In 1981, Robert Redford gathered a group of his friends and colleagues in the mountains of Utah to create an environment designed to foster independence, discovery, and new voices in American film. That spring, ten emerging filmmakers were invited to the first Sundance Institute Filmmakers/Directors Lab where they worked with leading writers and directors to develop their original independent film projects.
In the remote natural setting and removed from the pressures of the marketplace, each emerging artist was encouraged to take creative risks and to craft a film true to their own, unique vision. In 1984, the Institute’s activities expanded to include development programs for theatre when the Utah Playwrights Conference became the Sundance Playwrights Lab. Since those first Labs, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for
Thousands of independent film, theatre, music artists and gave birth to the Sundance Film Festival, held in and around Park City, Utah, each January. Widely considered the premier platform for American and international INDEPENDENT FILM, the Festival has introduced audiences to some of the most original stories of the last three decades including Reservoir Dogs, Precious, Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, Fruitvale Station, Beasts of the Southern Wild, An Inconvenient Truth, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Cove.
The 2021 Creative Minds In Sundance Film Program will take place from January 20th – 27th, 2021 in Park City, Utah. The Program Cost is $2599*, (limited financial aid available).