Category: Press Release

LOS ANGELES—Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam has informed staff and the Board of Trustees that she will be stepping down later this year after more than 10 years with the Institute. Under her leadership, the renowned media and arts nonprofit has seen a decade of extraordinary growth and impact. The organization is uniquely positioned as a leading global advocate for independent artists, diversity in media, freedom of expression, and the critical role of arts in shaping society.

Sundance Institute and XRM Media today announced a collaboration to create the Sundance Film Festival: Asia to support, connect, promote, and celebrate the independent film community within Asia while showcasing a selection of films from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival: Asia is an expansion of the Institute’s programming in the region, further championing and promoting visibility for independent storytelling before a wider global audience. The first edition will take place in late summer 2021 and be hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia, with support from IDN Media, Indonesia’s leading media platform company.

Dear family and friends,
Nearly a year ago, we announced our Respond and Reimagine Fund, which dedicated a million dollars in grants to artists and organizations impacted by the pandemic, with priority support for BIPOC artists and organizations that have been disproportionately affected. In the difficult months since then, the resilience, collective action, and creativity of the independent artist community have continued to inspire us, as they persisted despite adversity.
Submissions to the Sundance Institute’s labs and granting programs have been steady — in some cases, they’re higher than ever — and we recognize the ongoing urgency of providing creative and financial support to artists making new work during a time of great difficulty.

We’re thrilled to announce the 11 screenwriters selected to participate in Sundance Institute’s ninth annual Screenwriters Intensive, taking place digitally on March 4–5, 2021. The Intensive is a two-day workshop for emerging independent writers and writer/directors developing their first fiction features. This cohort of artists from traditionally underrepresented communities will have the opportunity to interrogate their stories and refine their artistic practice, all under the guidance of established writers and the Institute’s Feature Film Program, led by me and the program’s Founding Director, Michelle Satter.

Park City, UT —The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced attendance information for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which took place both online and in-person in 20 cities across the country from January 28 through February 3. The seven day Festival reached a total audience 2.7 times larger than at the typical 11-day Utah edition, despite the shorter duration and with fewer feature films (73) than the festival’s typical 120 features.

Park City, UT — After six days and 73 feature films, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony took place tonight, hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, with jurors presenting 24 prizes for feature filmmaking and seven for short films. Honorees, named in total below, represent new achievements in global independent storytelling. Bold, intimate, and humanizing stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to CODA (U.

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 29, 2021 — Sundance Institute today announced Marja Bål Nango (Sámi) as the 2021 recipient of the Merata Mita Fellowship, an annual fellowship named in honor of the late Māori filmmaker Merata Mita (1942-2010). The announcement was delivered today at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Native Forum Celebration by N.

Park City, Utah — At the 2021 Sundance Film Festival today, the beneficiaries of $70,000 in grants from Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation were named. Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P.

Park City, UT — The Sundance Institute today announced the latest additions to the programming slate of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday, January 28, at festival.sundance.org and via a network of Satellite Screens across the U.

Park City, UT — 22 celebrated voices across film, art and culture will bestow this year’s awards to feature-length and short film at the Sundance Film Festival, at a digital ceremony taking place February 2nd. This year’s Festival is fully available online at Festival.Sundance.

PARK CITY, UTAH — The lineup for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, taking place on a Sundance-built and feature-rich online platform, goes well beyond feature and short films, episodic work and the VR/XR of New Frontier — it also encompasses a curated program of free special events, conversations and activations available to the global public. These Talks & Events, presented on the Sundance platform, include our new Opening Ceremony, Sundance Dailies, and The Big Conversation series, trademark gatherings at Cinema Café and the Power of Story, Awards Night and the concluding It’s a Wrap session. Additional partner programming will take place in a bustling digital Festival Village, which includes Main Street, Satellite Screens, and the Artist Lounge.