Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE AND STARLIGHT PARTNER TO LAUNCH GRANT PROGRAM SUPPORTING DIVERSE FILMMAKERS

25/11/2020

Los Angeles, CA - November 24, 2020 - Sundance Institute and Peter Luo's Starlight Media ( Crazy Rich Asians, Midway, Marshall, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ) have partnered to launch a new grant program supporting diverse filmmakers: Sundance Institute | Stars Collective Granting Fund.

Both Starlight and Sundance Institute share a deep commitment to supporting artists from historically marginalized communities. Tapping into an initial fund of $200,000 provided by Starlight, this new program will provide unrestricted grants, ranging from $1,500 - $10,000, to diverse filmmakers working in nonfiction and fiction. The grantees will be chosen by Sundance Institute staff and an external committee from a pool of applicants currently receiving creative and tactical support through Institute programs. The non-recoupable grants will focus on critical development support as well as urgent needs in advancing projects forward through pre-production, production, post-production, and self-distribution.

Applications will be open on a rolling basis, allowing filmmakers to apply for support when needed. Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program, Feature Film Program, and Outreach and Inclusion teams will work together with Starlight s Creative Executive, Juefang Jennifer Zhang on this partnership.

The Sundance Institute | Stars Collective Granting Fund furthers Starlight's ongoing mission to support emerging filmmakers.

Starlight's umbrella Stars Collective' program was launched earlier this year to amplify diverse voices, with a central focus on promoting the next generation of aspiring diverse filmmakers and creative storytellers. The program supports 30-50 emerging filmmakers with a multi-million dollar fund, and will involve established filmmakers on an advisory commission becoming creative mentors for the emerging filmmakers.

Said Peter Luo, Our goal is to create impact within the film industry and support diverse artists at all stages of development. Sundance Institute is a powerful ally in helping this come to fruition as they have the infrastructure to identify artists and projects through its current roster of artists from across all of its program Labs, Intensives and Film Festival. During this challenging time in the world, we very much look forward to providing assistance and opportunities for the next generation of storytellers.

Said Michelle Satter, Sundance Institute's Founding Director, Feature Film Program, We're excited to join Starlight in their commitment to supporting filmmakers during these uncertain times, when support for independent voices is both historically challenging and crucial. This partnership will provide meaningful grants to diverse filmmakers, ensuring that there will be powerful, enduring stories from vibrant, diverse perspectives in the years to come.

Applications for Sundance Institute | Stars Collective Granting Fund will be available beginning December 1, 2020. Interested applicants are required to email dfp@sundance.org to confirm eligibility and receive an application code.

About Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories for the stage and screen, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film composing, and digital media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institutes signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs which are dedicated to developing new work and take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally, are supported largely through contributed revenue. Sundance Co//ab, a digital community platform, brings artists together to learn from each other and Sundance Advisors and connect in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Wont You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

About Starlight

An advocate for bringing Asian culture to Hollywood, Starlight CEO Peter Luo operates out of the company's offices in Beverly Hills, and has brokered content deals with prominent filmmakers such as Robert Zemeckis, Sam Raimi, Sylvester Stallone, James Wan, F. Gary Gray, Roland Emmerich, and Jon M. Chu.

Starlight has been involved in a wide range of critically and commercially successful films including Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman; John Chu's Crazy Rich Asians , the sci/fi horror hit Greta , starring Chloe Grace Moretz; Midway , the WWII action/drama starring Woody Harrelson, Patrick Wilson, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, and Luke Evans; and the horror/mystery/thriller Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark from Guillermo del Toro.

Upcoming films for Starlight include the supernatural horror film UMMA for Sony Pictures, which is a Starlight collaboration with Sam Rami, and stars Sandra Oh; an action/crime/thriller trilogy starring Thai martial arts and action star Tony Jaa; and the crime/action/thriller Golden Empire, starring Donnie Yen as the world's most successful multinational drug lord.

# # #

Media Contacts

For Starlight

Dennis Dembia

Rogers & Cowan / PMK

dennis.dembia@rogersandcowanpmk.com

For Sundance Institute

Tammie Rosen

tammie_rosen@sundance.org
LINK: http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/2020-starlight-sundance-partnership...
See more stories from sundance

North America Stories

11/07/2025

2025 Sundance Institute Producers Lab Fellows Announced

PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...

11/07/2025

L3Harris Delivers First P-8A Poseidon Aircraft to US Navy

L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...

11/07/2025

WETA Launches WETA+ Free Streaming Service

ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...

11/07/2025

TV Tech's Top Regulatory Stories of 2025

The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...

11/07/2025

Calrec to Feature Suite of Interconnected Audio Solutions at IBC2025

Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...

11/07/2025

Encompass Supports DAZN's Coverage of 2025 FIFA Club World Cup

LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...

11/07/2025

SBE Survey: Certified Broadcast Engineers Earn More

Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....

11/07/2025

SmallHD Unveils Quantum 27 OLED Monitor

CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...

11/07/2025

Tegna Will Pay $225K to Settle FCC Investigation

The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...

11/07/2025

Sens. Markey, Lujn Again Call for FCC Vote on Paramount-Skydance Merger

WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...

11/07/2025

Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...

11/07/2025

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks Adjusts Broadcast Booths for Rangers, Devils

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...

11/07/2025

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Clients' Needs With Scalable Cloud-Based Storage

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...

11/07/2025

2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transition to the Cloud

2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...

11/07/2025

A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP

A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff Friday, July 1...

11/07/2025

CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimbledon

CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...

11/07/2025

Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-Serrano 3 Card at MSG

Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...

11/07/2025

'Too Hot to Handle: Italy' Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix

Back to All News Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix Entertainment 11 July 2025 GlobalItaly Link copied to clipboard July 11, 20...

11/07/2025

Netflix Will Release 'Death Inc.' Seasons 1, 2 and 3

Back to All News Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 Entertainment 11 July 2025 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Season 1 Season 2 Se...

11/07/2025

A Gaming GPU Helps Crack the Code on a Thousand-Year Cultural Conversation

Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia. From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...

10/07/2025

Nielsen Appoints Richard Pacheco as Head of Global Partnerships

NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...

10/07/2025

Sponsored: Robotic Deployments Are Transforming Local News

Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...

10/07/2025

Stuttgart Media University Upgrades Studio with Lawo mc56

Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...

10/07/2025

SMPTE Opens Early Bird Registration for Media Technology Summit

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...

10/07/2025

TNDV Television Launches Aspiration 35 to Support Cinematic Workflows

NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....

10/07/2025

Key Code Education Launches Beginner, Intermediate Training Courses

BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...

10/07/2025

Actus Digital to Show Actus X Intelligent Monitoring With AI at IBC2025

HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...

10/07/2025

Comments on FCC Ownership Rules Due in August

The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...

10/07/2025

Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for 'Superestar'

Back to All News Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video Play Video Entertainment 10 July 2025 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard...

10/07/2025

From Terabytes to Turnkey: AI-Powered Climate Models Go Mainstream

In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...

10/07/2025

Indonesia on Track to Achieve Sovereign AI Goals With NVIDIA, Cisco and IOH

As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...

10/07/2025

5G for All? What the DFL's Use of Easy5G, RefCam Could Mean for Events in the Future

5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...

10/07/2025

Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-15

Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...

10/07/2025

Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New Era

Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...

10/07/2025

Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions In-House

Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...

10/07/2025

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First Production

FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...

10/07/2025

SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint Venture Targeting Local-Sports-Media Market

SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...

10/07/2025

Bringing Culture Into Focus on My Brilliant Career': First Nations Voices Reshaping Storytelling on Set

Back to All News Bringing Culture Into Focus on My Brilliant Career': Firs...

10/07/2025

Daktronics and Grass Valley Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver End-to-End Venue Solutions

Strategic Alliance Combines Daktronics' LED Display and Content Management S...

10/07/2025

Reach the PEAK' on GeForce NOW

Grab a friend and climb toward the clouds - PEAK is now available on GeForce NOW, enabling members to try the hugely popular indie hit on virtually any device. ...

10/07/2025

How to Run Coding Assistants for Free on RTX AI PCs and Workstations

Coding assistants or copilots - AI-powered assistants that can suggest, explain and debug code - are fundamentally changing how software is developed for both e...

09/07/2025

Through Their Lens: What Cinematographer Jomo Fray Saw at the 2025 Directors Lab

By Bailey Pennick There's something arresting about the way Jomo Fray captures the world. The cinematographer, now best known for his unparalleled work on ...

09/07/2025

How Sencore is Upgrading IPTV for the Hospitality Industry

Key Highlights Centralized management interface for full control, monitoring, and diagnostics Scalable, multi-site OTT decryption and distribution Secure int...

09/07/2025

L3Harris Appoints Rob Mitrevski to Lead Enterprise Pursuit of Golden Dome

MELBOURNE, Fla., July 9, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has appointed Rob Mitrevski as President, Golden Dome Strategy and Integration, a new role cre...

09/07/2025

TAM Ireland awards programme data harmonisation contract to MetaBroadcast and Nielsen's Gracenote

Collaboration will result in improved data quality and understanding of genre-le...

09/07/2025

NAB Slams NextGen TV Critics for Protecting Their Turf

The National Association of Broadcasters is hitting back at critics who oppose its proposal to phase out the current ATSC 1.0 DTV over-the-air standard and tran...

09/07/2025

Zeam Launches on LG Smart TVs

Zeam Media's hyperlocal streaming platform Zeam has announced a new distribution deal with LG that will bring the streaming service to LG smart TVs and devi...

09/07/2025

TAM Ireland awards programme data harmonisation contract...

MetaBroadcast, the UK's leading metadata management specialist, announced today that it was awarded a three-year contract from TAM Ireland (Television Audie...

09/07/2025

Bitfocus transforms complex control for any media applica...

More than 700 professional devices and applications already integrated through open software Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, is show...

09/07/2025

Actus Digital Transforms Broadcast Compliance with AI-Pow...

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver a...