OVERVIEW: The Sundance Institute has a multitude of fellowships, grants, and awards that support filmmakers of all types at different stages in their careers. Sundance also supports both narrative and documentary projects at various stages of production. The Sundance Institute provides funding for journalism through its Documentary Film Program and Fund, which supports “independent documentary filmmakers worldwide working on cinematic documentaries focused on human rights and contemporary-issue themes.”
IP TAKE: While some of Sundance’s fellowships are open to the public, there are many more funding opportunities available only to alumni of its screenwriting, producing, and directing labs (the latter of which is only available to projects coming out of the screenwriting lab). Getting into one of these labs is key to securing further funding. Many of Sundance’s open fellowships do provide avenues into these labs. Many of Sundance’s fellowships and grants have vastly different criteria, so grant seekers should be sure to read through each specific set of guidelines thoroughly.
This is an otherwise expansive and accessible funder that is eager to make an impact in its fields.
PROFILE: Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Sundance Institute is “dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences.” It “seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theater artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work.” Though modest, this funder’s grants are among the most prestigious in its fields. The Sundance Institute prioritizes narrative features and documentaries and has fellowships and programs for short film, native film, film music and production.
Grants for Journalism
Sundance’s Documentary Film Program offers a number of different grant opportunities for documentary filmmakers:
Sundance Institute Documentary Fund — This is the core element of its documentary funding. It provides between $1 to $2 million a year in support of U.S. and international contemporary independent documentary films, given to between 40 to 60 projects annually. Sundance accepts submissions in the categories of Development, Production/Post-Production, and Audience Engagement
Special Opportunity Funds — These include partnerships with Cinereach in support of a "global cultural exchange"; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in support of "diverse U.S-based documentarians"; and the Wallace Global Fund, for environmentally themed films.
Creative Documentary Labs — There are five labs hosted annually in the area of documentary film, including the Documentary Edit and Story Lab, Music and Sound Design Lab at Skywalker Sound, Documentary Creative Producing Lab, and the New Frontier Story Lab. These labs draw on the experience of various world-class directors, editors and producers to help educate grantees about the process of documentary filmmaking.
Sundance Institute Creative Producing Summit: Documentary — This is a multi-day event that provides a forum for top industry professionals, producers, and directors to "focus on three primary avenues of dialogue: narrative producing, documentary producing, and the state of the independent film industry."
Grants for Film
The Sundance Institute offers a range of grants and fellowships for filmmakers and those involved in film production.
Sundance funds documentaries through the Documentary Fund. Grants are accepted on a rolling basis for development (up to $20,000), production/post-production (up to $50,000), and audience engagement ($20,000).
The Feature Film Program supports independent filmmakers in various ways. Several of the opportunities it offers are open to applications, but there are also many others (not listed here) available only to alumni of Sundance labs. In particular, the Screenwriters Lab is an entry point for the Directors Lab (which is by invitation only), and thus can provide access to many future sources of funding and other support.
Screenwriters Lab — This lab is a five-day workshop for independent screenwriters to develop feature length projects.
Creative Producing Lab & Fellowship — This is a year-long program for emerging producers who have a completed, optioned, scripted, narrative project with a director attached. The producer may not be the writer or director of this project. Fellows receive $10,000 in grant support, as well as mentoring and other support from Sundance staff.
FilmTwo Initiative and Fellowship — This fellowship supports filmmakers working on their second narrative film project, either writer/directors or writers collaborating closely with a director. Women and applicants from underrepresented communities will be given priority. This fellowship includes participation in a screenwriting workshop in Los Angeles, support from Sundance staff, and eligibility for various labs run by the Institute.
Alfred P. Sloan Commissioning Grant & Fellowship – In partnership with the Sloan Foundation, these grants and fellowships support the development of screenplays with science or technology themes (but not science fiction). Only completed screenplays will be considered for the fellowship.
Sundance Institute/Asian American Feature Film Fellowship — This fellowship supports an Asian-American writer or writer/director working on his or her first or second narrative feature film through participation in a screenwriting or producing lab.
Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Latino Fellowship — This fellowship supports a US-based Latino writer or writer/director working on his or her first or second narrative feature film through participation in a screenwriting lab. There is also a small, unrestricted cash grant.
The Film Music Program offers labs for music and sound design for feature films and documentaries. These labs are primarily intended for composers, both those working directly for film and those whose compositions are suitable for film scoring.
This program offers a lab and two grants for Native American filmmakers:
Native Filmmaker Lab — This lab supports first time filmmakers in the shooting of a short film, through the assistance of an experienced producer and director.
Full Circle Fellowship — This fellowship gives Native Americans from Michigan and New Mexico aged 18-24 the opportunity to explore careers in film. It includes attendance at the Sundance Film Festival, an internship in the Native Filmmaker Lab, and a trip to Los Angeles to visit film studios and production facilities.
Time Warner Native Producing Fellowship — This fellowship emerging Native American producers through attendance of the Sundance Film Festival and of a Creative Producing Summit, travel to an international film market, and a grant for project support.
Sundance runs two labs for what it calls episodic storytelling, focused on writers developing work for television and online platforms. Details are provided below:
Episodic Story Lab — This lab supports first time writers in a variety of media, including features, documentaries, theater, and fiction, who are developing an episodic series. Applicants must have a completed pilot script and an overview of the development of the series, and they cannot have pitched to a studio or sold a pilot that has been produced. Writers from communities that have been underrepresented in the television industry are given priority.
Sundance Institute | YouTube New Voices Lab — This lab supports writers working on new episodic story projects through mentorship and workshopping with experienced creators, showrunners, and producers.
The New Frontier Initiative supports the development of narrative storytelling in emergent media, including film, gaming, theater, comic books, design, and web native art. It includes the New Frontier Story Lab, which supports artists developing stories using new media and technologies. Alumni of this lab become eligible for the New Frontier Artist Residency Program. It also supports Day Labs at various venues across the country.
Grants for Theater
The Sundance Institute supports theater through its Theater Program. Sundance funds a handful of labs, retreats and residencies for theater, two of which are open to applications from the public:
Theatre Lab at the Sundance Resort — This lab is open to playwrights, directors, composers and librettists from the US, the Middle East, and North Africa with projects in any stage of development. Each Fellow receives a $1,200 honorarium and, if applicable, a company of actors for rehearsing the project under development, as well as support and mentoring.
MENA Playwrights Residency in Berlin — This residency is for playwrights from the Middle East, especially Syria, and North Africa who have been based in Europe for five years or less. Applicants must submit a script, written in Arabic (classical or dialect), a project summary, and an artistic statement.
Sundance’s theater program also includes the Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA, the Sundance Institute | LUMA Foundation Theatre Directors Retreat in Arles, and the Playwrights & Composers Retreat at Ucross Foundation, all of which are by invitation only. Participation in Sundance’s Theatre Lab may provide a way in, however.
Additionally, actors interested in performing in the acting company for the Theatre Lab at the Sundance Resort can submit a headshot and resume.
Important Grant Details:
Grants and fellowships may range from $1,000 to $50,000. Grantseekers may review the foundation’s Digital Archive for more information on the kind of work it tends to support.
Sundance accepts applications and submissions through its online portal. Deadlines and requirements may vary by program.
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