassian introduced me to so many wonderful people like Erin from Nashville, Sola from NY, and the humble Charles King. I liked this lounge! Hip hop music was always blasting — my favorite music.
By now, we were all hungry again. Tom went to an NYU party while Cassian and I attended the Women in Film Think Tank dinner with around twenty-five influential people. It was quite impressive when everyone was introduced. From top Hollywood agents to CEOs of film companies, to presidents of major production houses. And it was kind and humbling that the group included me in all the conversations — all due to Cassian being generous in speaking highly of my screenplay and my background.
I sure learned a lot at this dinner meeting. This was the Women in Film Think Tank’s first dinner together and they were looking to figure out the best ways to conduct the ‘think tank’ with the twenty-five people spread around the dining table. Cassian was passionate about the subject, and being solution oriented and creative, he took charge and came up with an idea on how to collaborate. It became a very productive discussion.
After dinner, we went to the hottest party in Sundance that night, the Sapphire Lounge, where celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Lucy Liu, and Julia Fox hung out. Hands down we had the most hilarious experience together here. While it was more of a “you had to be there!” type of story, let’s just say that we had a whimsical encounter with Lucy Liu and Julia Fox on the red carpet, that if it were scripted, you’d think it was coming directly from an episode of SEINFELD.
I met a few ladies who were a singer songwriter and actress, Coco and Lucy, and we got along famously, enjoying each other’s company while sampling desserts, margaritas, and we even a did little bit of dancing!
Later, Cassian mentioned we could perhaps meet some celebrities and stay a bit longer. I asked if he wanted to do that, or if he maybe thought that I wanted to meet celebs, to which he said the latter. I then clarified that while I was having a lot of fun, I’d rather go back to the Air BnB so that I could take notes on all that I’d learned that day. So, it was bye-bye Julia Fox, hello notebook!
Join us tomorrow for more Sundance reflections from Tania!
