Sundance Insider Sessions provide behind-the-scenes information and guidance on our Labs, grants and festivals. Sundance Institute staff will be on-hand to answer frequently asked questions and help guide you through discovering and applying to the many programs and funds that the Institute offers.
For this Insider Session, join Indigenous Program Director, Adam Piron, and program alumni to learn more about applying to the Sundance Native Lab. There will also be discussion surrounding the Sundance Graton Collab Artist opportunities and how to apply.
The Indigenous Program has built and sustained an Indigenous film circle, which now spans over three 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 is made possible with support from the Indigenous Screen Office. Please note that you are required to submit a narrative feature or episodic pilot script.
The Sundance Graton Collab Artist Opportunity provides a virtual destination for emerging artists to learn craft, career strategies and build community through courses, workshops, advisor sessions, extensive resources and community gatherings. This opportunity serves to cultivate a supportive learning environment for artists from federally and non-federally recognized California Indian tribes through the Sundance Collab platform.
APPLICATION DATES
- Native Lab
- Opens December 4, 2023; 1:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. MT / 4:00 p.m. ET
- Closes December 20, 2023; 3:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. MT / 6:30 p.m. ET
- Graton Collab Artist Opportunity
- Opens December 18, 2023; 1:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. MT / 4:00 p.m. ET
- Rolling applications
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.
