Producers Program
Producers
Program
Recognizing the crucial role that independent producers play in finding, shaping, and championing original filmmaking voices, the Sundance Institute Producers Program supports both fiction and nonfiction producers at all stages of their feature-length projects and their careers.
Through a year-round continuum of support — including labs, fellowships, networking events, funding, and educational resource opportunities — producers are given the opportunity to build community with fellow producers and industry members, hone creative skills, gain additional knowledge of the field, and develop strategies for pitching, producing, financing, and releasing their films.
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Documentaries from around the globe that bear witness to issues of human rights, social justice, civil liberties, and freedom of expression bring forth truth in ways which can have a profound effect on societies and lives. Bringing these truths forward is critical, now more than ever.”
Robert Redford
marking the 20th anniversary of Documentary Fund in 2022
Producers Track
At the heart of the Producers Program is the Producers Track. This open application supports emerging independent producers with a work-in-progress feature-length film to be considered for the Producers Lab and Fellowship (yearlong program commencing July 2025).
There are two different Producer Tracks: Feature Film (fiction) or Documentary Film (nonfiction).
Producers Program Calendar
Opportunities
Location Details
Dates
Documentary Film Producers Lab
Ucross, Wyoming
July 21-26, 2025
Awards & Grants
Feature Film and Documentary Film Producing fellows each receive a grant that may be applied to personal expenses and unsupported costs for project advancement.
The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Awards recognize two producers (and/or producing teams) with films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in the fiction and nonfiction categories with a $10,000 grant. The awards are presented annually during the Sundance Film Festival Producers Celebration.
Created in honor of indie producer Mark Silverman, whose credits included the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing, Raising Arizona, and Blood Simple, the Mark Silverman Honor is awarded to an emerging producer or producing team selected for the Feature Film Producers Fellowship.
Advice for Applicants
The Producers Program is designed to give aspiring producers the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their craft. While the specific criteria for participation differs across our various programs, we are seeking passionate, bold, risk-taking, and creatively rigorous artists for all of our initiatives. Some things to think about while applying to any of our programs include your personal connection to the material, why you are passionate about this particular story, how you intend to realize the project creatively and logistically, and the impact you hope to have on audiences.
Featured Projects
Sugarcane
2022 Sundance Documentary Fund
2024 Sundance Film Festival – Directing Award: U.S. Documentary
Union
2022 Sundance Documentary Fund
2024 Sundance Film Festival – U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change
Nocturnes
2020 Sandbox Fund
2024 Sundance Film Festival – World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft
The Battle for Laikipia
2017 Sundance Documentary Fund
2024 Sundance Film Festival – Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction
Support for the Producers Program
The Sundance Institute Producers Program is supported by an endowment from the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Charitable Foundation, with generous additional support from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Amazon MGM Studios.
Photo Gallery
A look inside our Producers Program Labs
