Originally founded by Robert Redford in the mountains of Sundance, Utah, Sundance Institute has always provided a space for independent artists to explore their stories free from commercial and political pressures. He iscurrently in the writers room for Acapulco on Apple TV+. Hadis recognitions include the Tisch Deans Fellowship, The Gotham-Marcie Bloom Fellowship, the Black Family Production Prize, the Sloan Foundation Award and the BAFTA Newcomers Program. Sean Wang is a filmmaker from Fremont, CA. Recipient of the Sundance Institute Comedy Fellowship. Masami Kawai is a Los Angeles-born filmmaker of Ryukyuan descent. Lauri's List of Screenwriting Fellowships, Labs, Grants, Contests and Other Opportunities Last updated on January 29, 2023. Cynthia Lowen is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and writer. Currently, Hadi is an adjunct professor at NYUs Graduate Film Program. Abinash Bikram Shah (Writer/Director) with Elephants in the Fog (Nepal/France): In Nepal, a group of trans women have banded together at the margins of their community, patrolling the village to keep wild elephants at bay. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Were looking forward to kicking off a new year of the Screenwriters Lab, supporting the bold visions of a stellar group of storytellers. She was a Merata Mita Fellow at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival with her project I love my Guooheaddji. Some common conditions we manage are Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Thyroid Disorders, Migraines, Anxiety & Depression as well as many . Alvarez has performed at the Williamstown Theater Festival, Womens Project, INTAR, and Miami New Drama. co-wrote and produced the two-time Sundance award-winning film, (short and feature versions.) Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Bernardo Cubra is a Mexican award-winning screenwriter and playwright. Her first short, (2014) won the Student Academy Award and the Israeli. Palm Springs ShortsFest and Outfest. Set in sprawling 1970s Hawaii, this is the story of how the Aikau name became synonymous with groundbreaking big wave surfing, the Hokulea, and the reclamation of the most revered sport in Hawaiian history. Ashley Alvarez is a Cuban-American actress, writer, and producer. Recipient of the Sundance Institute Comedy Fellowship. Please email us with any questions you have at anytime! His latest short film, H.A.G.S (Have A Good Summer), was acquired by the New York Times Op-Docs. Faye Ruiz is a filmmaker whose interests lie in telling the stories of trans women ofcolor. Austin Film Festival, among others. Her, intersections inspire her to create space through film technologies. Recipient of the Sundance Institute Horror Fellowship, supported by K Period Media Fund Foundation. Lab and Intensive participants were selected from over 2000 submissions to further develop their scripts with the guidance of accomplished advisors under the leadership of Michelle Satter (Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institutes Artist Programs) and Ilyse McKimmie (Deputy Director, Feature Film Program). For 40 years, the Feature Film Program (FFP) Labs have supported and championed an exciting and groundbreaking array of independent filmmakers including Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny), Tatiana Huezo (Prayers for the Stolen [Noche de Fuego]), Lyle Corbine Jr. (Wild Indian), Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me), Eliza Hittman (Beach Rats), Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl), Fernando Frias de la Parra (Im No Longer Here), Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), Edson Oda (Nine Days), Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station), Dee Rees (Pariah), Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox), and Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild)among many others. Shes thedirector/producer of Battleground (STARZ) and Netizens (HBO) and is theproducer/writer of Bully (Netflix/PBS). is a Kurdish American writer from Ohio. Her feature screenplay Keep It Together was shortlisted for the 2019 Tribeca All Access program. Violet du Feng is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. Her work pushes the envelope of expression by experimenting with genre and form. The projects and fellows selected for the 2023 Screenwriters Intensive are: Keisha Rae Witherspoon (Co-writer/Director) & Jason Fitzroy Jeffers (Co-writer) with Arc (U.S.A.): Ev is a paranoid young hustler who believes his mother was abducted by aliens when he was a boy. currently in the writers room for Acapulco on Apple TV+. Nwosus work is informed by the intersectional nature of her life across multiple continents and identities. The projects selected for the 2023 January Screenwriters Lab and the artists participating are: Joseph Sackett (Writer/Director) with Cross Pollination (U.S.A.): In this queer sci-fi rom-com, an alien arrives on Earth with one mission: to introduce his DNA into the human gene pool and propagate his species. Parker Smith is a filmmaker based in Austin, Texas, originally from Louisville, Kentucky. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Riz Ahmed, and Alma Harel. Our industry-leading technical consultation and full-service product offerings make for comprehensive treatment solutions. His first film, the documentary feature Ramblin Freak, premiered at SXSW in 2017. Pigeon Wars willbe her debut feature. Wasserman Award for Best Graduate Film at NYUs First Run Festival. Our puppies have the perfect temperaments for the perfect family dog and many of them go on to do therapy work!! By providing year-round creative and financial support for the development of original stories for the screen and stage, Sundance Institute remains committed to its mission to discover and develop independent artists and audiences across the globe. The projects and fellows selected for the 2022 January Screenwriters Lab are: Eliza McNitt (Writer/Director) with BLACK HOLE (U.S.A.): At a pivotal moment in both her career and her complicated relationship with her mother, an astrophysicists universe unravels when she encounters a black hole of her own creation. She befriends Hassan, a kindred spirit with an inner struggle of his own, and against the backdrop of growing political crisis in Beirut, they embark on a mission to catch a rare bird the Nicobar. Zandash Brown (Writer/Director) with The Matriarch (U.S.A.): When the death of an estranged matriarch summons a fractured family back to their hometown in rural Louisiana, a forlorn teen attempts to forge a relationship with her departed grandmother through ancestral veneration and unlocks instead a deceptive world of spirits, secrecy, and hysteria. Abinash Bikram Shah (Writer/Director) with Elephants in the Fog (Nepal/France): In Nepal, a group of trans women have banded together at the margins of their community, patrolling the village to keep wild elephants at bay. His first feature, Homebody, won the Emerging Talent Award at Outfest and is available to stream on Fandor. and hes currently in post-production on his first feature. Lab and Intensive participants were selected from over 2000 submissions to further develop their scripts with the guidance of accomplished advisors under the leadership of Michelle Satter (Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institutes Artist Programs) and Ilyse McKimmie (Deputy Director, Feature Film Program). After discovering he hid a sexual misconduct complaint brought by a student, Mara develops a secret relationship with his accuser, jeopardizing her family and the opportunity to restart her career. Her short film, Beast, premiered at the Tribeca FilmFestival and screened in select theaters nationally before Jordan Peeles Nope. She wrote and co-directed Hilbes biig, which screened at nearly 30 film festivals, and The Tongues, winning four awards, three of them at Oscar Qualifying Film Festivals. However, in return for participation in a Screenwriters Lab, fellows are obligated to sign an agreement stipulating that (a) they will make a contribution to Sundance of % of their film's final budget in excess of $1,000,000 (the "Budget Participation"), (b) Sundance will receive 1% of 100% of the film's net receipts, and (c) Sundance will is a writer/director born and raised in Ecuador with an MFA, from Columbia University. Swipe is only available in chrome dev tools mobile mode. (U.S.A.): Summer, 2004. is a First Gen, Ecuadorian-Iranian, Muslim, and disabled filmmaker. Be warned: it does seem to favor drama. . All of their work has the power to impact audiences through their unique voices, personal perspectives and exciting and unheard stories, said Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director of Sundance Institutes Artist Programs. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olive Nwosu is a BAFTA-Pigott Scholar, Alex Sichel Fellow at Columbia University, and an African Promises director selected by the Institut Franais. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. With the help of advisors, some of . (U.S.A.): A discarded TV/VCR combo set circulates through the lives of various working-class indigenous characters of color in an Oregon town. Her debut feature The Cow Who Sang A Song Into the Future premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and was supported by the 2017 Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Lab along with the Catalyst Forum. Her feature screenplay Keep It Together was shortlisted for the 2019 Tribeca All Access program. A USC film school alumnus and native of the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles, DavidLius work as a screenwriter and director is supported by the Sundance Institute,SFFILM, IFP/Gotham, ARRAY, Visual Communications, and CAPE. Her work drawscultural bridges that lead to the Caribbean through intersectionality, duality andancestral memory. Almas love for her close-knit family forces her to maintain the facade that nothing has changed, resulting in the absolute loneliness that comes with pretending. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. An Emmy Awards Finalist and recipient of the VR Grand Prize at The Venice Film Festival, her work has appeared at Sundance, SXSW, AFI Fest, Cannes NEXT, Tribeca, Telluride, and Venice. She has been awarded a Miami Individual Artist Stipend and fellowship from the South Florida Cultural Consortium. He most recently penned three episodes of Taiwan Crime Stories for Imagine Entertainment (Disney+). The Lab will be dedicated to the memory of Sundances generous Creative Advisor Douglas McGrath who passed away several months ago. He has written films that have premiered in Berlinale and Venice and were Nepals official entry for the Academy Awards. In the Rio Grande Valley, just north of the Mexico/US border, the friendship of two teenage boys is tested as they embark on a whirlwind punk rock odyssey to escape their realities and seize their dreams. The 2022 lab wil take place under the leadership of Michelle Satter (Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institutes Artist Programs) and Ilyse McKimmie (the Feature Film Programs Deputy Director), alongside Creative Advisors: Scott Frank (Artistic Director), Karim Anouz, Linda Yvette Chavez, Carlos Cuaron, Phil Hay, Marielle Heller, Amanda Idoko, Jenny Lumet, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Doug McGrath, Walter Mosley, Jessie Nelson, Jose Rivera, Eric Roth, Dana Stevens, Veena Sud, Chris Terrio, and Tyger Williams. He writes horror and comedyfeaturing immigrant leads. Dania Bdeir (Co-writer/Director) & Bane Fakih (Co-writer) with Pigeon Wars (Lebanon/Canada/France): Rana, a feisty & competitive woman avoiding a secret from her past, becomes obsessed with the male-dominated pigeon wars of Beirut. After being written up in Variety and Cahiers Du Cinema, Filmmaker Magazine named Sora one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Urvashi Pathania is a writer/director based in Brooklyn. She befriends Hassan, a kindred spirit with an inner struggle of his own, and against the backdrop of growing political crisis in Beirut, they embark on a mission to catch a rare bird the Nicobar. Yuan Yuan (Writer/Director) with Late Spring (U.S.A.,China): A Chinese factory worker travels to New York for her daughters eagerly anticipated college graduation, only to be thrust into a desperate search in unfamiliar territory when she learns the girl is missing. Daniele Anastasion is a writer and director whose films have screened at Sundance and Tribeca and have been nominated for an Emmy. ho confronted rampant discrimination to become one of the first women in physics and an essential contributor to the theory of relativity. For 40 years, the Feature Film Program (FFP) Labs have supported and championed an exciting and groundbreaking array of independent filmmakers including Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny), Tatiana Huezo (Prayers for the Stolen [Noche de Fuego]), Lyle Corbine Jr. (Wild Indian), Radha Blank (The 40-Year-Old Version), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me), Eliza Hittman (Beach Rats), Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl), Fernando Frias de la Parra (Im No Longer Here), Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre), Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), Edson Oda (Nine Days), Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station), Dee Rees (Pariah), Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox), and Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild)among many others. Before transitioning to film, Walter worked as a journalist for The New York Times. Her films have been supported by Tribeca, Chanel, Kickstarter, and the New Orleans Film Society, where she programs narrative films for the New Orleans Film Festival. He is currently working with director Carlos Lpez Estrada on Kill Yr Idols, and is developing a project for Warner Brothers withdirector Alfonso Gomez Rejon. Caledonia Curry (aka Swoon) is an artist and filmmaker recognized for her pioneering vision of public artwork. Congrats to Walter Thompson-Hernndez on being selected for the 2023 Sundance Fellowship Screenwriters Lab for his film "If I Go Will They Miss Me". Recipient of the Sundance Institute Comedy Fellowship. (U.S.A.): In the wake of 9/11, a First-Gen Muslim teenager discovers her mothers cassette tapes. Sundance Screenwriters Lab. She is the co-Creator of Carlas Quince (Drama League nominee). One of the highlights for us every January is gathering a new and uniquely talented group of storytellers at our annual Screenwriters Lab. (U.S.A.): Two trans teens secretly living in the attic of a cheap-seat movie theater spend an endless summer trying anything and everything to start hormone replacement therapy. The fellows come from both the U.S. and abroad, with participants hailing from the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Nepal. Recipient of the Sloan Development Fellowship. K Period Media; SAGindie; Rosalie Swedlin and Robert Cort; Deborah Reinisch and Michael Theodore Fund; Octavia Spencer; Scott and Jennifer Frank. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institutes signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. He is a 2020 Sundance Ignite Fellow,2021 SFFILM Rainin Grantee, and 2022 Sundance Institute & Asian AmericanFoundation Fellow. Jesahel Newton-Bernal is a writer/director born and raised in Ecuador with an MFAfrom Columbia University. Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Dramatic Competition, and The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future and Dos Estaciones, both premiering in World Dramatic Competition. Readers around Park City and Summit County make the Park Record's work possible. Her debut feature The Cow Who Sang A Song Into the Future premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and was supported by the 2017 Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Lab, along with the Catalyst Forum. Top LR: Joseph Sackett, Sean Wang, Abinash Bikram Shah, Gabriela Ortega, Walter Thompson-Hernndez, Hadas Ayalon, Bernardo Cubria, 2nd Row LR: John Hibey, Dania Bdeir, Bane Fakih, Rashad Frett, Lin Que Ayoung, Farida Zahran, Masami Kawai, 3rd Row LR: Audrey Rosenberg, Keisha Witherspoon, Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, Shireen Alihaji, Spencer Cook, Parker Smith, Jesahel Newton-Bernal, Bottom LR: Cynthia Lowen, Rebin Zangana, David Liu, Urvashi Pathania, Ciara Leina`Ala Lacy, Faye Ruiz. Ingir Bl Nango is a screenwriter. Sundance 2023 Sundance-2023 | Jan 17, 2023. In the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family cant teach him: how to skate, how to flirt and how to love your mom. Rashad Frett (Co-writer/Director) & Lin Que Ayoung (Co-writer) with Ricky U.S.A.): Newly released after being locked up in his teens, 30-year-old Ricky navigates the challenging realities of life post-incarceration, and the complexity of gaining independence for the first time as an adult. His short Crabs in a Barrel is an HBO Latinx Short Film Competition winner. Hes a recipient of a DGA Student Film Award, a Spike Lee Production Grant, the Cary Fukunaga Production Grant, and Ryan Murphys HALF Initiative. His short, SWIMSUIT, won an Oscar-qualifying award at Urbanworld. We feel privileged to provide vital creative guidance and meaningful community at a crucial moment in the development of these projects.. Ev is a paranoid young hustler who believes his mother was abducted by aliens when he was a boy. His latest short film, H.A.G.S (Have A Good Summer), was acquired by the New York Times Op-Docs. We're excited to work with Savannah, Annie, Jade, Richard and Kimba on bringing their visions to life." The FOX. As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. s work as a screenwriter and director is supported by the Sundance Institute, SFFILM, IFP/Gotham, ARRAY, Visual Communications, and CAPE. Olive Nwosu (Writer/Director) with A Burial (Nigeria, U.K.): Faced with the sudden death of a visiting British dignitary, an older Nigerian politician becomes obsessed with giving the foreign stranger a proper burial. Her debut short film, at BlackStar, Sundance Film Festival, AFI and others, and won the 2020 Golden Bear for, Best Short Film at Berlinale. Sundance Screenwriters Lab: One of the most prestigious programs for screenwriters, with a focus on independent filmmaking. many years he was caretaker for Spencer Cook. He. Douglas was an Advisor to over 200 writers in his twenty years participating in the Lab. Yuan Yuan is a Chinese writer-director and an MFA thesis candidate at NYU, where she is an Ang Lee Scholar and Spike Lee Film Production Fellow. Ciara Leina`ala Lacy is a filmmaker whose Native Hawaiian identity drives her works intimacy and authenticity. is a filmmaker from Fremont, CA. Zandash Brown is a Louisiana born-and-based storyteller whose work funnels spirituality, catharsis, and a rural Black experience through the lens of southern gothic horror. Gabriela Ortega is a multi-disciplinary artist from the Dominican Republic. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. He is also co-founder of Third. She is currently working towards developing her first featurefilm. But he encounters unexpectedand very humancomplications when he falls in love with the man who knocks him up. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism. Each year the Sundance Institute gathers recipients of this program for a week of mentorship and project development in Utah. The projects selected for the 2023 January Screenwriters Lab and the artists participating are: Joseph Sackett (Writer/Director) with Cross Pollination (U.S.A.): In this queer sci-fi rom-com, an alien arrives on Earth with one mission: to introduce his DNA into the human gene pool and propagate his species. As music unlocks memories, Amina discovers who she is. The Screenwriters Intensive allows us to extend the breadth of our support to a wider group of emerging independent artists, and were thrilled to include such an extensive range of stories, genres, and essential voices in the cohort, said, . sundancelabradoodles@gmail.com or call 480-225-3810. dog movie. He is currently working with director Carlos, , and is developing a project for Warner Brothers with, is an award-winning director, writer and photographer. Her third novel, Weird Girl and Whats His Name, was named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2015. He is also co-founder of ThirdHorizon Film Festival in Miami. She is co-founder of Third Horizon Film Festival, and a 2022 USA Fellow. (co-written/directed by Roger Ross Williams, co-written by David Teague), (co-written/directed by Erica Tremblay, co-written by Miciana Al. Shireen Alihaji is a First Gen, Ecuadorian-Iranian, Muslim, and disabled filmmaker. The January Screenwriters Lab cohort will develop their projects in person at the Sundance Mountain Resort from January 14-18 with the generous support of Artistic Director Jessie Nelson, along with Creative Advisors Ritesh Batra, Linda Yvette Chvez, Scott Frank, Phil Hay, Eliza Hittman, Attica Locke, Walter Mosley, Marti Noxon, Nicole Perlman, Howard Rodman, Dana Stevens, Joan Tewkesbury, Lulu Wang, Bill Wheeler, Tyger Williams, Virgil Williams, and Doug Wright. were Nepals official entry for the Academy Awards. The Academy selects up to 5 screenwriters with a fellowship of $35,000. Caledonia Curry (Director) and Meagan Brothers (Writer) with Sibylant Sisters, Silent Snake Magic (U.S.A): Growing up with an absentee witch for a mother, the young Sibylant Sisters must fend for themselves in a frightening world of ogres, gnomes, maleficent toads, and enchanted paper dolls. We love to talk Labradoodles. She participated in the, Gotham Project Market and Film Independents FastTrack. Sundance Institute has supported and showcased such projects as, Summer of Soul (or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), CODA, Flee, Passing, Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Wont You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams, Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Emanuele Crialese, the Director of LImmensit, Started at Sundance: The Daniels Talk Sound, Music, and Their First Oscar-Nominated Film, Everything Everywhere All At Once. Abinash Bikram Shah is an award-winning writer/director based in Nepal. The Sundance Institute has chosen its 16 screenwriters to participate in the 2o22 Screenwriters Lab. The Sundance Institute Feature Film Program is supported by explore.org, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; The Asian American Foundation (TAAF); Directors Guild of America (DGA), Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation; Hartbeat; Maja Kristin; NBCUniversal; United Airlines; Amazon Studios; Hollywood Foreign Press Association; Karen Lauder; Ray and Dagmar Dolby Fund; National Endowment for the Arts; NHK/NHK Enterprises, Inc.; Kimberly StewardK Period Media; SAGindie; Rosalie Swedlin and Robert Cort; Deborah Reinisch and Michael Theodore Fund; Octavia Spencer; Scott and Jennifer Frank. (Dominican Republic / U.S.A.): Following the death of her familys matriarch in the Dominican Republic, a disenchanted flamenco dancer living in New York City must rid herself from her ancestors curses to pave her own future. is an Egyptian writer/director based in Brooklyn. After her MFA from Columbia University, Fakih received the Ezra Litwak Award for Screenwriting Distinction. is an award-winning writer/director based in Nepal. Hasan Hadi (Writer/Director) with The Presidents Cake (Iraq, U.S.A): While everyday people struggle daily to survive under sanctions in Saddams Iraq, nine-year-old Saeed must use his wits to gather the ingredients for the required cake to celebrate President Saddam Husseins birthday or face the consequences alongside his family. (U.S.A.): After a fatal mistake makes her the pariah of her insular and devout 19th century farming community, Frances becomes consumed with hunting down a mythic beast, at the cost of her familys reputation and safety. He was named one of Filmmaker Magazines 25 New Faces of Independent Film and was a 2022 Martha MOCA Resident.