This event is part of “The Sundance Institute Founder Series: Honoring Robert Redford,” a series of live, online events on Sundance Collab in memory of Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute.


In 1981, the late Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute with the goal of fostering independent talent, bringing unheard voices to the forefront, and creating new opportunities for distribution, marketing, and exhibition. Over four decades, the Sundance Institute has been an incubator for award-winning filmmakers like Chloé Zhao, Marielle Heller, Paul T. Anderson, Kasi Lemmons, Taika Waititi, Walter Salles, and Ryan Coogler.


In this session, you will hear from Institute members, advisors, and alumni who will reflect on where it all started, how the Sundance Institute artist programs have evolved, leading with intention, creating an inclusive environment, and looking ahead to the future of the artist programs.


This event will end with a live audience Q&A, during which attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about the Institute, Artist Programs, and lessons learned. Don’t miss this chance to hear from some of the key figures from the Sundance Institute for a deeper understanding of Redford as our guiding light for the future of filmmaking.


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.


A recording of this session will be posted to Sundance Collab on the first business day after the live event. All registered attendees will receive an email with a link to view the recording at no cost through December 31, 2026. 

Michelle Satter
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 (弟弟)), 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...
Gyula Gazdag
Gyula Gazdag is a screenwriter and director of film, theater, and television, and is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television. He has served as the Artistic Director of the Sundance Filmmakers Lab since 1997. He was a creative advisor at the Maurits Binger Film Institute in Amsterdam for more than a decade and has worked with new talent at the Script Station of the Berlinale Talents (2006-2025) and at Sarajevo Talents (2014-2023). more...
Kasi Lemmons
Kasi Lemmons is an award-winning director, writer, actress, and professor who has been a staple in Hollywood for nearly three decades. Her acclaimed 1997 feature directorial debut, EVE'S BAYOU, was recently inducted into the National Film Registry, and is considered among the first to showcase the beauty of African American Southern culture. The film received the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and the National Board of Review bestowed her with a special first-time director award. EVE'S BAYOU marked Samuel L. Jackson’s debut as a film producer and helped launch the careers of actresses Megan Good and Jurnee Smollett. more...
Rick Famuyiwa
Rick Famuyiwa is an alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the Sundance Institute's Screenwriters and Directors Labs. His movie DOPE premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Prize for Editing, and screened at the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight. more...
Marielle Heller
Marielle Heller is a director, writer, actor, and producer. Her directorial debut, THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, premiered at Sundance in 2015 and earned the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Most recently, Heller wrote and directed NIGHTBITCH (2024), starring Amy Adams and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder. more...
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. Kat is a Stowe Story Lab SAGIndie Fellow and a participant in the BlackMagic Collective Emerging Filmmakers Initiative. In 2021, she founded the Black Film Challenge, a project that showcases filmmakers of African descent and the movies they create. She earned her BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a concentration in Cinematography and has literary representation with Yak Yak Mgmt. more...

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