
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the artists selected to participate in the Sundance Institute Trans Possibilities Intensive, a three-part event held online from July 22-24 focusing on the advancement of transgender storytellers of color and their projects. Created to provide a supportive environment for sharpening skills, developing community, and challenging the obstacles that continue to exclude transgender artists, this year the intensive will welcome six storytellers under the guidance of experienced creative and peer advisors. The fellows selected for 2024 are: Khaleb Brooks, Kyle Casey Chu, Mariales Diaz, Gulet Ahmed Isse, Sepi Mashiahof, and AX Mina. This year's creative advisors include Zackary Drucker (The Stroll), River Gallo (Ponyboi), Lyric Cabral (P.O.V.), and Roberto Fatal (Do Digital Curanderas Use Eggs in Their Limpias?).
In its third year, the program continues to offer direct support through project-based granting for the advancement of trans-led projects at all stages of their life cycles, identify emerging trans talent, and provide custom creative and professional development opportunities. Earlier this year, the Trans Possibilities Intensive was announced as a grantee from the Jerome Foundation to continue supporting the invaluable role of transgender artists of color in making meaning, telling untold stories, and shifting worldviews. Fellows are selected through a nominations-based application, and 2024 has seen the most nominations in the history of the Intensive - a testament to the interest in opportunities centered, led, and focused around trans artists of color.
The response to the Intensive - both from applicants and the industry - proves how vital creating spaces like the Trans Possibilities Intensive is. Visibility has never been enough nor has it been our sole goal; we need sustainability,intentionality, and opportunity and that is what our program uniquely offers. Uplifting a variety of trans voices and offering these storytellers intentional resources and a lasting community opens up opportunities for the artists and audiences eager to hear their stories alike, said Moi Santos, Manager of Equity, Impact, and Belonging. This year's cohort will be in great hands with the Creative Advisors as they gather to refine their craft and reflect on their careers, and the Sundance Institute looks forward to championing them well beyond the duration of the program.
During the Intensive Fellows will participate in a variety of conversations including a fireside chat with Lilly Wachowski, talking about her own journey as a filmmaker and her work with Anarchists United.
At the conclusion of the three-day intensive, fellows and the general public have the opportunity to join an exclusive conversation on Sundance Collab - Sundance Institute's digital space for artists to learn from experts and build a global filmmaking community - called Toward Trans Possibilities: Transgender Storytelling with Zackary Drucker and River Gallo. Moderated by Santos, this exclusive conversation with esteemed filmmakers Zackary Drucker (The Stroll) and River Gallo (Ponyboi) reflects on the possibilities that can emerge from authentic trans storytelling.
Previous fellows of the intensive include River Gallo, who has since completed and premiered the feature Ponyboi with Intensive support, StormMiguel Florez who was selected as a a 2024 NALAC Artist Grantee, and Malik Ever, whose film Gorditx won Best Narrative Short at the Seattle Trans Film Festival. Alumni Advisors of the intensive include Sam Feder, Yance Ford, Tourmaline, Rowan Haber, Felix Endara, Aitch Alberto, Chase Joynt, and Sydney Freeland.
The Sundance Institute Trans Possibilities Intensive is supported by the Jerome Foundation. The Trans Possibilities Intensive is a part of our Sundance Institute Equity, Impact and Belonging program, made possible by support from The Walt Disney Company, Apple, Gold House, NBCUniversal, United Airlines, Golden Globe Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Rotten Tomatoes, The Harnisch Foundation, SAGIndie, and an anonymous donor.
The fellows selected for the 2024 Trans Possibilities Intensive are:
Khaleb Brooks (Writer-Director) with May the Road Rise Up to Meet You (U.K.): A married woman and a transgender man navigate their desperation to love and be loved at a bus stop in London.
Khaleb Brooks is a filmmaker and visual artist centering ancestral memory and archival research. He has worked as a filmmaker with the UN, screened his short Black Boys Can Swim across the U.K., and most recently was an Open TV Fellow.
Kyle Casey Chu (Writer-Producer) with After What Happened at the Library (U.S.A.): After her Drag Story Hour is stormed by far-right extremists, an overwhelmed drag queen goes viral and struggles to find justice and resolution. Inspired by Kyle's true experience.
Kyle Casey Chu (aka Panda Dulce) is a San Franciscan bigender author, screenwriter, and one of the founding queens of Drag Story Hour. Her writing has appeared on Vogue, MTV, VICE, and them.us and has earned awards from Sundance and SFFILM.
Mariales Diaz (Writer-Director) with Today and Tomorrow (U.S.A.): As two best friends embark on their after-school routine together, they are confronted by their attraction for one another for the first time.
Mariales Diaz is a gender-expansive Dominican writer, director, producer, and programmer living in New York. Their storytelling explores experiences that exist at the intersection of survival and love.
Gulet Ahmed Isse (Writer-Director-Actor) with Khutbah (U.S.A.): A would-be sheikh struggles to reconcile his faith, queerness, and a passion for rock 'n' roll. When a death in the family radically derails the trajectory of his life, he must find a way to honor tradition without sacrificing his heart's tru
More from Sundance Institute
04/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
Editor's note: We are deeply saddened by the passing of Robe...
02/07/2025
Hege Wik and Odin appear in FOLKTALES by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institut...
02/07/2025
(Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Patty Consolazio
This one's for any person who's ever felt put down, left out, marginaliz...
27/06/2025
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
26/06/2025
Louis Greatorex, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Bilal Hasana. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Claghorn
The world premiere of Amr...
25/06/2025
Aubrey Plaza getting ready for My Old Ass (photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock...
25/06/2025
On the set of Leslie McCleave's The Shamrocks with Mount Timpanogos as a backdrop during the 1999 Directors Lab. Photo by Sandria Miller...
24/06/2025
John August with fellow Kibwe Tavares at Sundance Institute's 2016 June Screenwriters Lab. Photo by Brandon Cruz for Sundance Institute...
24/06/2025
The Comprehensive and Customized Program Supports and Sustains Mid-Career Directors & DPs with Support from Netflix...
20/06/2025
(L-R) Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Shoshannah Stern attend the 2025 Sundance ...
20/06/2025
Ignite Lab Will Kick Off a Year of Opportunities for Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Marking the Program's 10th Year...
20/06/2025
Zackary Drucker attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Enigma at the Egyptian Theatre on January 28, 2025, in Park City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walk...
18/06/2025
Kasi Lemmons with fellow Daniel Kaluuya at Sundance Institute's 2016 January Screenwriters Lab. Photo by Brandon Cruz for Sundance Institute...
18/06/2025
Sam Feder at Heightened Scrutiny premiere (photo by Robin Marshall / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Bailey Pennick
Editor's note: Since the...
17/06/2025
Top L-R: The Dating Game, All That's Left of You ( )
Center L-R: Come See Me in the Good Light, Omaha, Rebuilding
Bottom L-R: Selena y Los Din...
17/06/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: River Gallo attends the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Ponyboi premiere at the Library Center Theatre on January 20, 2024, in Park ...
16/06/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
13/06/2025
(L-R) Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, and The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Prime Minister at Eccles T...
10/06/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
07/06/2025
By Bailey Pennick
Alex Ross Perry is in the middle of a thought. It's not following just one strand, though. It's a textured and tangent-filled journey...
05/06/2025
(L-R) Cristina Costantini, Tam O'Shaughnessy, Bear Ride, and Lauren Cioffi attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of SALLY at The Ray Theatre on ...
04/06/2025
By Jessica Herndon
The Tribeca Festival is back, bringing a whirlwind of world ...
03/06/2025
Sally Ride appears in SALLY by Cristina Costantini, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by NASA....
03/06/2025
PARK CITY UT, June 2, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today th...
03/06/2025
[Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, Han Gi-Chan, and Bowen Yang appear in The We...
29/05/2025
Director Erica Tremblay on the set of Little Chief' during the 2018 Native Filmmakers Lab. Photo by Tytianna Harris for Sundance Institute...
28/05/2025
Creative advisor Joan Darling and artistic director Gyula Gazdag chat with fello...
24/05/2025
(L-R) Senior Manager and Festival Programmer Adam Montgomery and Matt Wolf attend the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Pee-wee as Himself January 23 at The ...
23/05/2025
Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey star in Macon Blair's award-winning film I ...
20/05/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
15/05/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 20: Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Qasim Basir, Dana Gourrier, and Amin Joseph attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festiva...
15/05/2025
Director of photography Benjamin Kasulke, actors Katie Henney and Hannah Marks, ...
12/05/2025
The Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2025 program is composed of 15 feature films an...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
05/05/2025
Shari Sebbens attends the 2024 Sundance Film Festival The Moogai premiere at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donayle West/Shutterstock for Sunda...
02/05/2025
The 85th annual Peabody Awards were a special moment for Sundance Institute-supp...
02/05/2025
The 46th annual News & Documentary Emmys are just around the corner, and this ye...
01/05/2025
Paul Reubens appears in Pee-wee as Himself, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Michael Ochs A...
30/04/2025
Film elements held at the Deluxe warehouse in March of 2015. Photo by Luis Silva...
29/04/2025
(L-R) Tim Rarus, Bridgetta Bourne, Nyle DiMarco, Jerry Covell, Greg Hlibok, and Davis Guggenheim attend the premiere of Deaf President Now! at Eccles Theatre ...
25/04/2025
Emily Watson, Isaiah Saxon, Helena Zengel, and Finn Wolfhard at The Legend of Ochi premiere (photo by Soul Brother/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
24/04/2025
We're huge fans of shining a spotlight on the documentaries that empower, en...
22/04/2025
Chloe Sevigny at the Magic Farm premiere (photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
21/04/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
18/04/2025
Director Andrew Ahn, alongside actors Youn Yuh-jung and Joan Chen, takes a photo of the audience after the premiere of his film The Wedding Banquet at Eccles ...
17/04/2025
Emilie Blichfeldt attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of The Ugly ...
16/04/2025
It's an understatement to say that the Peabody Awards are major. The winners...
14/04/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
11/04/2025
(L-R) Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of One to One: John & Yoko at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2025, ...
09/04/2025
The cast and crew of The Librarians attend the film's 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere at The Ray Theatre. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for S...