{"id":24642,"date":"2026-04-07T19:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=24642"},"modified":"2026-04-07T19:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:36:52","slug":"announcing-the-2026-sundance-institute-native-lab-fellows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2026\/04\/07\/announcing-the-2026-sundance-institute-native-lab-fellows\/","title":{"rendered":"Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The nonprofit Sundance Institute<\/u><\/a> announced today the fellows selected for the 2026 Native Lab, the signature initiative of the Institute\u2019s Indigenous Program. The lab will take place April 6\u201311 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Hotel Santa Fe. The Native Lab has been offering Indigenous filmmakers a nurturing, immersive environment to develop their projects and refine their artistic voice under the guidance of accomplished creative advisors since 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The 2026 Native Lab will support four fellows and two artists-in-residence. It is designed for artists of Native and Indigenous backgrounds centering Indigeneity in their work. Over five days, fellows will refine their screenplays for feature and episodic projects in one-on-one feedback sessions, script readings, and roundtable discussions with industry advisors while forming connections on Native land in Santa Fe. The four selected fellows include three U.S.-based participants (Taylor Foreman-Niko<\/strong>, Samoan; Miles T. RedCorn<\/strong>, Osage\/Caddo; and Sabrina Saleha<\/strong>, Navajo), as well as one Canadian participant (Ashley Qilavaq-Savard, Inuk\/Inuit) who was selected in partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO). There will also be two artists-in-residence attending to experience the lab while in script development: Sayun Simung <\/strong>(Tayal) and Taylour Chang <\/strong>(Kanaka Maoli). This year\u2019s Native Lab creative advisors are: Patrick Brice<\/strong>, Bernardo Britto<\/strong>, Alex Lazarowich <\/strong>(Cree),and Graham Foy<\/strong>. The Native Lab is overseen by Adam Piron (Kiowa and Mohawk), Director of the Institute\u2019s Indigenous Program, alongside Ianeta Le\u2019i, the program\u2019s Senior Manager, and Katie Arthurs (Chickasaw), Coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Native Lab is grounded in storytelling development and how that can progress when it\u2019s approached in community through a lens of Indigeneity,\u201d said Adam Piron, Sundance Institute Director of Indigenous Program<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for our advisors and excited for our fellows \u2014 this program is impactful because of the generosity all involved bring to the experience, and our Indigenous Program team is looking forward to the development of these projects and storytellers as they come together to share their work and insights in Santa Fe this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous artists were part of the very first Sundance Institute lab in 1981, with the Indigenous Program formalized in the mid-\u201990s to uplift Native talent in a more focused way. Native Lab alumni have brought Indigenous stories to audiences across film and television, earning recognition and awards for writers, directors, and actors alike, forming several cycles of storytellers supported through the Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous Sundance Institute Native Lab fellows whose work has been fostered at the labs include award-winning filmmakers Sydney Freeland, Sterlin Harjo, Sky Hopinka, Shaandiin Tome, Erica Tremblay, and Taika Waititi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 Sundance Institute Native Lab fellows are:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor Foreman-Niko<\/strong> (Writer-director) with The Long Fang <\/em><\/strong>(U.S.A.): A half-Samoan man returns to his estranged Samoan family, only to confront a deadly ancient demon that feeds on shame, forcing him to face buried secrets and fight for the life of the cousin he left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor Foreman-Niko<\/strong> is a Samoan American writer based in Los Angeles. He enjoys writing character-centric genre stories. He was selected for 2022\u2019s BloodList of Best Unproduced Horror and Thriller scripts and chosen to participate in the inaugural PEAK Writers Fellowship and the 2024 Stowe Narrative Lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Qilavaq-Savard<\/strong> (Writer-director-producer) with Carrying<\/em><\/strong> (Canada): Failed uterus, failed in vitro fertilization treatments, failed marriage, hat trick of ouches for Miali as she endeavors to become a mother, finding her baby in the most unusual way, buried in the land of her home community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Qilavaq-Savard<\/strong> is an Inuk writer, artist, and filmmaker from Iqaluit. Qilavaq-Savard explores decolonization and Indigenous narratives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles T. RedCorn <\/strong>(Writer-director) with Once Upon a Time in Indian Country<\/em><\/strong> (U.S.A.): In the late 1990s, a young, obsessive Native attorney plunges into the wild west of the Indian gaming industry. As he attempts to keep construction of a casino on track, his plans are threatened by a drug-addicted tribal chairman, the Russian mob, the FBI, and his crumbling personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles T. RedCorn<\/strong> (Osage and Caddo) is a self-taught writer-director from Oklahoma. RedCorn\u2019s love for and influences from classic cinema guide his storytelling in dissecting themes of sovereignty politics and influential yet underrepresented periods of Native history. RedCorn\u2019s short film Two Brothers<\/em> will be premiering this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabrina Saleha<\/strong> (Writer-director) with Grief Camp<\/em><\/strong> (U.S.A.): A rebellious Navajo teenager is sent to an all-Native grief camp, only to discover it\u2019s a liminal way station between the living and the dead, where solving a magical map\u2019s riddles may be her only chance to reunite with her younger brother before time runs out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabrina Saleha<\/strong> is a Navajo writer-director and staff writer on AMC\u2019s Dark Winds<\/em>. Her debut short film, Legend of Fry-Roti: Rise of the Dough<\/em>, won the Best New Mexico Short Jury Award at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and the Audience Award: Best Short at deadCenter Film Festival. She is a Tulsa Artist Fellow. Her work centers contemporary Native stories exploring family, grief, and joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sundance Institute Indigenous Program is supported by Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, The 11th Hour Project, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Crystal Echo Hawk, Merrell, Indigenous Screen Office, SAGindie, Susan Friedenberg, and Indigenous Media Initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sundance Institute<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute\u2019s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab<\/u><\/a>, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance Institute advisors and connect with each other 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. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild<\/em>, The Big Sick<\/em>, Bottle Rocket<\/em>, Boys Don\u2019t Cry<\/em>, Boys State<\/em>, Call Me by Your Name<\/em>, Clemency<\/em>, CODA<\/em>, D\u00ecdi (\u5f1f\u5f1f)<\/em>, Drunktown\u2019s Finest<\/em>, The Farewell<\/em>, Fire of Love<\/em>, Flee<\/em>, Fruitvale Station<\/em>, Half Nelson<\/em>, Hedwig and the Angry Inch<\/em>, Hereditary<\/em>, The Infiltrators<\/em>, The Last Black Man in San Francisco<\/em>, Little Woods<\/em>, Love & Basketball<\/em>, Me and You and Everyone We Know<\/em>, Mudbound<\/em>, Nanny<\/em>, One Child Nation<\/em>, Pariah<\/em>, Raising Victor Vargas<\/em>, RBG<\/em>, Requiem for a Dream<\/em>, Reservoir Dogs<\/em>, Sin Nombre<\/em>, Sorry to Bother You<\/em>, Strong Island<\/em>, Summer of Soul (\u2026Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)<\/em>, Swiss Army Man<\/em>, A Thousand and One<\/em>, Top of the Lake<\/em>, Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?<\/em>, and Zola.<\/em> Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Nia DaCosta, Ryan Coogler, The Daniels, Robert Eggers, Rick Famuyiwa, David Gordon Green, Sterlin Harjo, Marielle Heller, Miranda July, Nikyatu Jusu, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Boots Riley, A.V. Rockwell, Ira Sachs, Walter Salles, Quentin Tarantino, Erica Tremblay, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chlo\u00e9 Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org\/donate<\/a>. Join Sundance Institute onFacebook,Instagram,<\/a>TikTok, YouTube, X,and Bluesky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the fellows selected for the 2026 Native Lab, the signature initiative of the Institute\u2019s Indigenous Program. The lab will take place April 6\u201311 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the Hotel Santa Fe. The Native Lab has been offering Indigenous filmmakers a nurturing, immersive environment to develop their projects… Continue reading Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellows<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[194],"class_list":["post-24642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-sundance","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SundanceNativeLabFellows2026.jpg?fit=600%2C337&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24644,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24642\/revisions\/24644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}