Sundance Institute

Join Sundance Collab for an Advisor Studio on Games as a Narrative Medium with Nic Yulo ("Splinter Cell", "Ghost Recon"). Learn how traditional screenplay structure meets interactive design in game storytelling. Thursday, May 28 at 1 p.m. PT Register here: sndnc.org/4tpykGn

Join us today, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. MT at the Boulder Creek Festival for a free outdoor screening of “Napoleon Dynamite.” Stop by the Sundance Film Festival booth to learn more about ways to engage with us and take home some fun giveaways. More details: sndnc.org/4fCP48W

We are thrilled to celebrate Sundance Institute-supported filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah, whose “Elephants in the Fog” (Nepal), developed through our 2023 Screenwriters and Directors Labs, has world premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.

Great to be together with our super talented Fellows and beyond generous Creative Advisors at our EPISODIC LAB. We’re at the beautiful Dunaway Gardens with the incredible support of Tena Clark at a place that connects art and nature!

Independent filmmaking is about carving your own path. Join us for a free session with the award-winning team behind “Ricky,” Rashad Frett & Simon TaufiQue, as they discuss alternative distribution and making an impact. May 26 | 10 a.m. PT Register: sndnc.org/48Y78Gz

Michelle Satter (@SundanceSatter) reflects that “storytelling is a powerful force for empathy in this world.” That ethos lives in the Sundance Institute Labs, where filmmakers are given space to take risks, experiment, and develop their voice in community.

Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director of the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, is included on the TIME100 Philanthropy 2026 list for her lifelong impact on independent film. @TIME Read more: bit.ly/4nreBUs

(2/2) The 2026 Sundance Institute Episodic Lab fellows: Michael Mount (The Circuit), Larry V. Santana (On Death’s Precipice), Liba Vaynberg (Loupe), and Natacha Yazbeck (borderline_).

(1/2) The 2026 Sundance Institute Episodic Lab fellows: Carmiel Banasky (Wonderboom), Jeremy Dauber and Olivia Krebs (Cupidity), Celine Foster (Male Loneliness Epidemic), and DeZell Lathon and Simone Williams (The Runaways).

Announcing the 10 fellows selected for the 2026 Sundance Institute Episodic Lab. The Lab will take place at its new home in Dunaway Gardens in Newnan, Georgia, from May 15–20. Learn more: bit.ly/4eRSWTn

Feature fiction filmmakers! In the early stages of a screenplay? Apply now for the 2027 Development Track to be considered for multiple programs, fellowships, and grants. Deadline: May 12, 2026. Apply here: sndnc.org/3Ol3LCs

Join our next Sundance Institute Founder Series to discuss Robert Redford’s impact on climate storytelling with Jill Tidman, Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, and Louie Psihoyos. May 13 | 12 p.m. PT Learn to weave social impact into your craft. Register for free: bit.ly/3QWCWWg

Meet the heart of the Sundance Institute Labs: Michelle Satter. For over four decades, she has quietly shaped independent cinema, guiding artists, championing storytelling, and building the Sundance Institute Labs into a year-round creative home where risk, failure, and discovery are all part of the process. Now honored with the Mel Novikoff Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival (@SFFILM), her impact lives on through the filmmakers and stories she’s helped bring into the world. Read more: bit.ly/4dpWZoA

May brings new Sundance Institute–supported films and series from Festival alums to theaters and streaming, spanning crime, horror, and documentary. Read more in this month's Release Rundown: bit.ly/3OPv4VL

Join us this Friday for our next Global Cinema Meetup featuring the visionary directing duo Thunderlips (Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor)! We’re diving into the journey behind their body-horror comedy "Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant," which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. This is a must-attend for any filmmaker looking to bridge the gap between short-form content and feature-length storytelling. Register free: sndnc.org/4mdqQDu

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” and “No Other Land” are among this year’s Sundance Institute–supported @PeabodyAwards winners, recognizing powerful storytelling that endures. From urgent political investigations to deeply personal portraits of artists and communities, these films reflect essential voices shaping the documentary landscape. Read more: sndnc.org/4mPU9wl

Rashad Frett’s “Ricky,” now in select theaters, is a Sundance Institute–supported feature debut that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic. Executive produced by and starring Stephan James, the film follows a 30-year-old rebuilding his life after incarceration as a teen, drawn from stories of reentry and the realities of second chances. Read more: sndnc.org/3P2fUMO

A lineup of 17 Sundance Institute–supported films head to the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (@HotDocs), April 23–May 3. See what to add to your screening schedule: sndnc.org/4eHRDWN

Join us, along with event partners Rocky Mountain Equality and The Center on Colfax, for Andrea Gibson: Love Letter from the Afterlife — a multimedia evening of film, poetry, and music premiering at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. MT. At the heart of the event is the world debut of Andrea Gibson’s last poetry set recorded at Denver’s own Paramount Theatre in 2024. The film was produced by the team behind the Oscar-nominated and Sundance Film Festival–winning documentary, Come See Me in the Good Light. The Colorado Symphony will accompany Gibson's poetry and the night’s other performances. The event will feature some of Andrea’s favorite artistic collaborators. A presale for the Sundance Film Festival community is now live and will run until Thursday, April 23 at 10 p.m. MT. To get your tickets, visit sndnc.org/48RiVX1 and use code SUNDANCEREDROCKS.

Applying to the Sundance Institute Feature Film Development Track? Join us April 21 at 10 a.m. PT for a FREE Insider Session with Ilyse McKimmie and Beth de Araújo. Get tips on the application process and an inside look at the Lab experience. Register: sndnc.org/40z79w7