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Sundance Institute is a
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization founded by
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Ceci ...
committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers from all over the world. At the core of the programs is the goal to introduce audiences to the artists' new work, aided by the institute's labs, granting and mentorship programs that take place throughout the year in the United States and internationally. The institute has offices in Park City,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, and provides creative and financial support to emerging and aspiring filmmakers, directors, producers, film composers, screenwriters, playwrights and theatre artists through a series of Labs and fellowships. The programs of Sundance Institute include the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
, which is critically acclaimed. It promotes independent filmmakers, storytellers, and composers. The Sundance Institute's founding staff, assembled in the spring of 1980, included Executive Director
Sterling Van Wagenen Sterling Gray Van Wagenen (born July 2, 1947) is an American film and stage producer, writer, director, and convicted sex offender. He is a co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival, and, in association with former brother-in-law Robert Redford, he ...
, director of film development programs Jenny Walz Selby, and director of development Jon Lear. Frank Daniel was secured as artistic director. This staff produced the first Filmmakers Lab in June 1981, which fortuitously followed the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
at which '' Ordinary People'' (the directorial debut of Robert Redford) won numerous awards, including Best Picture. Michelle Satter joined the staff in June 1981 and subsequently opened up the Los Angeles office of the institute. The Sundance Institute's 1981 founding Board of trustees included Robert Redford, Sterling VanWagenen, Robert E. Gipson, Ian Calderon, Robert Geller, George White, Irving Azoff,
Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...
, Ian Cumming, Frank Daniel, Christopher Dodd, Moctesuma Esparza, Dr. Robert Gray, Alan Jacobs, Karl Malden, Mary McFadden, Mike Medavoy, Victor Nunez, Wayne Owens, Sydney Pollack, Gilbert Shelton, Annick Smith, Anthony Thomopoulos, Claire Townsend, and Robert Townsend. The first six listed were also members of the executive committee. In 2010, Keri Putnam was named Executive Director. In 1985, the Sundance Institute assumed management of the fledgling United States Film Festival, which had been experiencing financial problems. The institute hired Tony Safford from the AFI Kennedy Center program as managing director and renamed the festival. The institute started off with its Feature Film Program and Film Music Program (revived later in 1994) in the 1980s, then went on to include other programs such as the Native American and Indigenous Film Program in 1994, the Theatre Program in 1997, the Documentary Film Program in 2002, the New Frontier program in 2007, the Creative Producing Initiative in 2008, the Episodic Storytelling Initiative in 2014, Sundance Ignite, a program for young filmmakers, in 2015, and the Creative Distribution Initiative (an extension of the Creative Producing Initiative) in 2017. At the U.S. Film Festival, after Sundance Institute took over in 1985, there were 85 films shown at two theatres in Park City with a staff of 13. In January 2017 at the present-day Sundance Film Festival, 181 films were shown at nine Park City theatres with a staff of 224 and 71,600 attendees.


Sundance Institute Programs


Feature Film Program

For three weeks each June in Sundance, Utah, Directors Lab Fellows rehearse, shoot and edit four to six scenes from their screenplays under the mentorship of accomplished directors, editors, cinematographers and actors who serve as Creative Advisors. In addition to the creative support offered through Labs and workshops, Sundance Institute helps independent filmmakers complete their work through various grants and fellowships. Many of these opportunities are designated for filmmakers selected to participate in the institute's Feature Film Program.


Film Music Program

The Sundance Institute Composers Lab, held every summer at the
Skywalker Sound Skywalker Sound is the sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of Lucasfilm. Founded in 1975, the company's main facilities are located at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, near N ...
studio in
Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is a ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, aims to enhance the role of music in independent film. Composers Lab Alumni include Bijan Olia, Cindy O'Connor, Sergei Stern,
Jackson Greenberg Jackson Greenberg is an American film and television composer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for scoring '' Audible'', '' DMX: Don't Try to Understand'', ''Maybe This Year'', '' Cartel Land'' and for writing the theme song to the Netflix ...
, Camilla Uboldi, Jesi Nelson, Adam Schoenberg, Rebecca Dale, Ryan Rumery, and Darryl Jones. Composers Lab Advisors in 2017 include James Newton Howard, Harry Gregson-Williams,
Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The S ...
, George Clinton, Miriam Cutler, Laura Karpman, Doreen Ringer-Ross, Christopher Beck,
Todd Boekelheide Todd Boekelheide (born June 27, 1954) is an American composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, best known for his work scoring documentary films. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound (''Amadeus'', 1984) and was nominated for another in the ...
, Dennis Leonard, Bob Edwards, Pete Horner, Malcolm Fife, Bonnie Wild, David Accord, Adam Smalley, Miguel Arteta, Robb Moss,
Amir Bar-Lev Amir Bar-Lev (born 1972) is an American film director, producer and writer from Berkeley, California. Bar-Lev is noted for his work in directing documentary films. He has directed such films as ''Fighter'', a documentary film released August 24, ...
, Toby Shimin and Jon Burlingame. The Music Cafe is a night club venue for rock, singer-songwriters, folk, country, and hip hop on Main Street in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. Music Cafe daytime programming, produced by ASCAP, has featured such artists as India.Arie,
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
,
The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim H ...
,
Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered th ...
, Sweet Pea Atkinson,
Was (Not Was) Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often ...
and many others.


Native American and Indigenous Film Program

The Native American and Indigenous Film Program facilitates the participation of Native and Indigenous artists in the institute's artistic development programs and the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
. To date, the Initiative has facilitated the participation of many Native artists into the Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Producers Conference, and the institute's Feature Film Program. In 2008 the Initiative expanded its focus to include outreach to documentarians, theatre artists, and musicians seeking financial and creative support through the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, the Theatre Program, and the Film Music Program. The Sundance Film Festival provides a world stage for compelling and innovative films by Native American and Indigenous filmmakers. The Festival also hosts the annual Native Forum, a program of panel discussions, filmmaker workshops, and networking events that provide opportunities for indigenous filmmakers to share their expertise and knowledge with each other and the larger independent film community. The Native American and Indigenous Program is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
Surdna Foundation The Surdna Foundation was established as a charitable foundation in 1917 by John Emory Andrus to pursue a range of philanthropic purposes. History A devoted family man with nine children, Andrus founded the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial in 1928 ...
, Time Warner Foundation,
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the dea ...
, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, SAGindie, Comcast-NBCUniversal, the
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...
,
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
, the Embassy of Australia, Indigenous Media Initiatives,
Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...
, The White Feather Foundation, Fenton Bailey and
Billy Luther Billy Luther is a Native American Independent film producer and director producing documentaries and short films. He currently belongs to the Navajo, Hopi, and Laguna Pueblo Tribes. He is best known for his documentary ''Miss Navajo'' which te ...
, and Pacific Islanders in Communications. From 1994 to 2004, the Film Festival presented Native films as part a dedicated screening category. The Festival began incorporating Native and Indigenous films into its official film program in 2005. Over the course of its history, the Sundance Film Festival has showcased a range of work by Native and Indigenous filmmakers including dramatic films like Sterlin Harjo's '' Four Sheets to the Wind'', Sherman Alexie's '' The Business of Fancydancing'', Chris Eyre's '' Smoke Signals'', Rachel Perkins' '' One Night the Moon'', and Willi White's ''Miye, Unkiye;'' documentaries such as Heather Rae's '' Trudell'', Tom Murray and Allan Collins' ''Dhakiyarr vs. the King'', and Merata Mita's ''Hotere;'' and short films like Gabriel Lopez-Shaw and
Sherwin Bitsui Sherwin Bitsui is a Navajo writer and poet. His book, ''Flood Song'', won the American Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award. Life and Education Bitsui was born in 1974. He is originally from Whitecone, Arizona. He is Navajo people, Navajo; his ...
's ''Chrysalis'',
Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...
's '' Two Cars, One Night,''
Katie Doane Tulugaq Avery Doane Tulugaq Avery (born 1979) is a Los Angeles-based Iñupiaq filmmaker. Her films address the "cultural, social and familial narratives with interest in how the feminine, queer and Indigenous representations expand dialogue in social and polit ...
's ''Mama Dragon,'' and Shane McSauby's ''Mino Bimaadiziwin''.


Theatre Program

The Theatre Program, under the direction of Philip Himberg, supports the development of independent theatre. Lab Alumni and projects include
Tanya Barfield Tanya Barfield is an American playwright whose works have been presented both nationally and internationally.DeVoti, Emily"Blue Door: Painting within the lines of history with Tanya Barfield"brooklynrail.org, October 2006, Accessed 13 September 21 ...
's ''Blue Door'', Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas' '' The Light in the Piazza'', Lisa Kron's ''
Well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...
'',
Jessica Hagedorn Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn (born 1949) is an American playwright, writer, poet, and multimedia performance artist. Biography Hagedorn is an American of mixed descent. She was born in Manila to a Scots-Irish-French-Filipino mother and a Spanish ...
's '' Dogeaters'', Stew's '' Passing Strange'', Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's '' Spring Awakening'',
Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan theater director, filmmaker, playwright, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, based in New York City, and co-founder of Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre. He was awarded the 2016 Nati ...
's ''
The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert ...
,'' Doug Wright's '' I Am My Own Wife,'' Darko Tresnjak's ''
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder'' is a musical comedy, with the book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and the music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak. It is based on the 1907 novel '' Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal'' by Roy Hornima ...
,'' and Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's '' Fun Home.'' The Theatre Labs take place at the Sundance Resort in Utah, other U.S. cities, and internationally. Projects rehearse every other day to give playwrights adequate time for rewrites. There is no physically controllable space, such as a 'black box.' Although lighting and scenic production values are not available, designers have sometimes participated as part of the development of the projects text. When a project is accepted into the Lab, it is assigned a Sundance dramaturg who, in collaboration with the Producing Artistic Director, will work with that project prior to the Theatre Lab residency period. The Sundance Playwright's Retreat at
Ucross, Wyoming Ucross is an unincorporated community along the Piney Creek on the southern edge of Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. Ucross is located at the junction of U.S. Route 14 and U.S. Route 16, west-southwest of Clearmont. Ucross has a po ...
is an eighteen-day writing colony where five playwrights and a composer convene each year and where a Sundance dramaturg can respond to work at an early stage of the creative process. Like the other two Labs, the Ucross Retreat includes both emerging and established artists. Artists are selected by invitation only. In May 2016, Sundance Institute had its first Theatre Lab in the
MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
(Middle East and North Africa) region, in the Ourika Valley of
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
.


Documentary Film Program

The Sundance Documentary Film Program assists nonfiction filmmakers from around the world with a series of workshops in editing, storytelling, and scoring for documentary films as well as providing grants to nonfiction film projects through the Sundance Documentary Fund. The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program provides year-round support to nonfiction contemporary-issue filmmakers internationally. The program encourages the exploration of innovative nonfiction storytelling, and promotes the exhibition of documentary films to a broader audience. It supports independent artists both domestically and internationally through the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Documentary Composers Laboratory and Edit and Story Laboratory, panels at the Filmmakers Lodge at the Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Independent Producers Conference, and a variety of collaborative international documentary initiatives. The Documentary Fund was established at Sundance Institute in 2002 with a gift from the Open Society Institute and is supported by a leadership grant from the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the dea ...
. Documentary Fund grants are announced once a year. In 2016, the institute awarded over $1 million to artists for their documentary projects and global nonfiction storytelling.


New Frontier

Launched in 2007, the New Frontier Labs and residency programs foster the works of boundary-pushing artists and technologists, marked by its central themes of innovation and unconventionalism. The New Frontier exhibition at Sundance Film Festival provides a curation of such works in the emerging field through the incorporation of fiction, non-fiction, and a mix of the two, to showcase transmedia storytelling, multimedia installations, performances and films. At the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, the New Frontier lineup included the US premiere of
Jem Cohen Jem Alan Cohen (born 1962) is an Afghan-born American filmmaker based in New York City. Cohen is especially known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats ( sixteen-millimetre, Super 8, videotape) and collab ...
's film ''
Museum Hours ''Museum Hours'' is a 2012 Austrian-American drama film written and directed by Jem Cohen. The film is set in and around Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. Plot When a Vienna museum guard befriends an enigmatic visitor, the grand Kunsthistorische ...
'' and documentary ''World Without End (No Reported Incidents)'', live multimedia performances,
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
segments, and immersive installations, among other projects.


Creative Producing Initiative

Developed in 2008 as an initiative to support the next generation of independent producers, the Creative Producing Labs and fellowships is a 5-day long Lab that focuses on the producer as a whole. With the help of experienced advisors, Creative Producing Fellows have the chance to explore their own take on cinematic material and to equip themselves with the skills and experience necessary in the scripting and editing stages of a filmic piece. Past Creative Advisors include producers Anthony Bregman ('' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind''), Heather Rae (''Frozen River''),
Mary Jane Skalski Mary Jane Skalski is a film producer based in New York City and winner of the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for ''The Station Agent''. She attended University of Michigan during the late 1980s and moved to New York, NY upon graduati ...
('' Mysterious Skin''), Jay Van Hoy ('' American Honey''), and more. Recent Creative Producing Fellows and their Feature Film works include Annie Silverstein's ''Bull'', Cesar Cervantes' ''Hot Clip'', Hannah Utt's ''Stupid Happy'', Nick Bentgen's ''Dey'Dey and his Brothers'', Gabriella Moses' ''Leche'', and Pippa Bianco's ''Share''.


Episodic Storytelling Initiative

Initiated in 2014 as a result of the substantial growth of opportunities made present by the demand of more serial content for online and television platforms, the Episodic Storytelling Initiative gives writers the chance to refine their episodic-writing/producing skills. The institute offers a year-round program of Episodic Story Labs for 10 writers (or co-writing teams) to work with accomplished
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
s, non-writing creative producers, and studio and network executives. According to the institute's founder, Robert Redford, "Sundance Institute has always worked to develop and support a next generation of independent artists. As more of those artists look to the opportunities in television and online platforms, it is only natural that we expand our labs to address the unique needs of serialized work."


Sundance Ignite

Partnered with Adobe's Project 1324 contest, Sundance Ignite launched in 2015 as a short film challenge for young filmmakers ages 18 to 24. The entrants can win the Ignite Ticket Package, which is an exclusive chance to see the newest films at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, and the Ignite Fellows Program, a year-round Festival and industry experience. Sundance Ignite also puts on Ignite On Tour, a traveling component designed for the winners to engage with Institute staff and alumni. The Sundance Ignite program is supported by Adobe Project 1324,
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, commonly known as Newhouse School, is the communications and journalism school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; music business; graphic d ...
, the College of Visual Performing Arts at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, and Chapman University.


Creative Distribution Initiative

The Creative Distribution Initiative (CDI), part of the Creative Producing Initiative, is the institute's newest program inaugurated in 2017. Through online resources, workshops, and a network of organizations, CDI empowers filmmakers by teaching them the ever-changing ins and outs of what it takes to distribute and market independent film. For the Sundance Institute alumni, CDI also offers free consultations on
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...
campaigns. Their first release under this initiative was the 2017 film ''
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
''.


Sundance Collection at UCLA

The institute maintains the Sundance Collection at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
(University of California, Los Angeles) to conserve and archive the history of independent film. Film preservation is an especially pressing need in independent cinema. Despite their historical, artistic and cultural value, good prints of far too many indie films – even some made within the past decade – no longer exist. Chemical decomposition, neglect, and the changing ownership of film libraries have caused these prints to disappear. To create a living record of the history of independent film, Sundance Institute and UCLA Film and Television Archive initiated the Sundance Collection at UCLA in 1997, and with contributions from studios and distributors as well as hundreds of individual filmmakers, the Collection's holdings have grown to include over 300 film prints. The archive represents a diversity of work from the Sundance Film Festival as well as projects developed through the Sundance Labs. From features to documentaries to shorts, prints in the Collection include '' Sex, Lies, and Videotape'', '' Reservoir Dogs'', '' The Living End'', '' Smoke Signals'', '' Amores Perros'', '' Harlan County, USA'', ''
Love & Basketball ''Love & Basketball'' is a 2000 American romantic sports drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood in her feature film directorial debut. The film is produced by Spike Lee and Sam Kit and stars Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps. It ...
'', and '' Welcome to the Dollhouse'', among many other works that might otherwise no longer exist. The Collection also provides a central resource for the study of independent film, containing a rare assemblage of material related to the history of independent cinema, including press kits and filmmaker interviews.


References


External links

*
''Sundance Institute Radar''
{{Authority control Institutes based in the United States Sundance Film Festival Organizations established in 1981 Film organizations in the United States