Indigenous Program
Indigenous
Program
The Sundance Institute Indigenous Program champions and provides deep support of Indigenous-created stories on a global scale. From labs and fellowships to screenings and gatherings around the world, the program’s offerings are designed in response to the specific needs of Native and Indigenous storytellers. Through our work, we emulate our core values of decolonizing the screen and uplifting the voices of Indigenous artists, recognizing that telling their stories comes with great responsibility and obligation towards Indigenous peoples, communities and their sovereignty.
Indigenous Program Calendar
The Indigenous Program focuses on the specific development of storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds, encompassing feature film and episodic work. Fellows will receive hands-on support from the Institute and advisors, including one-on-one feedback sessions and roundtable discussions.
Upcoming Opportunities
Location Details
Dates
Indigenous Film Tour
The 2024 Sundance Institute Indigenous Film Tour is a 83-minute theatrical program featuring eight short films from Indigenous filmmakers: four from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival program, three from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and one short film from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Started in 2021 as a virtual presentation in conjunction with our friends at museums, Native cultural centers, and arthouse cinemas, the 2024 tour continues as an in-person exhibition with partnered screenings in June and the program available to rent from June 2024 to March 2025. Find a venue near you and register for the events on the partner websites. Screenings are supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Vibes With The Tribes, Detroit, MI
- Autry Museum – Los Angeles, CA
- Tulsa Film Collective – Tulsa, OK
- Cinedoom – Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM
Program
Bay of Herons / U.S.A.
Director: Jared James Lank
Calling on the strength of his ancestors, a young Mi’kmaq man reflects on the pain of bearing witness to the destruction of his homelands. Fiction.
Winding Path / U.S.A.
Directors: Alexandra Lazarowich, Ross Kauffman, Producer: Robin Honan
Eastern Shoshone MD-PhD student Jenna Murray spent summers on the Wind River Indian Reservation helping her grandfather anyway she could. When he suddenly dies, she must find a way to heal before realizing her dream of a life in medicine. Nonfiction.
Headdress / U.S.A.
Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire, Producer: David Spadora
When an act of casual racism confronts a Queer Native man, he retreats into his mind to find the perfect clap back from various versions of his own identity.
Ekbeh / U.S.A.
Director: Mariah Eli Hernandez-Fitch
While learning to make gumbo, the creator shares personal stories about their grandparents as a way to honor and preserve their Indigenous history and life. Nonfiction.
Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal / Canada, Germany
Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Alisi Telengut
The formation of Lake Baikal in Siberia is reimagined, featuring the voice of a Buryat woman who can still recall some words in her endangered Buryat language (a Mongolian dialect). Animation.
Hawaiki / New Zealand
Director and Screenwriter: Nova Paul, Producer: Tara Riddell
At the edge of the playground close to the forest, the children of Okiwi School made a refuge they call Hawaiki. Hawaiki has spiritual and metaphysical connections for Māori as the children create a space for their self-determination. Fiction.
Sunflower Siege Engine / U.S.A.
Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sky Hopinka
Movements of resistance are collapsed and woven together, from reflections of one’s own body in the world today, to documentation of Alcatraz, the reclamation of Cahokia, and the repatriation of the ancestors. Fiction.
Goodnight Irene / U.S.A.
Director: Sterlin Harjo
Three Seminole patients share some laughs and poignant truths as they wait for treatment at the local Indian hospital. Fiction.
Upcoming Dates
If you are interested in booking the Indigenous Film Tour, please reach out to Mike Plante and Katie Arthurs.
Cinedoom
Albuquerque, NM
June 8, 2024
Cinedoom
Santa Fe, NM
June 9, 2024
Tulsa Film Collective
Tulsa, OK
June 28, 2024
Vibes With The Tribes
Detroit, MI
June 27, 2024
Support for the Indigenous Program
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The 11th Hour Project, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, Nia Tero, The Christensen Fund, WBD Access, Indigenous Screen Office, NBCUniversal, SAGindie, and Indigenous Media Initiatives.
FAQ
No, the applications for the Indigenous Program are free to apply to.
Our program strives to uplift the voices of Indigenous artists and our opportunities are limited to those who identify themselves as Indigenous.
After you submit your application, there should be an estimated notification date listed.
At this time, we do not accept writing teams for our Native Lab.
We are happy to answer any questions you might have about the program. You can reach out to us at indigenous_program@sundance.org.
Photo Gallery
A look inside our Indigenous Program Labs and Intensives
