At an early age, Tracy found solace in watching Vietnam War movies and making a connection with the father she never knew, a U.S. Navy officer who died in Vietnam. Over time, this led to her interest in storytelling - especially stories revealing hard truths. Tracy’s work includes Abortion: Stories Women Tell, the HBO documentary telling intimate stories of unplanned pregnancies and resilience; Smartest Kids in the World, a documentary about the crisis in U.S. high school education; and Be Good, Smile Pretty, an Emmy Award-winning documentary about the grief and healing of those orphaned by the Vietnam War. more...

Randall Park makes his feature directorial debut with Shortcomings. Best known as an actor, Randall appears in Marvel Studio’s Wandavision and DC’s upcoming Aquaman sequel. He's also known for his work on ABC’s groundbreaking sitcom Fresh Off The Boat. Randall co-wrote, produced and starred in the hit Netflix comedy Always Be My Maybe with Ali Wong. Under a deal at Universal television, his production company Imminent Collision focuses on comedy-forward stories from AAPI perspectives. more...

Laurel Parmet is a screenwriter and director whose feature directorial debut, THE STARLING GIRL, is premiering in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Parmet received her MFA in directing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has written and directed several award-winning short films; the latest, KIRA BURNING, having premiered at SXSW and screened at MoMA in the Future of Film is Female series. Her previous short film, SPRING, screened at SXSW, Outfest, Palm Springs and many more. Parmet developed THE STARLING GIRL as a fellow of the Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program and was recently named one of Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2023.

Michelle Satter is the Founding Senior Director of Sundance Institute's Artist Programs. As a key executive of the Leadership Team, Satter has been one of the chief architects of the Institute's programs since 1981 and has created and leads all programs supporting scripted storytelling. Under Satter's tenure, the Feature Film Program has provided year-round and in-depth support to the ground-breaking and award-winning filmmakers Sean Wang (Didi), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man) A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand and One), Roger Ross Williams (Cassandro), Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny), Mounia Akl (Costa Brava, Lebanon), Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version), Edson Oda (Nine Days), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You), Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station), Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men), Dee Rees (Pariah), Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl), Gina Prince Bythewood (Love and Basketball), James Mangold (Cop Land), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me). Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox), Robert Eggers (The Witch), Taika Waititi (Boy), Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood), Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre), Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight), Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry), John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), and Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), among many others. more...