Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced that filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) and theatre artist Lisa Kron (Fun Home) have joined its Board of Trustees.
Under the guidance of President & Founder Robert Redford and Board Chair Pat Mitchell, in close collaboration with Executive Director Keri Putnam, the 25-person Board is responsible for the governance of the nonprofit Sundance Institute.
Coogler and Kron join the Board as Artist Trustees, who are participants from Institute programs, including the Sundance Film Festival, artistic Labs and direct granting, who share with the Board their perspectives and act as liaisons to other Institute alumni. Artist Trustees in recent years have included Ava DuVernay, Rob Epstein, Liesl Tommy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lynn Nottage, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Rodrigo Garcia.
In addition to Redford, Mitchell, Coogler and Kron, the other business, cultural and philanthropic leaders on the Institute’s Board are: Jeanne Donovan Fisher, Vice Chair; Geoffrey K. Sands, Vice Chair; Sean Bailey; Kenneth Cole; Fred Dust; Ava DuVernay; Philipp Engelhorn; Rob Epstein; Caterina Fake; Bob Frankenberg; Cindy Harrell Horn; Lyn Davis Lear; Gigi Pritzker; Alejandro Ramirez Magaña; Amy Redford; Thomas E. Rothman; Nadine Schiff-Rosen; Jim Swartz; Liesl Tommy; John Warnock; and Jacki Zehner. In addition, Emeritus Trustees are: Wally Weisman, Chair Emeritus; Glenn Close; Jake Eberts; Sally Field; Steven Haft; Mellody Hobson; and George White.
NEW ARTIST TRUSTEES
Ryan Coogler began his film career at USC and garnered attention for his feature film Fruitvale Station and his three short films Locks, Gap and Fig which have played numerous film festivals and won numerous awards over the past few years. Ryan was a participant in the 2013 Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab where he developed his first feature, Fruitvale Station, starring Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer. The film won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and also won the Un Certain Regard category at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival as well as the 2013 Vanguard Award presented by Sundance Institute and Tiffany & Co. Ryan’s next feature project was Creed, a revival of the Rocky franchise, which premiered in 2015. Ryan is not only an accomplished filmmaker but also a passionate activist. Most recently, he organized a #JUSTICEFORFLINT benefit event in Flint, Michigan to raise money and awareness for the Flint water crisis. In April of 2016, he was named as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. Ryan’s next feature project will be writing and directing Black Panther for Marvel.
Lisa Kron is a writer and performer whose work has been widely produced in New York, regionally, and internationally. She wrote the book and lyrics for musical Fun Home, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori, which won five 2015 Tony awards including Best Musical and was finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Lisa’s other plays include In The Wake, Well, and the Obie Award winning 2.5 Minute Ride. As an actor she received a Tony award nomination for her performance in Well and a Lortel Award for her turn as Mrs. Mi-Tzu and Mrs. Yang in the Foundry Theater’s acclaimed production of Good Person of Szechuan. She is the recipient of Guggenheim, Sundance and MacDowell fellowships, a Doris Duke Performing Artists Award, a Cal Arts/Alpert Award, a Helen Merrill Award, and grants from the Creative Capital and NYFA. Lisa is also founding member of the OBIE- and Bessie-Award-winning collaborative theater company The Five Lesbian Brothers. She serves on the board of the MacDowell Colony and the Council of the Dramatists Guild of America.
Sundance Institute
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, The Invisible War, The Square, Dirty Wars, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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