LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program announced an open call for applications for its 2014 Native Lab Fellowship, a two-stage artist development program that begins with a filmmakers lab in May 2014. Four projects are selected each year for the Fellowship program, which is open to Native American, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native film artists.

Applicants are asked to submit a proposal for an original narrative, documentary short or feature length film.  Applications are selected based on their originality, artistic voice and potential to advance toward production.  Storylines do not require a Native American theme.

“We encourage artists from all tribal communities to submit their work to the Native Lab for consideration,” says Bird Runningwater (Mescalero Apache), director of the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program. “The creative environment Sundance Institute fosters gives filmmakers an opportunity to shape their work, find a unique voice and share different perspectives through film.”

The Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellowship is a vital part of the organization’s full circle of support for Native filmmakers to help them get their films made and seen. Some past Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program alumni include: Aurora Guerrero (Mosquito y Mari); Billy Luther (Miss Navajo); Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (On the Ice); Chad Burris (Barking Water); Sterlin Harjo (Four Sheets to the Wind) and Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest).

Applications must be completed by February 3, 2014.  The application is now online:
https://my.sundance.org/forms/native

About Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program
Celebrating its 20th anniversary and rooted in the recognition of a rich tradition of storytelling and artistic expression by Native American and Indigenous peoples, Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program operates the Native Forum at Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Native Lab Film Fellowship and the Native Producers Fellowship established for emerging Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian filmmakers. The program has also established filmmaker labs in New Zealand and Australia. The program has supported such projects as Bran Nue Dae, Here I Am, Four Sheets to the Wind, Barking Water, Eagle vs Shark, Boy, Miss Navajo, Grab, Sikumi, On the Ice and Mosquita y Mari. www.sundance.org/native

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 Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.