16-05-2025
Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellows announced
Sandra Hale SchulmanSpecial to ICT
As the major incubator for Native films and their screenwriter/directors, the nonprofit Sundance Institute has announced the fellows selected for the 2025 Native Lab.
The Native Lab is the signature initiative of Sundance Institute's Indigenous Program that takes place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The labs offer filmmakers personal guidance, and one-on-one nurturing, to develop their projects under the guidance of accomplished creative advisors.
Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford – who can be seen in a quick cameo on the first episode of the current season of 'Dark Winds' – included Indigenous artists in the first Sundance Institute lab in 1981. The Indigenous Program was formalized in the mid-'90s and the alumni have brought Indigenous stories to mainstream audiences in film and television.
Over five days, the selected fellows refine their scripts for feature and episodic projects with feedback sessions, screenplay readings, and roundtable discussions.
Four fellows were selected. Three are U.S.-based: Jared Lank, Mi'kmaq; Isabella Dionne Madrigal, Cahuilla/Turtle Mountain Ojibwe; and Alex Nystrom, Ojibwe. One is from Canada, Jordan Waunch, Métis, selected in partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO).
This year's Native Lab creative advisors are Bryson Chun, Kanaka Maoli, Sarah Friedland, Kiva Reardon, and Erica Tremblay, Seneca-Cayuga.
The Native Lab is overseen by Adam Piron, Kiowa and Mohawk, director of the Institute's Indigenous Program, alongside Ianeta Le'i, the program's senior manager.
'Every year our team selects a cross-section of bold, diverse Indigenous storytellers and committed advisors, and it's always rewarding when we gather in Santa Fe to discuss storytelling and development because this process involves trust and reveals unexpected breakthroughs every time,' said Piron in a statement.
'We are looking forward to supporting this year's fellows and to see how they support each other in challenging themselves, reimagining their work, and deepening their relationship to how Indigeneity factors into their work.'
Fellow Isabella Dionne Madrigal, Cahuilla/Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, told ICT: 'I am so honored and thrilled to be a part of this cohort! Without the Indigenous artists who have been building at Sundance, I wouldn't have had the opportunities I have today. My goal with the feature project I am working on, Menil and Her Heart, is to inspire Native youth to see themselves as powerful, multidimensional beings – people with agency and stories worth telling. Through filmmaking, I hope to continue centering Indigenous women's stories. I believe that when art and popular culture shift, policy and public attitudes follow. This opportunity is a way for me to contribute to that.
'I recently wrapped a short film version of Menil and Her Heart. This short serves as a proof of concept for the feature-length project I am working on. As an emerging director, mentorship through the Native Lab offers insight into how to strengthen both the short and feature film script.
'Independent filmmakers, particularly those from underrepresented communities, often face barriers to accessing resources and industry networks. Through this fellowship, I look forward to expanding my community and learning from filmmakers who have successfully written and directed their own projects. Being a Native Lab Fellow and working with a team that shares my vision of filmmaking as community-driven storytelling ensures that this project stays grounded in the values and purpose that inspired it from the beginning.'
Jared Lank, a Mi'kmaq filmmaker from Maine, creates existential works that explore themes of cultural erasure, myth and grief. In 2024, his debut short film, Bay of Herons, was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, and he was featured in Filmmaker magazine's '25 New Faces of Independent Film.'
Jared Lank told ICT: 'Being chosen for the Native Lab means everything to me at this moment in my life. In so many ways, attending the lab this week in Santa Fe marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter of my life where I can really hone-in my craft as a writer-director and ultimately pursue the goal of having my film made.
'I am fully entering this lab with the mindset of a student and a peer. I hope to receive critical feedback on my screenplay and learn how to develop my voice as a writer. A higher-level goal for my project is to refine this screenplay to a point where it can be pitched for development and made into a film! I believe this lab is the catalyst for that to happen.'
Alex Nystrom is an Ojibwe director, writer and producer. His pilot Between was selected for the Black List's second annual Indigenous List, and his short film Four Nights and a Fire (Palm Springs International Shortfest, Short of the Week) is currently being developed into a feature film, Spiral.
'It's really a dream to be recognized for your work as an independent artist,' Nystrom told ICT, 'and for Sundance to see your potential for what you might yet create. It's a validating moment, and perhaps even more meaningful to be a part of Native Lab's legacy in contributing to the future of Indigenous cinema.
'My priority is to be inspired by my mentors and peers, and build lasting relationships and collaborations. I would like to push myself to be more vulnerable during the lab, in an effort to find a deeper clarity in my screenplay.'
Previous Sundance Institute lab fellows whose early career work has been fostered at the labs include award-winning filmmakers Sterlin Harjo, Shaandiin Tome, Sydney Freeland, Erica Tremblay, Sky Hopinka and Taika Waititi.
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