2024 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship Application

The Sundance Institute and Adobe are teaming up to find the next 10 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellows. Submit a one- to 15-minute short that shows us your artistic vision and unique voice as a filmmaker.

Challenge is closed

The Sundance Institute and Adobe are teaming up to find the next 10 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellows—emerging filmmakers (ages 18 to 25) who are creating stories that bring their passion, voice, and perspective to life.

The Sundance Ignite program identifies and supports new voices and talent from the next generation of filmmakers by providing artistic and professional development to advance filmmakers to the next stage in their filmmaking. The yearlong Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship is open to emerging documentary and fiction filmmakers between ages 18 and 25. The fellowship begins with a weeklong lab orienting filmmakers to the fellowship and year ahead. Throughout the year, filmmakers will:

Work with a Sundance Institute alumni mentor
Receive a $3,000 artist grant
Participate as a cohort in monthly webinars, workshops and workshares throughout the year
Receive a complimentary Adobe Creative Cloud 12-month membership, where Creative Cloud is available.

To choose this year’s fellows, we’re asking filmmakers to submit a one- to 15-minute short that shows us their artistic vision and unique voice. Submissions aren’t limited to any genre or topic — the only requirement is that they represent the filmmaker’s perspective as an artist. You will also include materials in support of a new project that you intend to work on throughout the fellowship.

For resources to help craft your submission, check out the Sundance Collab Filmmaker Toolkit.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

One entry per person.
Films submitted must be under 15 minutes long (including credits) and must have been completed within the last 12 months, as of February 13, 2024.
Accepted video file formats: AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, or MPEG-2.
Note: If you choose to upload a .MOV file, make sure that it is not using the Apple ProRes compression. We do not support reading Apple ProRes files or raw camera formats like ARRI and RED at this time.
An active project is required for the fellowship, however there is no obligation or expectation to complete the project during the fellowship.
Materials supporting a project that you intend to work on throughout the yearlong fellowship. These can include lookbooks, five pages of a script, treatments and pitch decks. Note: Materials must be in a PDF format.
The deadline to submit is February 13, 2024, at 11 a.m. PST.

Sundance Ignite is supported by Adobe and Arison Arts Foundation.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

The Ignite x Adobe Fellowship Application is open to filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 25 who join the Sundance Collab community. One entry per person.
All submissions will be viewable to the community.
Films must adhere to Sundance Collab’s code of conduct.
All submissions will be given equal consideration, the finalists and 10 fellows will be determined by the consensus of the designated Sundance Ignite judges.
Only those submissions that meet the criteria outlined in the Fellowship Application description can be selected as a winner.
All work submitted, for both the short film and supplemental materials, must be entirely your own; you cannot include film clips or music created by others without their written permission. If your film features people, you must obtain their consent.
Only one director per submission can be considered for the Ignite x Adobe Fellowship. If two or more directors are identified for a single submission, priority will be given to the director who completed the submission. Films can only be submitted once.
Only the director of the film can submit and be considered for the fellowship.
All short films must be completed within the last 12 months, as of February 13, 2024.
Any film not in English must include English subtitles.
Work re-submitted from previous editions of the Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, including those on the Adobe Project 1324 platform will not be considered.
All short films must be submitted online in digital video format.
The maximum file size you can upload is 4.9 GB.
An active project is required for the fellowship, however there is no obligation or expectation to complete the project during the fellowship.
Employees of Sundance Institute are not eligible to submit.
Sundance Institute is not responsible for any misdirected, improperly submitted, technically or artistically un-viewable, lost, incomplete, late, or damaged entries.
The Fellowship Application closes on February 13, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. PST.

RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS

All rights to and in the submitted short film and supplementary materials remain with the creator. Neither Sundance Institute nor the program sponsors claim any intellectual property rights to the submitted short films. Sundance Institute’s use of the short films will be limited to displaying the film on the Collab website (at the filmmaker’s election) and allowing the Institute and the Sundance Ignite judges to evaluate the films for the purposes of qualifying and selecting finalists for the Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship program. Each submitting director acknowledges and agrees that Institute may receive other submissions that are similar or identical in theme, idea, format, or in other respects to the director’s short film. By entering the challenge, directors waive any and all claims that any other works submitted, reviewed, and/or used by the Sundance Institute or the Sundance Ignite judges may be similar to their short film, or that the director is owed compensation from Sundance Institute in connection with the submitted short film or other works reviewed by Sundance Institute or the Sundance Ignite judges.

Sundance Ignite

When will the selected fellows be announced?

Thank you for your patience. The Ignite x Adobe Fellows will be announced by the end of June.

How old do I have to be to participate?

Participants must be between the ages of 18–25 as of February 14, 2025.

I live outside the United States, am I still able to participate in the fellowship?

Yes! International applicants are strongly encouraged to apply! All travel expenses to and from in-person activities, with the exception of visa expenses, will be covered by Sundance Institute. International fellows are required to have a valid visa for short term travel to the United States prior to the fellowship.

Will the fellowship require me to relocate?

No. Any in-person activities will be no more than a week long and expenses will be covered by Sundance Institute. This includes round trip travel, lodging and meals.

Is there a timeframe my work needs to be completed in?

All work must have been made within the last 12 months, as of February 14, 2025.

What video formats can I use?

You can submit your video by providing a link to the video on Vimeo or YouTube, or by uploading a copy of your video with your application form.

If you choose to upload a copy of your video, we accept .AVI, .FLV, .MOV, .MP4 or .MPEG-2 files. Note: If you choose to upload a .MOV file, make sure that it is not using the Apple ProRes compression. We do not support Apple ProRes files or raw camera formats like ARRI and RED at this time.

What is the video limit?

The maximum video time is 00:15:00, inclusive of credits.

If you are uploading your video the maximum file size you can upload is 4.9 GB.

Can I submit a film that I created with a crew?

Yes; however, you must be the film’s director to be eligible for the Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship.

What if we have co-directors—can more than one director be considered?

Only one director per submission can be considered for the Ignite x Adobe Fellowship. If two or more directors are identified, the director that completed the submission will be eligible and considered for the Fellowship. Additionally, a project cannot be submitted multiple times with a different director attached.

Can I resubmit the same film as last year?

No, please submit new content. All work must have been made within the last 12 months, as of February 14, 2025.

What materials will you accept as proof of a project we intend to work on during the fellowship?

Any materials, such as the first 5 pages of a script, lookbooks, pitch decks, treatments, etc., as long as they are able to be uploaded in a PDF.

Does Sundance retain any rights to the work submitted to the Fellowship?

No. All work submitted remains the intellectual property of its creators.

Can I submit multiple projects to the Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship Application?

No, you can only submit one project to the Fellowship Application.

Do I need to include subtitles if my film is not in English?

Yes. If your film is not in English, you must include English subtitles.

What genres will you consider?

We consider all film genres.

Will you accept VR or mixed-media work?

At this time, we are unable to accept VR and AR work.

What happens to my work?

After your work is fully processed and uploaded to the Fellowship Application, you can adjust the settings for all your projects in your profile settings. If you’d like to delete your work, it will be fully discarded from our servers. You can choose your cover image, tags, titles, and descriptions during the upload process before sharing your live projects via social media. If you delete your work prior to the winners being announced, your application will no longer be under consideration, and you will not be able to resubmit.

Can I change my submission?

Once an application is submitted, only public-facing details (title, description, thumbnail, and the option to have your film private or publicly viewable) may be edited. For further questions, please reach out to ignite@sundance.org.

If I submitted a YouTube or Vimeo link, can I update the file associated with the link?

Your link cannot be changed once submitted, so please make sure you submit a final link. If the file associated with the link is changed after your application is submitted, your submission may have already been reviewed, therefore we can not guarantee that the newer version will be viewed.

Can I make my submission private on the Sundance Collab website?

Yes, if you are concerned about your film being publicly viewable online, there is the option in Step 5 of the application to make your film private on the website. This option is also available after you submit your film by clicking the Edit This Submission button on your submission page.

Selecting the option to set your film to private will disable playback of your video on the website, but your video's title, description, and thumbnail image will remain visible. This will not affect your eligibility or how your submission is viewed and judged by our selection committee.

I have more questions that aren’t answered here—who can I contact?

Please direct your questions to ignite@sundance.org.

2024 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship Application

The Sundance Institute and Adobe are teaming up to find the next 10 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellows. Submit a one- to 15-minute short that shows us your artistic vision and unique voice as a filmmaker.

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