The latter, which took director Christopher Quinn four years to make, chronicles the lives of three Sudanese refugees after they emigrate to the US.
Another Sundance premiere, "Boyhood," is the much talked about film that took director Richard Linklater and his cast 12 years to film.
It took director Tim Ruse and his team three years of research, development and funding (including a grant from Film Victoria) to launch Zero Latency.
It took director Chazelle, 32, six years to get "La La Land" off the ground, fusing a 1950s musical sensibility with a contemporary love story.
He added that he had taken directors, including Peter Sellars and Robert Wilson, to the State Theater, and "they liked the space and saw real possibilities".
Take director Paul Verhoeven's recent Oscar-nominated Elle in contrast: yesterday's rape-revenge exploitation fare is today's thoughtfully feminist festival film.
Take director Sam Mendes, who said he wasn't going to direct the next film, only to relent two months later.
Cordova took out directors' insurance.
Worley H. Clark, Jr, previously Millennium's lead director, takes over as chairman of the board.
The Avengers won best Blockbuster, and Wes Anderson took best director for Moonrise Kingdom.
He took Best Director that year over me, and he well-deserved it.
