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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.
For this Insider Session, join Indigenous Program Director, Adam Piron, and Native Lab Fellows, Isabella Madrigal and Jared Lank to learn more about applying to the Sundance Native Lab.
The Indigenous Program has built and sustained an Indigenous film circle, which now spans over four generations. The cycle of work begins by scouting for and identifying Indigenous artists, bringing them through the mechanisms of support at Sundance Institute to get their work made and shown, then bringing the filmmakers and their work back to native lands. The Native Lab has been a vital part of supporting Indigenous filmmakers since 2004. The lab focuses on the specific development of storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds, encompassing feature film and episodic work. During the Lab, Fellows will hone their storytelling and technical skills in a hands-on and supportive environment, including one-on-one feedback sessions with advisors and roundtable discussions. With Fellows working across both feature and episodic formats, they will also explore and discuss indigenizing their creative practices in regard to writing their scripts.
The Native Lab provides direct support to emerging filmmakers and episodic creators from the U.S.-based Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, and Canada-based Indigenous Canadian (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) communities. Fellowship for Indigenous Canadian film artists made possible with support from the Indigenous Screen Office. Please note that you are required to submit a narrative feature or episodic pilot script.
APPLICATION DATES
Native Lab
- Opens December 1, 2025; STANDARDIZED OPEN TIME: 1:00PM PACIFIC / 2:00PM MOUNTAIN / 4:00PM EASTERN
- Closes December 22, 2025; STANDARDIZED CLOSE TIME: 3:30PM PACIFIC / 4:30PM MOUNTAIN / 6:30PM EASTERN
About the Sundance Institute 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.
Find out more about the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program here.
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 December 22, 2025. After that, on-demand access to the recording can be purchased for $10.
