2019 Sundance Institute | Photo by Carolina Lindsay
By Carrie Lozano, Director, Documentary Film and Artist Programs
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic upended life in general, and halted production and distribution for many creatives, the nonfiction field was plagued by issues of sustainability. For several years, sustainability has been an urgent and vigorous topic of study, debate, and organizing, as more and more filmmakers find it difficult, if not impossible, to make a living solely on the basis of their creative work.
Despite the proliferation of distribution platforms, nonfiction independents find themselves with shrinking revenue streams and a diminished pool of philanthropic funding. This reality has led to an ongoing discussion among the nonprofit artist support community about the value of project funding versus direct support of individual artists and mediamakers. As nonprofit organizations, we understand the immense value of unrestricted funding: What if under-resourced nonfiction storytellers had access to those resources too? We at the Sundance Institute are about to find out.
While project-based funding will always remain core to the Institute's work, we are honored and privileged to pilot direct individual support through the Sundance Institute | Humanities Sustainability Fellowship, with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan, which is providing economic relief to a wide swath of Americans. Our colleagues at Firelight Media and the Independent Television Service are also launching humanities initiatives as a result that will greatly expand the nonfiction field's humanities-based work.
Led by Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, Director of Institute Granting, in collaboration with humanities experts, the Sundance Institute | Humanities Sustainability Fellowship will be open to individuals at all phases of their careers producing and/or directing humanities-focused feature-length documentary films, nonfiction audio/podcast projects, and nonfiction emerging media. Selected mediamakers will receive monthly stipends of $5,000 per month over the course of 12 months. Grantees will be paired with paid humanities advisors to support them throughout the year with dedicated mentorship, project advice, and other tailored non-financial support. Applicants can apply between October 15 and December 1, 2021. Together, the Sundance Institute, ITVS, and Firelight Media will create opportunities for more than 75 humanities mediamakers.
While the Institute will consider all humanities-related projects that meet the fellowship criteria, the NEH's More Perfect Union initiative is timely and inspiring, as it encourages mediamakers to explore both the founding and ongoing transgressions of our nation, as well as the promise of its founding ideals. Applicants are welcome, but not required, to use it as a framework.
This partnership also reflects and builds on several Institute priorities: to develop and support underrepresented makers and stories; to elevate, explore, and protect democratic principles; and to harness the power of the Institute's commitment to creative mediamakers across disciplines.
We hope that this fellowship seeds powerful and resonant humanities-based projects that meaningfully contribute to the public record and discourse, but we also look forward to what we will learn and share with the field about the impact and durability of sustainability funding.
After 40 years, the Sundance Institute's commitment to independent storytellers is unwavering. During the pandemic, we reimagined much of our support to buttress the artist support ecosystem, as well as artists in distress. Our partnership with the NEH will purposefully expand our community and the focus of our work during a time of both historic challenges and extraordinary possibilities.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
Appointment to Support Engineering Alignment and Client Experi...
05/06/2026
Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
End to end post in one platform al...
05/06/2026
People Need to Come First When We Use AI
Andy Marken June 5, 2026
0 Comments
It's just surviving. Life's very existence requires destruction....
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
2019 Sundance Institute | Photo by Carolina Lindsay
