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Sundance Institute

Park City, Utah

Grants

2022 (2 years)
$1,200,000

The Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that operates a range of artist support programs for independent storytellers in film, theater, film composing, episodic storytelling, and emerging media. This award supports the Documentary Film program, which provides grants and creative support to filmmakers working on social issue documentary films;  the Indigenous program, supporting global Indigenous filmmakers; and the launch of two new fellowship programs focused on support of Asian American and Latine filmmakers. The intended outcomes of this work are stronger support systems for independent documentary filmmakers in the United States, especially those from underrepresented communities, and greater opportunities for them to complete their films and have social impact.

2019 (3 years)
$2,050,000

The Sundance Institute (Sundance) is a nonprofit organization that supports independent filmmakers and artists across a range of media and art forms. Sundance’s Documentary Film Program supports feature-length and short-form documentaries that explore critical social issues from diverse perspectives and in new ways; its New Frontier Lab Program supports stories told in immersive media formats; and its Indigenous Program supports film projects led by Indigenous filmmakers. Sundance is increasingly exploring ways of working across multiple programs within the Institute in order to provide cross-disciplinary support for makers working in different forms of media, with a special focus on makers who are underrepresented in the media field. This award supports the Sundance Documentary Film Program, New Frontier Lab Program, and Indigenous Program to provide holistic support to nonfiction multimedia storytelling projects. The outcome will be that more nonfiction multimedia stories will be produced in a variety of media formats, by a diverse set of makers, and will reach audiences across the United States in an assortment of ways, with the aim of generating greater understanding about underreported issues.

2018 ( 2 months)
$16,000

The Sundance Institute (Sundance) is a nonprofit organization that provides financial and creative support to filmmakers, and provides a high-profile platform for films, shorts and interactive media at its annual film festival. For its 2019 festival, Sundance has launched a new initiative to support diverse representation in film criticism, dedicating at least 20% of its top-tier press badges to journalists from historically underrepresented communities, including women, people of color, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community. This initiative also includes providing travel and lodging support to freelance critics who would not otherwise be able to afford to attend the festival and hosting a welcome reception for this community of critics. By dedicating these resources for diverse perspectives in criticism, Sundance hope to foster a more diverse landscape of interpretation, contextualization, and awareness of the projects it curates.

2017 (2 years 1 month)
$1,250,000

The Sundance Institute provides financial and creative support to filmmakers, and provides a high-profile platform for films, shorts and interactive media at its annual film festival. The Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund provides grants to short and feature-length documentary film projects through a highly competitive Open Call, and provides a subset of its grantees with consultation and mentorship through weeklong Creative Documentary Labs. The Institute is also a leader in the support of digital interactive nonfiction storytelling projects through its New Frontier Program; and in support of Native American filmmakers through its Native American and Indigenous program. MacArthur funds support the year-round operation of these programs and grants made through these programs for independent documentary film projects and new media storytelling projects.

2015 (1 year)
$500,000

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program was established in 2002 by the Sundance Institute (the organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 to support independent film). The Documentary Film Program provides financial and creative support to filmmakers producing documentaries that observe and analyze contemporary social issues. It does this through direct film funding via the Sundance Documentary Fund, by providing technical training to Sundance Documentary Fund recipients through its Creative Documentary Labs, and through New Frontier, a section of the Sundance Institute created in 2007 to support and showcase digital and participatory storytelling projects that go beyond the boundaries of traditional long form films. The Sundance Institute is one of the leaders in the support of innovative forms of documentaries. MacArthur funds will allow Sundance to explore new distribution and production technologies for documentaries through two initiatives to reach new audiences, in new ways: (1) a fund that places short documentaries on the websites of the New York Times and the Guardian; and (2) funds to create and disseminate two immersive journalism projects, produced using virtual reality technology, and disseminated to wide audiences through a leading news outlet.

2014 (2 years 8 months)
$1,000,000

The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program was established in 2002 by the Sundance Institute, (the organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 to support independent film), to provide financial and creative support to filmmakers producing documentaries that observe and analyze contemporary social issues. It does this through direct film funding via the Sundance Documentary Fund; by providing professional development opportunities to Sundance Documentary Fund recipients through its Creative Documentary Labs; and through New Frontier, a section of the Sundance Institute created in 2007 to support and showcase digital and participatory storytelling projects that go beyond the boundaries of traditional long form films. As a core grantee in the MacArthur Foundation’s Media program, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program provides multifaceted support to a wide range of nonfiction documentary film and media projects.

2013 (1 year)
$225,000

The Sundance Institute is a world-renowned film and theater organization founded by Robert Redford. The Documentary Film Program at Sundance Institute supports nonfiction filmmakers with direct funding and through labs and workshops that assist with specific aspects of documentary film projects such as storytelling, editing, and musical scoring. This grant supports the Documentary Film Program film fund, with special emphasis on identifying and supporting American filmmakers of color, and the professional development activities of the Program.

2011 (2 years)
$450,000

The Documentary Film Program at Sundance Institute provides direct funding to documentary film projects and year-round professional development opportunities for independent filmmakers. This grant supports the Film Fund, in particular, the Documentary Film Program’s ability to identify and fund documentary projects by U.S. filmmakers of color, as well as the Program’s documentary labs and operating expenses.

2009 (2 years)
$400,000

In support of the Documentary Film Program (over two years).

1999 (3 years)
$525,000

To support the Latin American film program (over three years).

1997 (2 years)
$250,000

To support the Latin American film program (over two years).

1995 (1 year)
$230,000

To support the Latin American film program (over two years).

1994 (1 year)
$125,000

To support the Latin American film program.

1983 (1 year)
$500,000

To establish a production assistance program fund, to provide strategic financial investments for independent feature films.