Sundance and Sian Heder's CODA

WE HAVE HISTORY MAKING NEWS!!

Sian’s film CODA has made history at Sundance as the first film to win all three top U.S. Dramatic honors at the festival. The film scored a record-breaking distribution deal when it sold to Apple after an intense bidding war. CODA was Sian’s follow-up to "Tallulah," which she wrote during our flagship October program in 2008, and went on to direct with Elliot Page in the leading role.

CODA is about a teen girl who is the only hearing person in her deaf family and is stuck keeping their family fishing business afloat. But when she's drawn to her school's choir club, she's encouraged by her teacher to pursue a career in music.

When some in the industry continue to insist on the importance of genre and sex and violence as the ingredients needed to find an audience, CODA was an instant crowd-pleaser when it premiered in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition.

Congratulations to Sian Heder, a fiercely hard working writer and director. We’re looking forward to the day when even wider audiences get to see this film.