The first eight fellows participating in the new Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency program include Caron Creighton, Jennifer Huang, Kristal Sotomayor, Alejandra López, A.D. Smith, Wendi Tang, Caitlin McCarthy and Kaelo Iyizoba, Variety can exclusively reveal.
Created in honor of the social justice advocate Michael Latt, Sundance’s six-month virtual program will help support underrepresented storytellers in their careers.
“Each fellow will receive dedicated meetings with Sundance Institute advisors to receive feedback on their projects; bimonthly cohort meetings to check in and share work; a meeting with Michelle Satter, founding senior director, Artist Programs at Sundance Institute; and a meeting with applicable Sundance Institute Artist Program staff,” describes the organization.
Advisors for the inaugural residency include Rita Baghdadi (“Sirens”), Patricia Cardoso (“Real Women Have Curves”), David France (“How to Survive a Plague”), Claudia Llosa (“The Milk of Sorrow”), Reinaldo Marcus Green (“King Richard”), LaToya Morgan (“Duster”), Rodrigo Reyes (“Sansón And Me”), Jessica Sharzer (“A Simple Favor”) and Justin Simien (“Dear White People”).
The program will run through August, with the eight fellows selected across three tracks: writing-directing, nonfiction and episodic. The documentary filmmaking fellows include Creighton (“Wood Street”), Huang (“The Long Rescue”) and Sotomayor (“Untitled PARS Project”), writing-directing fellows include López (“Salmon Run”), Smith (“r.e.g.g.i.n”) and Tang (“Fishtank”) while the writing fellows include McCarthy (“A Native Land”) and Iyizoba (“Birthright”).
Past projects that have been supported by Sundance Institute artist programs include “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Big Sick,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “CODA,” “Didi,” “The Farewell,” “Summer of Soul” and “Mudbound.”
