Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund Grantees

16 Science-Focused Nonfiction Projects Selected for Funding

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 23, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute and Sandbox Films announced today the names of the 16 projects and 47 filmmakers receiving support through the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund. The fund distributes grants to teams with films in any stage from development to post-production, creating opportunities to explore the intrinsic link between science and culture through innovative nonfiction storytelling. The fund was created in 2017 and has grown significantly since then, redefining the genre of science documentaries through financial and creative support for a global nonfiction artist community.

Themes that have emerged within this year's granting cohort include: memory's power in shaping identity; how other species, scientists, storytellers, and traditional Indigenous knowledge holders navigate environmental transformation; and how technological acceleration is forcing reckonings with biological and ecological limits, redefining time and the human condition.

Supported projects have roots in 11 countries: Denmark, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, North Macedonia, Portugal, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States, with 75% of projects directed by artists from communities that have been traditionally marginalized (e.g., artists who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women and/or gender nonconforming, and people with disabilities). This year's submissions included 56% international submissions, with high interest from regions of the world with limited support for independent media. Half of the projects are from first- or second-time feature documentary directors and five projects mark the debut feature for the director.

We are thrilled to continue building on this program's impactful legacy as we embark on our eighth year of championing essential nonfiction work revealing the profound connection between science and the human experience, said Paola Mottura, Director of Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Fund. Thanks to the collaboration with our fantastic partners at Sandbox Films, last year the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund doubled its funding, nearing one million dollars in grants injecting vital support into the global documentary community. The newest cohort of grantees presents an incredibly ambitious tapestry of artistic approaches. Their narratives highlight the vital role of scientific practice in forging a brighter future for humanity and the planet.

The filmmakers that we are able to support through this fund are all doing extraordinary work at the intersection of art and science. It is thrilling to experience their creativity and their unique takes on science storytelling. We are grateful for the Sundance Institute partnership, as it has introduced us to projects from all over the world, and proven to us that there is an appetite to tell these stories in the independent film community said Jessica Harrop, Executive Director of Sandbox Films.

Recent projects supported with funding from the Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund include: A Life Illuminated (premiered at TIFF 2025); The Lake (which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change); Daughters of the Forest (premiering at CPH:Dox and SXSW 2026); Conscious (premiering at CPH:Dox 2026); Oscar-nominated Fire of Love (which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary); All Light, Everywhere (which won the 2021 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Nonfiction Experimentation); Fathom (which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and was acquired by Apple); and Users (which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival).

The latest Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund grantees, presented by production stage, are:

DEVELOPMENT

A Tale of Sea Dogs and Other Creatures (Kazakhstan)

Director & Producer: Katerina Suvorova

Producers: Aruan Anartay, Assel Yerzhanova

A young Kazakh scientist fighting to save the Caspian seal from extinction must embrace the ancient mythic world of the sea to succeed, a choice that comes at an unbearable physical cost.

As Mine Exactly (U.K.)

Director & Producer: Charlie Shackleton

Producers: Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing

A mother and son revisit the medical emergency that reshaped their lives and the remarkable fragments that remain of that time.

The Elephant in the Room (U.S.A.)

Director: Marley McDonald

Producer: John Cardellino

An all-archival adventure documentary that explores the creation of the American Museum of Natural History. Told through the interconnected stories of its extraordinary artifacts, the museum reveals a deep human desire to freeze time, amass treasures, and understand our place in the world.

The Pulse of the Volcanoes (Guatemala)

Director & Producer: Ana s Taracena

Guatemala is restless land crossed by 37 volcanoes that have been eternal witnesses to tragedies, wars, and rebellions. Are these mountains of fire the voice of a wounded land, or the guardians of a history still seeking justice?

What You Remember (North Macedonia, U.K.)

Director & Producer: Pauline Blanchet

Producer: Ljubomir Stefanov

How do we remember the past when our history has been faked? A political vision to rebuild a capital on the foundations of an unfinished city erased a collective memory, casting a dark shadow over Skopje's future identity.

PRODUCTION

Chorwet (The Rhino Friend) working title (Kenya)

Director & Producer: Dylan Habil

Producer: Lucinda Van de Rheede

Zacharia Mutai balances fatherhood with his bond to the last two northern white rhinos, revealing a tender, deeply human view of care, loss, and endurance on the front lines of a crucial mission that might be the species' final sta

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