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Two Longhorns Among The Year’s Top 10 Up-And-Coming Filmmakers

Heather Courtney

Austin’s indie film scene looks to be as hot as ever this year — two of the directors of the most anticipated documentaries of 2010 are products of UT’s film program and based in the city.

Talented filmmakers Heather Courtney, MA ’00, and Laura Dunn, MA ’02, were both just named to this year’s “10 to Watch” list by The Independent magazine.

The magazine chose the 10 from hundreds of names culled through nominations, festival line-ups, suggestions from industry players, and more. (Making it all the more impressive that one-fifth of the winners are Texas alums!)

Laura Dunn

Courtney is at work on Where Soldiers Come From, in which she follows young National Guard members from her Michigan hometown as they prepare for, perform, and return from tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Her first film was Los Trabajadores/The Workers, which documented the lives of migrant workers; it won major awards and was broadcast on PBS.

Dunn is working on Forty Panes, a documentary inspired by the life and poetry of Wendell Barry. 

She previously directed The Unforeseen, a documentary about development and overdevelopment around Austin that was co-produced by Robert Redford.

Look for their sure to be thought-provoking new films out this year.

 
 
 

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