Sundance Collab is pleased to announce the group of fellows selected for the second year of the Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency. Created in honor of social justice leader Michael Latt, the six-month online residency will run from March–August 2026 on Sundance Collab to support early-career storytellers from an expansive mix of backgrounds whose work is rooted in creative, cultural, and social impact. The program aims to inspire and uplift artists through meaningful learning opportunities, mentorship, and a nurturing creative community. Sundance Collab is Sundance Institute’s year-round digital space for global artists to learn, create, build community, and champion independent filmmaking.

Seven fellows were selected across three tracks: screenwriting/TV writing, writing/directing, and documentary filmmaking. The fellows will each participate in dedicated meetings with Sundance Institute advisors to receive feedback on their projects, as well as regular meetings with the cohort and Sundance Institute artist program staff. Each participant will gain access to two Sundance Collab courses of their choice and will receive a Library Pass to access the extensive Sundance Collab Video Library, which includes Master Classes and recordings of previous Sundance Collab events.

Advisors for the 2026 Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency include: Scott Z. Burns (Contagion), Susanna Fogel (Ponies), Yance Ford (Strong Island), Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Wanuri Kahiu (Rafiki), Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), and Laura Poitras (Citizenfour).

Michael Latt was a passionate social justice leader whose purpose-driven work impacted countless communities. As an award-winning entertainment marketer by training, he harnessed the power of art, creativity, and storytelling to create numerous nationwide impact initiatives, most recently as founder and CEO of Lead with Love. In his life, Michael made it his mission and purpose to transform society into one of love, equity, compassion, and true justice. In his public work, he fought tirelessly for change through art, narrative, and policy.

The 2026 Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency fellows are:

Documentary Filmmakers:

Sara Chishti is a New York–based filmmaker directing TAXI DRIVER, a feature documentary exploring the predatory taxi medallion crisis that has devastated NYC’s cabbies. Her work includes the SXSW-premiering Exodus and HBO’s Eyes on the Prize. A 2025 BGDM Sustainable Artist Fellow, her work has been supported by Chicken & Egg, CAAM, Firelight, Islamic Scholarship Fund, The Rogovy Foundation, and Kickstarter.

TAXI DRIVER

Amid crippling debt and relentless exploitation, New York City’s immigrant taxi drivers fight to reclaim their humanity and the American Dream, navigating a city-sanctioned medallion lending scheme that has left their community in financial ruin.

Amin Pakparvar is an Iranian filmmaker and essayist. He developed a focus on archival research while earning an MA in visual and critical studies at SAIC. His work examines how contemporary Iranian archives can be reconfigured into potential histories that critically reframe the present and future. His recent documentary, Memories of a Window (2026), premiered at the 76th Berlinale and received a Crystal Bear for Best Short Film.

Alternatives of Death

Amid interrogations, a prisoner faced a choice: life in prison or execution. Burdened by guilt over endangering close friends through her activism, she chose death. The film explores the emotional aftermath, asking how loved ones understand her decision.

Fiction Writer-Directors:

Gabby Beans is an award-winning writer-director-actor creating genre-blurring work that explores the psychospiritual landscapes of Black femme interiority. A 2026 Berlinale Talents selection, her directorial debut short, Angels Pull Your Hair, examines familial legacies of mental illness through a daring psychological lens. She has earned a Tony nomination and appears in upcoming films directed by Steven Spielberg and India Donaldson.

Angels Pull Your Hair

If she stays awake, she unravels; if she sleeps, the hag returns. Escape means facing the faceless demon that follows her — or becoming it.

Lydia Matata is a Nairobi-based filmmaker whose work explores the people, experiences, and questions that move her. Her films include Kenyan on Mars (Al Jazeera English) and Float, which has screened at festivals including the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and the Joburg Film Festival. She is currently developing her debut feature film, Pepo Kali.

Pepo Kali

After a biker dies in a grisly riding accident, a grieving mother learns how to ride a motorcycle in an attempt to find healing through movement.

Rippin Sindher is an Academy Award–qualifying filmmaker and winner of the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge. Her short film Flight 182, executive-produced by Ridley Scott and Emmy winner Archie Panjabi, screened internationally. Her anti-hate film Seva was recognized by the U.S. Congress. Sindher participated in Shondaland’s directing program and Ryan Murphy’s Half and was VP of Rideback’s Rise council.

Flight 182

After Flight 182 mysteriously explodes over the Atlantic Ocean, a pregnant widow takes on the government to uncover a buried terrorist plot and demand justice for her husband’s death.

Fiction Film and Episodic Writers:

Pedro Eiras is a Brazilian screenwriter, playwright, and journalist whose work blends investigative journalism and storytelling to explore history, democracy, and collective memory. A recent MFA graduate of UMass Amherst, he was a semifinalist for the O’Neill NPC and the DGF Fellowship, among others. His latest project, inspired by Brazil’s dictatorship, is in development with Audible.

A Subject of Interest

In 1968, Rodrigo Ferreira, a young college student, becomes an interpreter for John Moretti, a U.S. agent sent to Brazil to train the police. As they travel the country together, the two grow close, but when Rodrigo begins to grasp the dark purpose behind these lessons, their unlikely bond is put to the test.

Makisa Francis is an award-winning screenwriter driven by a deep curiosity about how media and technology shape our collective consciousness. Her pilot, Unfluence, was named a 2026 recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship through the Athena Film Festival.

Unfluence

While seeking recovery for her internet addiction at an experimental rehab facility, a fallen “it” girl uncovers a corporate conspiracy designed to control the masses.