Conversations from the Sundance Institute Labs | Decolonizing the Artistic Approach with Kerry Warkia (WARU)

Go behind the scenes to learn from Sundance Institute Advisors in our Conversations from the Labs series. This collection of videos will deepen your understanding of all the creative disciplines that are supported through our Labs including Feature Film Directing and Writing, TV Writing, Emerging/Interdisciplinary Media, Documentary, Producing and Film Music.

The origins of the cinematic arts practice are steeped in colonialism, yet increasingly, many artists are eschewing those extractive models. They are decolonizing their aesthetic approach and their very means of production toward the proliferation of a more just praxis. This session features a deep dive case study with veteran filmmaker Kerry Warkia, who did precisely that in her groundbreaking film Vai. Kerry explains the process of making this film from concept through distribution and examines the specific ways in which she and her team were able to center Indigenous values, aesthetics and practice at all stages of the filmmaking process.

More conversations in this series include actor/director Ed Harris, writer/director Karyn Kusama, writer/director Rick Famuyiwa, editor Dylan Tichenor and others.