Los Angeles, CA — The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced that it has been awarded a $1,000,000 three-year grant from the Annenberg Foundation to provide general operating support for the Institute’s year-round creative and tactical programs for independent film and theatre artists. The contribution will further the Institute’s mission to discover and develop independent artists and audiences through labs, grants, the #ArtistServices initiative and public programs, including the Sundance Film Festival – the Institute’s largest annual community program.

The Annenberg Foundation’s previous support of Sundance Institute includes the Annenberg Film Fellows Program (2004-2011), which helped cultivate film projects by 102 artists including Sterlin Harjo (Four Sheets to the Wind, Barking Water), Dee Rees (Pariah), Sean Durkin and Josh Mond (Martha Marcy May Marlene), and Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild).

Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “Sundance Institute’s programs support diverse storytellers and promote their work in a way we hope enriches contemporary culture. We are indebted to the Annenberg Foundation for their exceptional continued support.”

Wallis Annenberg, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, said, “We continue to be impressed with Sundance Institute’s role in supporting artists who have a transformative impact on our culture. We have long believed that the arts play a vital role in our communities and improve the public well-being by communicating unique perspectives, new practices, and universal themes. Sundance Institute proves this through its distinguished legacy and ability to promote innovation and creativity in independent film, theatre communities, and industries in the U.S. and abroad.”

The Annenberg Foundation’s donation will enable Sundance Institute’s continued leadership in the field of independent film and theatre across the full spectrum of its program areas. It will bolster the activities of the Feature Film Program, Documentary Film Program, Theatre Program, Film Music Program, Native American and Indigenous Program, Sundance Film Festival, and other Institute programs and initiatives through July 31, 2015.

The Annenberg Foundation
The Annenberg Foundation is a family foundation established in 1989. Founded by Walter H. Annenberg, publisher and ambassador, the Foundation supports the worldwide community through its grantmaking, technical assistance and direct charitable activities. www.annenbergfoundation.org

Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Son of Babylon, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.