The Latest

Sundance Institute Names 2020 January Screenwriters Lab Fellows
LOS ANGELES â Fifteen screenwriters will convene to advance their independent projects at Sundance Instituteâs January Screenwriters Lab, taking place at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah from January 17â22, 2020. At the Lab, the screenwriters will immerse themselves in a rigorous and holistic creative process, working to further develop their scripts with the mentorship of accomplished creative advisors.
The January Screenwriters Lab has been created and organized under the leadership of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter and Deputy Director Ilyse McKimmie.

Sundance Institute Presents: An Artist at the Table Presented by IMDbPro
Darren Walker to Receive the Inaugural Vanguard Award for Philanthropy
Evening Featuring the World Premiere of Crip Camp: Tickets on Sale Now Here
Park City, UT â Sundance Institute invites champions of independent storytelling to attend An Artist at the Table Presented by IMDbPro, Sundance Instituteâs annual fundraising event hosted on the first night of the Sundance Film Festival, Thursday, January 23, 2020, in Park City, Utah. During the celebratory event, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, will be honored with the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy. Proceeds from the evening will advance Sundance Instituteâs mission and programs that discover, support and amplify risk-taking and exciting independent film, media and theatre artists.

2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: NEW FRONTIER LINEUP ANNOUNCED
Park City, UT â Sundance Institute spotlights work at the dynamic crossroads of film, art and technology with the New Frontier selections for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, announced today. This curated collection of cutting-edge independent and experimental media works are by creators who are pushing artistic innovation across mediums that include rocket travel, biotech, facial recognition, mixed reality (MR), smartphone AR, underwater VR, game engines, big data, AI, the human archive, and innovative uses of SMS text & iPhone video capture. Programmers assembled a global slate of work from a mix of invitations and submissions to an open call for work earlier this year.

2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: INDIE EPISODIC, SHORTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS ANNOUNCED
Park City, UT â Works selected across the Indie Episodic, Shorts and Special Events sections of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival were announced today, underlining Sundance Institute’s commitment to showcasing bold independent storytelling regardless of form, format or length.
Kim Yutani, the Festivalâs Director of Programming, said, âAuthenticity and independent voices resonate across formats â and thatâs evident across the full spectrum of this yearâs Indie Episodic and Special Events slates. Defined by distinctive voices and enlightening viewpoints, these are riveting projects that find inspiration in the urgent stories and extraordinary individuals of our times.

Congratulations to Golden Globe Nominees Awkwafina, Emma Thompson, and More
The 2020 Golden Globe nominees were announced earlier this morning in Los Angeles, and weâre excited to congratulate projects with ties to Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival on being recognized. Lulu Wangâs family dramedy The Farewell, which premiered at the Festival earlier this year before being released by A24 in July, collected two nominations: one for Awkwafinaâs breakout performance and one for Best Motion PictureâForeign Language. Find the complete list of nominations for Sundance-supported films below, and tune in on Sunday, January 5, 2020, to watch the ceremony on NBC.

Director Cecilia Aldarondo on the Struggle to Find the Edit for Her Doc ‘Memories of a Penitent Heart’
When my editor and I first got word in May 2015 that we were headed to the mountains for Sundance Instituteâs Documentary Edit and Story Lab, it was all very mysterious. âDonât expect to edit much,â they said. Bring a jacket; leave your ego.

2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: 118 FEATURE FILMS ANNOUNCED
Park City, UT â The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the showcase of new independent feature films selected across all categories for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 23âFebruary 2, 2020. The Sundance Film Festival is Sundance Instituteâs flagship public program, widely regarded as the largest American independent film festival and attended by more than 120,000 people and 1,300 accredited press, and powered by more than 2,000 volunteers last year.

What to Watch in December
Chinonye Chukwuâs second film, Clemency, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. And at the end of this month, it arrives in theaters, bringing her long journey with the film to a close.
Chukwu began working on the death-row drama after the 2011 execution of Troy Davis, an inmate who had long declared his innocence.

Sundance Institute Names Latest Nonfiction Grantees
47 Projects from 27 Countries Receive Over $1.5 Million in Grants
Los Angeles, CA â Sundance Institute today named the global cohort of independent nonfiction film
projects that comprise its latest Documentary Fund Grantees, including specialized grants administered by The Kendeda
Fund and the Stories of Change Fund.
Unrestricted granting support, totaling $1.

New Sundance Institute Fund Supports Preservation Efforts of Four Indie Filmmakers
Sundance Institute has helped independent artists tell their stories for decadesâand now weâre introducing a way to help them preserve their work too.

Sundance Institute Celebrates Indigenous Voices and Perspectives During Native American Heritage Month
Want to see a list of projects helmed by Indigenous filmmakers at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival? Click here.
In 1990, U.S.

Sundance Institute Announces Future of Culture Initiative
Los Angeles, CA â Sundance Institute today announced the Future of Culture Initiative, an action plan that includes partnerships with Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University in order to implement key recommendations from a two-year global field scan that analyzed strategies for improving equity and inclusion in emerging media. The initiative puts artists in discourse with technologists, scientists, policymakers, advocates and business leaders to imagine and design for the future of culture.
âNew Frontier is dedicated to creating, advancing and deepening partnerships that put âartists at the tableâ in sectors where their voices could be transformative but, historically, havenât been heard,â interim Director, New Frontier Lab Programs, Ruthie Doyle said of the program.

Sundance Institute Launches Digital Platform to Bring Together Film and Media Makers, Independent Voices Worldwide
Sundance Co//ab offers film and media makers a place to develop their stories, receive individual feedback, and learn from experienced mentors from the Sundance community
Los Angeles, CA âNovember 7, 2019â Sundance Institute today announced that Sundance Co//ab, an emerging global creative platform for independent storytellers to learn, share, and connect, has exited beta, with a thriving base of dedicated users and expanding offerings of courses, classes, challenges, and other offerings. Sundance Co//ab advances Sundance Instituteâs mission to discover, support, and inspire independent artists by creating a digital community that amplifies creative voices, wherever they are in the world, at whatever stage they are in their career. The platform offers complimentary educational videos, webinars and curated resources, as well as deeper, interactive learning and individual project feedback for a modest subscription fee.

What to Watch in November
Turbulent family dynamics are at the heart of Novemberâs slate of 2019 Sundance Film Festival releasesâincluding Minhal Baigâs Hala, centered around a 17-year-old Muslim Pakistani American as she and her family navigate unstable ground.
âWhen I was growing up, I didnât really see this character, and I really wanted to see her; it would have made me feel less alone,â explained director Minhal Baig about her titular character. Hala is a coming-of-age drama about a young woman learning to pave a path different from that of her parents, but itâs also the story of a tender mother-daughter relationship and their resilience in the face of the unraveling of their world.

Sundance Institute Theatre Program: An All-Women Cohort to Convene at MASS MoCA Lab
NORTH ADAMS, MA â Sundance Instituteâs Theatre Program will support three ambitious new works for the stage, and their four women creators, at this yearâs two-week Theatre Lab at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The Lab, which runs from November 10 to November 24th, will feature the concentrated and abundant time and resources, including individual casting from a dedicated acting company and daily rehearsals, that has long been a signature of Sundanceâs Labs.
Christopher Hibma, the Theatre Programâs interim Director, said âThis yearâs cohort represents women at the vanguard of creativity and performance — not only the women who create these works, but the entire artistic community of women artists around them.