Indigenous Program

Fellowships

• Merata Mita Fellowship

  Application	The 2020 Merata Mita Fellowship application is now closed. Please check back this Fall for updates.
  Deadline	October 28, 2019
  Dates	2021 Sundance Film Festival
  Fellowship Description	One artist will be selected as a Merata Mita fellow. This fellow will be an emerging filmmaker, seeking to direct a feature film. Recipient will receive a cash grant and a yearlong continuum of support from the Indigenous Program and Sundance Institute. Recipient is required to attend the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
  Location	Park City, Utah
  Eligibility	Indigenous artists who identify as women and are endeavoring to direct a feature film.
  Description	The Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellowship pays tribute to the immense artistic contributions and memory of Merata Mita (Ngāi Te Rangi/Ngāti Pikiao). Merata served as an advisor and artistic director to the Sundance Institute’s Native Filmmakers Lab from 2000 to 2009, where she mentored and developed some of the top Indigenous talent in today’s film industry. In her time as a screenwriter and director herself, she is the first—and only—Māori woman to write and direct a dramatic feature film. This fellowship serves to continue Merata Mita’s legacy and cultivate a stage for other Indigenous women around the world to tell their stories.

  If you have additional questions, please contact indigenous_program@sundance.org.

Labs

The Indigenous Program has built and sustained an indigenous film circle, which now spans over three generations. The cycle of work begins by scouting for and identifying indigenous artists, bringing them through the mechanisms of support at Sundance Institute to get their work made and shown, then bringing the filmmakers and their work back to native lands. The Native Filmmakers Lab has been a vital part of supporting indigenous filmmakers since 2004.

• Native Filmmakers Lab

  Application	The 2020 Native Filmmakers Lab application is closed. Please check back next Spring for more information.
  Dates	Summer 2020
  Grant Pool	Two U.S. based Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native project; One Canadian-based Indigenous Canadian (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit)
  Location	TBD
  Eligibility	Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaskan Native film artists working in the U.S.; Indigenous Canadian (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) film artists
  Description	The Native Filmmakers Lab provides direct support to emerging U.S.-based Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Alaskan Natives, and a Canadian-based Indigenous Canadian (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit). The lab will support emerging filmmakers through the process of shooting a short film under the guidance of a supervising producer and mentoring director. Fellowship for Indigenous Canadian film artist made possible with support from the Indigenous Screen Office.