Indigenous Program
Indigenous
Program
The Sundance Institute Indigenous Program champions and provides deep support of Indigenous-created stories on a global scale. From labs and fellowships to screenings and gatherings around the world, the program’s offerings are designed in response to the specific needs of Native and Indigenous storytellers. Through our work, we emulate our core values of decolonizing the screen and uplifting the voices of Indigenous artists, recognizing that telling their stories comes with great responsibility and obligation towards Indigenous peoples, communities and their sovereignty.
Indigenous Film Tour
The 2025 Sundance Institute Indigenous Film Tour is a 98-minute theatrical program featuring 7 short films from Indigenous filmmakers: six from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and one from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Started in 2021 as a virtual presentation in conjunction with our friends at museums, Native cultural centers, and arthouse cinemas, the 2025 tour continues as an in-person exhibition with partnered screenings in June. The program will be available to rent July 2025–March 2026. Find a venue near you and register for the events on the partner websites. Screenings are supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
- Vidiots – Los Angeles, CA
- Tulsa Film Collective – Tulsa, OK
- Cinedoom – Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM
Program
Tiger / U.S.A.
Director: Loren Waters
A portrait of award-winning, internationally acclaimed Indigenous artist and elder Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger T-shirt company. Winner of the Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing. Nonfiction.
Inkwo for When the Starving Return / Canada
Director: Amanda Strong
Dove, a gender-shifting warrior, uses their Indigenous medicine, Inkwo, to protect their community from an unearthed swarm of terrifying creatures. Fiction.
Stranger, Brother. / Australia
Director: Annelise Hickey
When Adam, a self-absorbed and lonely millennial, wakes one morning to find his estranged half brother on his doorstep, he must face the family he’s been running away from. Fiction.
Field Recording / U.S.A.
Director: Quinne Larsen
A meandering joke about three dreams. Fiction.
En Memoria / U.S.A.
Director: Roberto Fatal
In a dystopian future, a mother struggles to finish making her daughter’s quinceañera dress. Fiction.
Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue / New Zealand
Director: Vea Mafile’o
A young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage lies about her Tongan language skills to get a job. Out of her depth, she must find a way to communicate or risk her patient’s life.
Vox Humana / Philippines, U.S.A., Singapore
Director: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
An eccentric biologist interrogates a wild man who was found in the forest after an earthquake hit a small mountain town. Fiction.
Upcoming Dates
If you are interested in booking the Indigenous Film Tour, please reach out to Mike Plante and Katie Arthurs.
Indigenous Program Calendar
The Indigenous Program focuses on the specific development of storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds, encompassing feature film and episodic work. Fellows will receive hands-on support from the Institute and advisors, including one-on-one feedback sessions and roundtable discussions.
Upcoming Opportunities
Location Details
Dates
Support for the Indigenous Program
Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The 11th Hour Project, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, Nia Tero, The Christensen Fund, WBD Access, Indigenous Screen Office, NBCUniversal, SAGindie, and Indigenous Media Initiatives.
FAQ
No, the applications for the Indigenous Program are free to apply to.
Our program strives to uplift the voices of Indigenous artists and our opportunities are limited to those who identify themselves as Indigenous.
After you submit your application, there should be an estimated notification date listed.
At this time, we do not accept writing teams for our Native Lab.
We are happy to answer any questions you might have about the program. You can reach out to us at indigenous_program@sundance.org.
Photo Gallery
A look inside our Indigenous Program Labs and Intensives
