The Indigenous Screen Office is excited to again be partnering with the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program for their Native Lab.
The Indigenous Program has built and sustained an Indigenous film circle, which now spans over three generations. The cycle of work begins by scouting for and identifying Indigenous artists, bringing them through the mechanisms of support at Sundance Institute to get their work made and shown, then bringing the filmmakers and their work back to Indigenous lands. The Native Filmmakers Lab has been a vital part of supporting Indigenous filmmakers since 2004.
The lab focuses on the specific development of storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds, encompassing feature film and episodic work. During the Lab, Fellows will hone their storytelling and technical skills in a hands-on and supportive environment, including one-on-one feedback sessions with advisors and roundtable discussions. With Fellows working across both feature and episodic formats, they will also explore and discuss indigenizing their creative practices in regard to writing their scripts.
“The Native Labs offered a safe space for us to share our stories, our cultures, our worries, our problems, our writer’s block, our fears in a culturally sensitive space. It is an experience I will cherish forever and hopefully soon we will be able to watch the Native Lab fellows movies and TV shows that we workshopped.” – Alex Lazarowich
The lab has one spot reserved for an Indigenous filmmaker from Canada to partake in this year’s offering. Apply here.
Lab dates: May 2022 (TBC)
Location: Virtual and in person (TBC)
Application deadline: Monday February 16, 2022 8:00pm EST
Please note that you are required to submit a narrative feature or episodic pilot script.
