Category: News

Asian couple embraces, both facing the camera, in front of a tree.

“Minari,” “Judas and the Black Messiah” Lead Sundance-Supported 2021 Oscar Nominees

Early Monday morning, 2021’s delayed awards season picked up more steam with the unveiling of the nominees for the 93rd annual Academy Awards. Priyanka Chopra (star of the 2018 Festival film A Kid Like Jake) and Nick Jonas (who was in the 2016 Festival film GOAT) went live to announce the nods across all 23 categories, and we want to congratulate all of the Sundance-supported projects that are up for awards. In total, Sundance-supported projects received 31 nominations (including four out of eight Best Picture nominations).

Read More »

​Sundance Institute and XRM Media Partner to Present Sundance Film Festival: Asia

Sundance Institute and XRM Media today announced a collaboration to create the Sundance Film Festival: Asia to support, connect, promote, and celebrate the independent film community within Asia while showcasing a selection of films from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival: Asia is an expansion of the Institute’s programming in the region, further championing and promoting visibility for independent storytelling before a wider global audience. The first edition will take place in late summer 2021 and be hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia, with support from IDN Media, Indonesia’s leading media platform company.

Read More »

Updates from the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs

Dear family and friends,
Nearly a year ago, we announced our Respond and Reimagine Fund, which dedicated a million dollars in grants to artists and organizations impacted by the pandemic, with priority support for BIPOC artists and organizations that have been disproportionately affected. In the difficult months since then, the resilience, collective action, and creativity of the independent artist community have continued to inspire us, as they persisted despite adversity.
Submissions to the Sundance Institute’s labs and granting programs have been steady — in some cases, they’re higher than ever — and we recognize the ongoing urgency of providing creative and financial support to artists making new work during a time of great difficulty.

Read More »

Announcing the 2021 Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive Fellows

We’re thrilled to announce the 11 screenwriters selected to participate in Sundance Institute’s ninth annual Screenwriters Intensive, taking place digitally on March 4–5, 2021. The Intensive is a two-day workshop for emerging independent writers and writer/directors developing their first fiction features. This cohort of artists from traditionally underrepresented communities will have the opportunity to interrogate their stories and refine their artistic practice, all under the guidance of established writers and the Institute’s Feature Film Program, led by me and the program’s Founding Director, Michelle Satter.

Read More »
Default missing

2021 Sundance Film Festival Announces Audience Attendance

Park City, UT —The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced attendance information for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which took place both online and in-person in 20 cities across the country from January 28 through February 3. The seven day Festival reached a total audience 2.7 times larger than at the typical 11-day Utah edition, despite the shorter duration and with fewer feature films (73) than the festival’s typical 120 features.

Read More »

“Promising Young Woman,” “The Father” Lead Sundance-Supported Golden Globe Nominees

This morning, the nominees for the 2021 Golden Globe Awards were announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and we want to congratulate all of the projects with ties to the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival for being recognized.

Promising Young Woman and The Father led the Sundance-supported nominees with four apiece. Promising Young Woman received nods for Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Screenplay; for Carey Mulligan’s lead performance; and for Emerald Fennell’s direction on her debut feature.

Read More »
Default missing

2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced

Park City, UT — After six days and 73 feature films, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony took place tonight, hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, with jurors presenting 24 prizes for feature filmmaking and seven for short films. Honorees, named in total below, represent new achievements in global independent storytelling. Bold, intimate, and humanizing stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to CODA (U.

Read More »

“Never Rarely Sometimes Always” Leads Sundance-Supported Independent Spirit Award Nominees

Earlier today, nominees for the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards were unveiled, and we want to congratulate all of the projects with ties to the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival for being recognized.
Eliza Hittman’s masterful drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always led the pack, notching seven nominations, including Best Feature and Best Director, while Lee Isaac Chung’s gorgeous, delicate family tale Minari (soon to enter wide release!) racked up six, including Best Male Lead and Best Screenplay.
Channing Godfrey Peoples’s Miss Juneteenth, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, and Kitty Green’s The Assistant also received multiple nods, and in the Best Documentary category, all of the nominated films premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Read More »