llyse McKimmie has served as a key staff member of Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program since 1999. Deputy Director, she leads the outreach and selection process for U.S.-based filmmakers for the Screenwriters and Directors Labs, provides continuous support to alumni filmmakers, and leads the program's outreach and inclusion initiatives, including the Screenwriters Intensive. more...

Joe Talbot is a fifth-generation San Franciscan who began developing "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" with childhood friend and star Jimmie Fails after leaving high school early to pursue film. He is a Sundance Institute fellow and wrote and directed the acclaimed short "American Paradise," which was shown at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" is his feature-length debut. more...

Lulu Wang is a classical pianist turned filmmaker. She is currently in post on her second feature THE FAREWELL, starring Awkwafina, which will premiere at Sundance 2019 in U.S. Dramatic Competition. She was listed by Variety as Ten Directors To Watch in 2019. more...

Jacqueline Olive is an independent filmmaker with more than fifteen years of experience in journalism and film. Her award-winning feature documentary, ALWAYS IN SEASON, has received numerous honors including winner of the 2019 Sundance Festival Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency and the 2020 SIMA Documentary Jury Prize For Ethos, as well as nominations for Best Writing from IDA Documentary Awards 2019 and the Spotlight Award from Cinema Eye Honors 2019. ALWAYS IN SEASON broadcast on PBS on Independent Lens, in February 2020 and was the highest rated film of the season. Jackie recently directed, produced, and wrote the documentary short, DEATH IS OUR BUSINESS, which broadcast on FRONTLINE/PBS and the WORLD Channel in March 2021. A Mississippi native, Jackie teaches film at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Social Documentation M.F.A. Program. She is also a 2021 Sundance Momentum Fellow more...

Paul Downs Colaizzo’s first play Really Really (Helen Hayes Award) played a sold-out, twice-extended run Off-Broadway at MCC. His second play Pride in the Falls of Autrey Mill premiered at The Signature Theatre in DC. Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019 Sundance Film Festival, U.S. Dramatic, Audience Award Winner) is his first feature film. more...