Category: News

New Collaboration with NBCUniversal to Support Underrepresented Filmmakers in Building Sustainable Careers
Los Angeles – Sundance Institute announced today the third class of the Momentum Fellowship, a full-year program of deep, customized creative and professional support for mid-career writers and directors from underrepresented communities who are poised to take the next step in their careers in fiction and documentary filmmaking.
The fellowship includes an unrestricted grant funding, industry mentorship, professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company supported by The Harnisch Foundation, writing workshops and industry meetings in Spring 2021, and bespoke year-round support from Sundance Institute staff. Additionally, the FilmTwo Fellowship has merged into the Momentum Fellowship, and NBCUniversal will provide an opportunity for select Momentum fellows working on fiction projects to participate in the Universal Directors Initiative.

Los Angeles — The latest cohort of Sundance Institute Documentary Fund Grantees, announced today, comprise 23 nonfiction film projects from 21 countries of production. Unrestricted grant support, totaling $540,000, will benefit the projects across various production stages from development to post-production. Grants are made possible by The Open Society Foundations and the John D.

In June, the Sundance Institute publicly acknowledged that our Festival and Labs have not always been safe spaces for our BIPOC community members. We reaffirmed our commitment to the principles central to our mission: equity, inclusivity, and accessibility, and our commitment to reimagine the Sundance experience at our Festival and beyond. A critical part of this process is to engage more deeply with our community of artists, audiences, and staff to identify and understand past experiences so that we can use the information to shape safer and more inclusive spaces, especially in time for the 2021 Festival.

Last January, many of us were together in Park City, preparing ourselves for what we thought was already shaping up to be a tumultuous year. (Little did we know!)
As we kicked off the Festival, we reflected on the fact that, especially in volatile times, democracy and storytelling aren’t separate — they’re inextricably linked. And having a multiplicity of diverse voices telling independent, authentic stories is as critical to art and media as it is to politics and government.

The Institute Continues to Shape Board Leadership for Future
Los Angeles — The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced the newly appointed and recent additions to the Institute’s Board of Trustees. Kimberlé Crenshaw, Ann Lewnes, Wonya Lucas join the board alongside Uzodinma Iweala, Amanda Kelso, William Plapinger, and Junaid Sarieddeen who joined over the last year. Together they add to the business, cultural, and philanthropic leaders who guide and steer the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity.

Los Angeles — Sundance Institute announced today the 12 fellows chosen to participate in its first-ever Episodic: Pilot to Series Lab, designed as an immersive two-part experience hosted on Sundance Collab, where selected emerging TV writers will workshop an original pilot and develop a series overview.
Beginning with the Lab, Fellows will benefit from a full year of customized, ongoing support from Feature Film Program staff, Creative Advisors and Industry Mentors, led by Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, Michelle Satter and Director of the Episodic Program, Jennifer Goyne Blake. Working with accomplished showrunners, the Fellows will participate in one-on-one story meetings, craft workshops, and Writers’ Rooms, which together provide creative and strategic tools for success.

LOS ANGELES — The Sundance Institute today announced that Gina Duncan will join the Sundance Film Festival team in the newly created role of Producing Director, reporting to Festival Director Tabitha Jackson and working closely with Programming Director Kim Yutani.
As Producing Director, Duncan will integrate the artistic vision of the Festival with its practical, audience-facing elements. She’ll work with the programming team as they curate works for exhibition, and serve as a leader for creating strategic vision and decision-making on both the Sundance Film Festival and year-round public programs.

On Friday, news broke of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, who over the course of her lengthy career was a key figure in advancing women’s rights and gender equality. At the time of her death from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, Ginsburg—who was was the second woman ever to serve on the nation’s highest court—had held her post for 27 years.
The fiery yet soft-spoken jurist’s life and legacy were chronicled in Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Oscar-nominated documentary, RBG, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City.

Park City, UT — The nonprofit Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films, a new mission-driven documentary studio, selected and announced their latest cohort of filmmakers and projects supported by the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund, an initiative that elevates the voices of independent artists working at the intersection of science and nonfiction storytelling as they produce and promote work and discourse that highlights the overlap of science and art.
The ten selected project teams will receive non-recoupable grants and access to Sundance Institute’s year-round continuum of support, which can help address creative, financial and production issues. In addition to this tailored project support, the grantees will receive opportunities for engagement events where they can connect with Sundance’s network of alumni and creative advisors and Sandbox Films ’s roster of renowned scientists, as well as enthusiastic audiences.

Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker & Journalist to Lead Support of Nonfiction FieldLos Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced that Carrie Lozano will helm its Documentary Film Program, succeeding interim Director Kristin Feeley and prior Director Tabitha Jackson.

As Documentary Film Program Director, Lozano will elevate and support nonfiction filmmakers worldwide at all stages of creating and distributing new cinematic work. She will also work to advance and elevate the health of the independent nonfiction field, ensuring that diverse forms, viewpoints, and participants continue to be central to all Institute programs, which include Labs, global and national partnerships and film funds.

New Fellowship Offers Custom-Tailored Mentorship, Community, and Cash Grant from Sundance Institute and Adobe

11 Women Artists, Creating Bold New Work Across Diverse Disciplines, Selected for Year of Comprehensive Support
Los Angeles — Sundance Institute announced today the 11 artists selected for its first-ever Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellowship, designed to meaningfully support women artists creating bold new work in film and media, with a priority on filmmakers from historically underrepresented communities. The fellowship includes a $5,000 cash grant, skill-building workshops, and year-round mentorship from Sundance Institute staff and Adobe executives. Fellows were selected by Adobe from Sundance Institute’s community of supported artists across program disciplines.

LOS ANGELES — Six Indigenous filmmakers participated in the 2020 Sundance Institute Indigenous Intensive held August 3-7, redesigned digitally on Sundance Co//ab . The Intensive focused on the advancement of storytellers’ projects under the guidance of experienced Creative Advisors and Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program. The Intensive is presented by WarnerMedia.