1 month ago
The Sundance Institute has named nan fellows selected for their 2026 Native Lab, taking spot astatine nan Hotel Santa Fe successful Santa Fe, New Mexico from April 6–11, on pinch 2 artists-in-residence.
Fellows and nan projects they’re coming successful pinch are Taylor Foreman-Niko pinch The Long Fang, Ashley Qilavaq-Savard pinch Carrying, Miles T. RedCorn pinch Once Upon a Time successful Indian Country, and Sabrina Saleha pinch Grief Camp. The artists-in-residence, meanwhile, are Sayun Simung (Tayal) and Taylour Chang (Kanaka Maoli).
Designed to bolster artists of Native and Indigenous backgrounds centering Indigeneity successful their work, Sundance’s Native Lab has been astir since 2009. It’s nan signature inaugural of nan Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, which was launched arsenic a focused intends of uplifting Native talent who had been portion of Sundance since its inception.
Over nan people of nan lab, fellows refine their screenplays for characteristic and episodic projects successful one-on-one feedback sessions, book readings, and roundtable discussions pinch manufacture advisors while forming connections connected Native onshore successful Santa Fe. This year’s imaginative advisors are Patrick Brice, Bernardo Britto, Alex Lazarowich (Cree), and Graham Foy. The Native Lab is overseen by Adam Piron (Kiowa and Mohawk), Director of nan Institute’s Indigenous Program, alongside Ianeta Le’i, nan program’s Senior Manager, and Katie Arthurs (Chickasaw), Coordinator.
Said Piron successful a statement, “The Native Lab is grounded successful storytelling improvement and really that tin advancement erstwhile it’s approached successful organization done a lens of Indigeneity. We’re grateful for our advisors and excited for our fellows — this programme is impactful because of nan generosity each progressive bring to nan experience, and our Indigenous Program squad is looking guardant to nan improvement of these projects and storytellers arsenic they travel together to stock their activity and insights successful Santa Fe this week.”
For much accusation connected this year’s fellows and their projects, publication on.
Taylor Foreman-Niko (Writer-director) with The Long Fang (U.S.A.): A half-Samoan man returns to his estranged Samoan family, only to face a deadly ancient demon that feeds connected shame, forcing him to look buried secrets and conflict for nan life of nan relative he near behind.
Taylor Foreman-Niko is a Samoan American writer based successful Los Angeles. He enjoys penning character-centric genre stories. He was selected for 2022’s BloodList of Best Unproduced Horror and Thriller scripts and chosen to participate successful nan inaugural PEAK Writers Fellowship and nan 2024 Stowe Narrative Lab.
Ashley Qilavaq-Savard (Writer-director-producer) with Carrying (Canada): Failed uterus, grounded successful vitro fertilization treatments, grounded marriage, chapeau instrumentality of ouches for Miali arsenic she endeavors to go a mother, uncovering her babe successful nan astir different way, buried successful nan onshore of her location community.
Ashley Qilavaq-Savard is an Inuk writer, artist, and filmmaker from Iqaluit. Qilavaq-Savard explores decolonization and Indigenous narratives.
Miles T. RedCorn (Writer-director) with Once Upon a Time successful Indian Country (U.S.A.): In nan precocious 1990s, a young, obsessive Native lawyer plunges into nan chaotic westbound of nan Indian gaming industry. As he attempts to support building of a casino connected track, his plans are threatened by a drug-addicted tribal chairman, nan Russian mob, nan FBI, and his crumbling individual life.
Miles T. RedCorn (Osage and Caddo) is simply a self-taught writer-director from Oklahoma. RedCorn’s emotion for and influences from classical cinema guideline his storytelling successful dissecting themes of sovereignty authorities and influential yet underrepresented periods of Native history. RedCorn’s short film Two Brothers will beryllium premiering this year.
Sabrina Saleha (Writer-director) with Grief Camp (U.S.A.): A rebellious Navajo teen is sent to an all-Native condolences camp, only to observe it’s a liminal measurement position betwixt nan surviving and nan dead, wherever solving a magical map’s riddles whitethorn beryllium her only chance to reunite pinch her younger relative earlier clip runs out.
Sabrina Saleha is a Navajo writer-director and unit writer connected AMC’s Dark Winds. Her debut short film, Legend of Fry-Roti: Rise of nan Dough, won nan Best New Mexico Short Jury Award astatine nan Santa Fe International Film Festival and nan Audience Award: Best Short astatine deadCenter Film Festival. She is simply a Tulsa Artist Fellow. Her activity centers modern Native stories exploring family, grief, and joy.
