At Sundance Institute, trans storytellers will always have a place to cultivate their artistic craft, their sense of community, and most importantly, their joy. Supporting trans storytelling is critical work we do as a nonprofit all year round at Sundance. Join us in uplifting underrepresented artists by making a donation today here.
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute shared the names of the six transgender storytellers of color selected for the second edition of the Trans Possibilities Intensive, a three-part event taking place from March 27-29 under the leadership of Moi Santos, Founder of the Trans Possibilities Intensive, guidance from experienced creative advisors and Sundance Institute's Equity, Impact, and Belonging Program. The Fellows selected for 2023 are: Seyi Adebanjo, Rajvi Desai, Malik Ever, Nick Janaye, Jamie John and Tee Park Jaehyung. This year's Creative Advisors include Sydney Freeland (Drunktown's Finest), Aitch Alberto (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe), F lix Endara (UNSEEN) and Chase Joynt (Framing Agnes).
While Sundance has a proud history of supporting trans artists across artist programs and Festival programming, the Intensive is an ancillary environment for participating artists to enhance their voice and craft, foster relationships with each other, and challenge the obstacles that continue to exclude transgender artists. Founded in 2021, the one-of-a-kind program directly supports transgender artists of color through project-based granting, supporting the advancement of trans-led projects at all stages of their life-cycles; nurturing and identifying emerging trans talent; and year-round custom creative and professional development opportunities. The 2023 Intensive Fellows were selected through a nominations-based application-this year's Intensive received more than double the nominations than the inaugural cycle of the program.
Meaningfully supporting and advancing trans people, voices, and stories remains a priority for Sundance. The recent, incessant, and baseless scrutiny is nothing new to trans people, and further reflects the need for opportunities for trans people to have the autonomy to explore their transness on their own terms. said Moi Santos, Manager of Equity, Impact, and Belonging at Sundance Institute. This year's cohort uplifts an extensive and essential range of artistic approaches, stories, and experiences and we're looking forward to developing a relationship that will birth creative possibilities, risk-taking, and necessary change in this industry.
As part of the Intensive, Santos will moderate a live conversation on Sundance Collab, Sundance Institute's digital learning space for artists from around the world. This conversation, taking place March 29, called Trapped In Transit: Transgender Storytelling with Visionary Filmmakers Aitch Alberto and Sydney Freeland, interrogates the limits, liberties, comforts, and confines of trans cultural representation, and is open to the general public. More information on how to attend is available here.
Previous Fellows of the Intensive include River Gallo (who has since completed the feature Ponyboi with Intensive support in addition to starring in a short that'll premiere at the BFI Flare London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival and performing in King Lear at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts), Savannah Ward (now repped by WME), StormMiguel Florez (2022 SFFILM Rainin Grant Winner who recently made proof of concept short for Welcome to Roswell), MiSha Owens (selected as 2022 Sundance Institute Native Lab Artist in Residence) and Ava Davis (now a member of Film Independent, Women in Film, and Film Fatales). Former advisors of the Intensive include Sam Feder, Yance Ford, Tourmaline, and Ro Haber.
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival was a landmark year for trans-led projects, with several films winning awards: Kokomo City (Directed by D. Smith, winner of the NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award), The Stroll (Directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker, winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Clarity of Vision), Mutt (Directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, winner of the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Acting, presented to lead performer Lio Mehiel), and Rest Stop (Produced by Brit Fryer, winner of the U.S. Fiction Short Film Jury Award).
The Fellows selected for the 2023 Trans Possibilities Intensive are:
Seyi Adebanjo (director) with Afromystic (U.S.A.): Afromystic is a lyrical documentary guided by four LGBTQ Yor b practitioners across the waters of Nigeria, the US, and Brazil reclaiming lost mythologies such as deities who change gender and are born from the love of two womxn. Afromystic weaves animated Queer & Trans r mythology, poetry, theater, and ritual.
Seyi Adebanjo is a Queer Gender-Non-Conforming Nigerian artist who raises awareness around social issues through video. Seyi's work exists at the intersection of art, imagination, ritual and politics. Seyi is on Creatives Rebuild New York Think Tank. Seyi was awarded a residency with The Laundromat Project, Fatales Forward: Trans Stories Fellowship.
Rajvi Desai (director, co-producer, co-cinematographer, editor) with Mother Wit (U.S.A.): An ailing Black trans matriarch struggles to inculcate the values of education and survival in her community before she runs out of time.
Rajvi Desai is a non-binary South Asian filmmaker and editor based in New York City. Rajvi's work focuses on gender issues as they intersect with race, class and caste, both in the United States and in South Asia. Rajvi's work has been published in amNY.com, The Swaddle, and Eastern-Standard Times, as well as screened in film festivals in the U.S. and internationally.
Malik Ever (director/writer) with GutBucket (U.S.A.): After his estranged mother's sudden death,
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
At Sundance Institute, trans storytellers will always have a place to cultivate their artistic craft, their sense of community, and most importantly, their joy. Supporting trans storytelling is critical work we do as a nonprofit all year round at Sundance. Join us in uplifting underrepresented artists by making a donation today here.
