In our Insider Sessions, Sundance Institute staff answer your questions and guide you through the process of applying to our labs, programs, grant opportunities, and the Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Institute Episodic Program is designed for emerging to mid-career scripted fiction writers that includes alumni like Katori Hall (Starz's P-VALLEY), Barry Jenkins (Amazon's UNDERGROUND RAILROAD), and Heather Rae (Amazon's OUTER RANGE). We provide artists with the tools, guidance, and industry access to move your projects and careers forward. The in-person Lab is the cornerstone of the program, an immersive six-day opportunity to develop an original series and pilot episode under accomplished showrunners, creative producers, and development executives. So how will your submission cut through and bring you into the fold? Join us for a direct Q&A with the program director and two recent alums who will give you all the pro tips when you're ready to apply!
Submissions Open: October 6, 2025
Submissions Close: November 9, 2025
If you would benefit from an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please complete this form, contact us at (435) 776-7790, or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to discuss your specific requests. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; however, requests made within 5 days of the event may not be guaranteed.
Live event registration for Sundance Collab Insider Sessions is free of charge. A recording of this event will be posted to our Video Library the business day following the event. All registered attendees can watch the recording at no cost through November 9, 2025. After that, on-demand access to the recording can be purchased for $10.
Alum, 2024 Episodic Lab
Fatima Liaqat is a disabled writer/director who moved from Pakistan to Utah at age 13, where her dad threatened to change his name from Chaudhry to Chad. She has worked as a writer-producer for BuzzFeed Video and written, directed, and produced a short for The Creative Mind Group at Sundance '15.
more...Alum, 2024 Episodic Lab
Kyle Kubo is a disabled, Japanese/white writer/producer from San Jose, CA. His work has been frowned upon in Vice and Vanity Fair and throned/dethroned at various sketch comedy cage matches. He is a former BuzzFeed Video writer/producer and UCB house team performer. Fatima and Kyle met while shaving heads and serving people their own piss (respectively) at BuzzFeed, hooked up at the office holiday party, and have been writing and producing together ever since. Kyle loves punching up dialogue and kicking up jokes-per-minute. Fatima's observational storytelling breathes life into lovably flawed characters who follow their hearts, stomachs, and pill regimens (mostly). Together they are 2021 CAPE New Writers Fellows and 2024 Sundance Episodic Lab participants who have pitched series to Max, Disney, and more. They live in LA with their one dog and four Christmas trees.
more...Moderator | Director, Episodic Program, Sundance Institute
Jandiz Estrada Cardoso is the Director of the Sundance Institute Episodic Program. Previously, she was the Sr. Director of Global Talent Development & Inclusion for film, TV and streaming at NBCUniversal for a decade. Jandiz spearheaded the bicoastal NBCUniversal Short Film Festival, The YA TU SABES Monologue Slam, and the national tour of StandUp NBC. In her freelance career, she has worked on dozens of pilots and features for studios including Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, New Line, AMC, ABC, CBS, Starz, and NBC (notably on their Emmy-winning series 30 ROCK). As an instructor, she has led master classes across the US and Brazil. She is a recipient of the Golden Eagle Award for Diversity Impact in Television.
more...Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer, Sundance Collab
Erica Elson is a Producer, Writer and Educator based in the mountains outside Los Angeles. Her short film, WING NIGHT, premiered at Method Fest in Los Angeles. She is the co-author of the book THE AWKWARD HUMAN SURVIVAL GUIDE and co-hosted a podcast by the same name on the 5by5 network for five years. Elson's articles have been published by HuffPost, Lifehacker, and Reader's Digest. Prior to working in education, she worked in television development and writers’ rooms such as VH1’s HINDSIGHT, where she had the chance to write for the spinoff web series PLANET SEBASTIAN.
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