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Cooper Raiff Returns to the Sundance Film Festival With His Independent Series “Hal & Harper”
(L–R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chanelle Scott, and Havana Rose Liu attend the premiere of “Hal & Harper” at The

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Sarah Dowland, the Filmmaker Behind “Sue Bird: In The Clutch”
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

The “Remaining Native” Team on the Sundance Institute Labs, Community and More
By Paige Bethmann Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she’d been for a few weeks.

“The Perfect Neighbor” Takes a Novel Approach to Examining America’s Race and Gun Violence
(L–R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Robinson attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of “The Perfect Neighbor” at the

“To Have All Is to Share All”: A Spotlight on Sundance Institute’s Merata Mita Fellowship
By Katie Arthurs Whether told through dance, ceremony, spoken word, or visual art, storytelling in all its forms is a long held tradition for many

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Bill Condon, the Writer-Director Behind “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent
The Latest

Cooper Raiff Returns to the Sundance Film Festival With His Independent Series “Hal & Harper”
(L–R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chanelle Scott, and Havana Rose Liu attend the premiere of “Hal & Harper” at The

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Sarah Dowland, the Filmmaker Behind “Sue Bird: In The Clutch”
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

The “Remaining Native” Team on the Sundance Institute Labs, Community and More
By Paige Bethmann Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she’d been for a few weeks.
Festival

Cooper Raiff Returns to the Sundance Film Festival With His Independent Series “Hal & Harper”
(L–R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chanelle Scott, and Havana Rose Liu attend the premiere of “Hal & Harper” at The

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Sarah Dowland, the Filmmaker Behind “Sue Bird: In The Clutch”
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

“The Perfect Neighbor” Takes a Novel Approach to Examining America’s Race and Gun Violence
(L–R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Robinson attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of “The Perfect Neighbor” at the
Festival Highlights
News

Cooper Raiff Returns to the Sundance Film Festival With His Independent Series “Hal & Harper”
(L–R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chanelle Scott, and Havana Rose Liu attend the premiere of “Hal & Harper” at The

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Sarah Dowland, the Filmmaker Behind “Sue Bird: In The Clutch”
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

The “Remaining Native” Team on the Sundance Institute Labs, Community and More
By Paige Bethmann Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she’d been for a few weeks.
Artist Spotlight

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Mathias Broe, the Director Behind “Sauna”
By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Shoshannah Stern, the Director of “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”
By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, the Co-Directors of “Sujo”
By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent
From the Labs

The “Remaining Native” Team on the Sundance Institute Labs, Community and More
By Paige Bethmann Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she’d been for a few weeks.

“To Have All Is to Share All”: A Spotlight on Sundance Institute’s Merata Mita Fellowship
By Katie Arthurs Whether told through dance, ceremony, spoken word, or visual art, storytelling in all its forms is a long held tradition for many

Nonfiction Films Ensure That We Are Seen and Our Stories Told
By Kristin Feeley (In my sleep I dreamed this poem)Someone I loved once gave mea box full of darkness.It took me years to understandthat this,
Now Playing

Release Rundown: What to Watch in October, From “The Alabama Solution” to “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
Tonatiuh and Diego Luna star in Bill Condon’s musical feature “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. By Lucy

Get to Know This Fall’s Filmmakers Through These 27 Sundance Institute–Supported Titles
Steve Zahn, Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Janeane Garofalo star in Ben Stiller’s “Reality Bites,” which premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. By Lucy

Release Rundown: What to Watch in September, From “Twinless” to “Eleanor the Great”
June Squibb stars in Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great,” which was supported by Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program. By Lucy Spicer Fall is just around
Collab

How the Sound of Celine Song’s “Materialists” Elevates Every Beat
By Jessica Herndon Sound and music aren’t embellishments in film — they’re storytelling tools that can shape emotional beats and signature settings. Think of the

Take 5: Sundance Collab Instructor K.D. Roeder Daza on the Benefit of Being “Humble, Not Hidden”
By Jessica Herndon Welcome to the second edition of Take 5, where we invite you to get familiar with the talented instructors behind our Sundance

“Social Studies” Director Lauren Greenfield on the Art of Documenting America’s Most Connected Generation
By Jessica Herndon Lauren Greenfield has always had an eye for America’s obsessions. For over two decades, the Emmy Award–winning filmmaker has focused her lens
Creative Distribution

From the Archives: The 3 Things It Takes to Be an Independent Producer
As the spiritual closing of Sundance Institute’s Creative Producing Summit, Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper wrapped up the weekend with the “One Word Challenge.”Cooper’s challenge to his three keynote guests was simple: “It is 2011, and the most important thing a producer needs to survive is …” Panelists were given this one-word task by email before arriving in Utah and told to bring their best thinking to the audience of creative fellows and advisors. The experiment is both simple and profound, and audience members were invited to play along with cards of their own.

‘I Knew People Wanted to See It’: The ‘In Reality’ Team on Why and How They Self-Distributed
In part one of this interview, In Reality writer/director/star Ann Lupo and producer Holly Meehl shared how they got their anti-romantic comedy feature off the ground. In this second and final part, we explore how they navigated self-distribution.
Were you building an audience along the way? How did you keep people engaged?
AL: During post-production I took on a side project editing a short for Casey Neistat called “Filmmaking is a Sport,” and it completely changed my perspective on YouTube.

From Short Film to Unexpected Feature: How ‘In Reality’ Came to Life
Liz Manashil is a filmmaker and former manager of Sundance Institute’s Creative Distribution Initiative.
A few months ago, before I had a baby, I encountered the anti-romantic comedy feature film In Reality, which I immediately fell for. As I told the filmmakers later, it was the movie I needed when I was in my early 20s.
From the Archives

Cooper Raiff Returns to the Sundance Film Festival With His Independent Series “Hal & Harper”
(L–R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chanelle Scott, and Havana Rose Liu attend the premiere of “Hal & Harper” at The

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Sarah Dowland, the Filmmaker Behind “Sue Bird: In The Clutch”
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent

Sundance Institute Announces Partnership With Rolex to Support Feature Film Program
PARK CITY, UTAH, October 15, 2025 — The nonprofit Sundance Institute is pleased to announce Rolex as its Official Partner and Exclusive Timepiece. Sundance Institute’s

The “Remaining Native” Team on the Sundance Institute Labs, Community and More
By Paige Bethmann Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she’d been for a few weeks.