Ilyse McKimmie

For the past 19 years, llyse McKimmie has served as a key staff member of Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program. As Labs 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. 

In addition, she plays a significant ongoing role in the Creative Producing Program, the Episodic Program, and the FilmTwo Initiative. Films developed at the Labs during her tenure include We the Animals, Monsters and Men, Patti Cake$, Beach Rats, Swiss Army Man, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Fruitvale Station, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Pariah, Sin Nombre, Sleep Dealer, Half Nelson, Red Road, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Paradise Now, and Maria Full of Grace, among many others. 

Prior to joining Sundance Institute, she began her career in the film world with a position at International Creative Management, working in the talent, literary, and story departments. Soon after followed a stint at Sony-based Red Wagon Productions, during which time the company developed and produced such films as Gladiator, Girl, Interrupted, and Spy Game. Her roots lie in the theatre: her first job after graduating from UCLA's School of Theatre, Film and Television was as a production stage manager in the Los Angeles theatre scene.