In our Insider Sessions, Sundance Institute staff answer your questions and guide you through the process of applying to our labs, grant opportunities, and the Sundance Film Festival.

For this Insider Session, join Mike Plante, senior programmer for Short Films, for an informational session about submitting your short film to the Sundance Film Festival. Get an inside look into the film selection process, debunking myths around festival programming, along with tips on what to prepare as you enter the festival circuit.

The conversation is followed by audience Q&A to answer questions surrounding the submission process such as ideal runtimes, submitting works-in-progress, and more.


Mike Plante
Senior Programmer for Short Film, Sundance Film Festival
Mike Plante is a senior programmer for short films at the Sundance Film Festival, where he has worked since 2001. Each year he and a team of 9 shorts programmers go through over 10,000 entries to select 70 shorts to play at the Festival, discovering new film talent in the process. He has worked at film festivals since 1993, and he also makes feature documentaries. His recent film AND WITH HIM CAME THE WEST (2019) played at MoMA Doc Fortnight and his short THE POLAROID JOB (2017) is available at The New York Times Op-Docs.
Katherine Street
Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer
Katherine "Kat" Street is an LA-based award-winning filmmaker and Philadelphia native. A cinephile at heart, she writes female-driven stories with complex (oftentimes damaged) main characters, centered around self-discovery, self-love, and belonging. She has written numerous short-form projects, including original shorts, pilots, and features. She wrote and directed the dramatic short film “Cycles,” which received festival recognition in both acting and best romantic short. She also created her award-winning flagship web series "The New Adult,” which is currently streaming on Kweli TV. more...
Tags:Shorts

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