Sundance Institute Announces Native Lab Fellows for 2023

The 2023 Native Lab Fellows include Cian Elyse White, Jana Schmieding, Eva Grant, Anpa’o Locke and Quinne Larson

Press announcement from the Sundance Institute

PARK CITY, UTAH, April 27, 2023 — The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the Fellows for the 2023 Native Lab. For the past 40 years, Sundance Institute Labs have brought global independent filmmakers together to express their unique vision through an in-depth creative process that emphasizes compelling storytelling and risk-taking within a vibrant community. As part of the Institute’s year-round work, the program has supported notable filmmakers who continue to influence the arts worldwide, and uplift accomplished and emerging artists extending from development through distribution.

The Native Lab has been a significant part of supporting Indigenous filmmakers for nearly two decades. The 2023 Native Lab will be held online May 1–5 and continues from May 8–13 in person in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Five Fellows will be participating: three from the U.S.A., one from Canada selected with the Indigenous Screen Office, and one from New Zealand selected with the New Zealand Film Commission. Also attending will be Artist in Residence Taylor Hensel (Cherokee Nation), auditing the lab while in script development.

The Lab concentrates on the distinct development of feature film and episodic work by storytellers from Native and Indigenous backgrounds. Artists will enhance their storytelling and technical skills, including one-on-one feedback sessions with advisors and roundtable discussions, where they will also explore indigenizing their creative practices.

“One of the core tenets for us in the Indigenous Program is that we support a broad spectrum of Indigenous storytelling – our cohort of five Native Lab Fellows and the projects they’re bringing to Santa Fe demonstrate that commitment to supporting diverse narratives and approaches,” said Adam Piron, Director of Indigenous Program.

Adam Piron Leads the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program. (Courtesy Sundance Institute)

See related story: A conversation with Adam Piron: Stepping into some big shoes at Sundance

“We’re looking forward to seeing where those different global and tribal perspectives the Fellows bring to the table will help them as they enrich each other and themselves, and I’m so pleased to have our Creative Advisors on hand to participate in this process of collaborative discovery.”

The participation of experienced advisors has always been an instrumental part of the Labs, contributing their invaluable knowledge and abilities from various areas of the industry. Many have been a part of the Labs over the years and continue to give back by providing guidance to a new generation of artists. The Native Lab Creative Advisors include Andrew Ahn, Alex Lazarowich (Cree), Dana Ledoux Miller (Sāmoan), and Jennifer Reeder.

The Native Lab is overseen by Adam Piron, Director of the Institute’s Indigenous Program (Kiowa and Mohawk), and Ianeta Le’i, the Program’s Senior Manager.

Previous Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellows include award-winning filmmakers Sterlin Harjo, Sky Hopinka, Shaandiin Tome, Erica Tremblay, and Taika Waititi.

In addition, Sundance Collab, Sundance Institute’s digital space for artists to learn from experts and build a global filmmaking community, features “Insider Sessions” with Institute staff on-hand to answer questions about our artist programs and provide details about discovering and applying to the many programs and funds the Institute offers.

2023 SUNDANCE INSTITUTE NATIVE LAB PROJECTS & FELLOWS

Eva Grant (director/writer) with Degrees of Separation (Canada)

Eva Grant is a bilingual filmmaker of mixed St’at’imc Indigenous, Asian, and European heritage.
Eva Grant is a bilingual filmmaker of mixed St’at’imc Indigenous, Asian, and European heritage. (Courtesy image)

In this smart and stylish ensemble comedy, Indigenous Ph.D. student Delphine plans a daring heist to return Ancestral remains to her tribe. But first, she and her team must outsmart the White Saviours and Collectors who have arrived in the community like vultures, ready to pick the bones clean.

Eva Grant is a bilingual filmmaker of mixed St’at’imc Indigenous, Asian, and European heritage. She is currently a Vancouver Queer Film Festival Disruptor Fellow and an Artist in Residence at the Art Gallery of Ontario. A former E20 screenwriter, she studied literature and philosophy at Stanford University.

Quinne Larsen (writer) with Trouble (U.S.A.)

Quinne Larsen is a Chinook writer and cartoonist in Los Angeles (Tongva territory). (Courtesy image)

Five people living in an abandoned desert motel try to put their world (and their giant robot) together from scraps.

Quinne Larsen is a Chinook writer and cartoonist in Los Angeles (Tongva territory). They’ve worked on shows at Sony Pictures, Cartoon Network, Disney TVA, and Netflix. They’re currently working on an original graphic novel for First Second.

Anpa’o Locke (writer) with Growing Pains (U.S.A.)

Anpa'o Locke is a Hunkpapha Lakota and Ahtna Dené writer, filmmaker, and curator from the Standing Rock Nation. (Courtesy image)
Anpa’o Locke is a Hunkpapha Lakota and Ahtna Dené writer, filmmaker, and curator from the Standing Rock Nation. (Courtesy image)

Kawá, an urban Native teen, and her mother, Elizabeth, a relocated rezzer, return to their hometown in South Dakota after Elizabeth is hired as the new Lakota teacher at the reservation high school; Kawá navigates friendship, queerness, and belonging on the reservation.

Anpa’o Locke is a Hunkpapha Lakota and Ahtna Dené writer, filmmaker, and curator from the Standing Rock Nation. She was a 2022 Sundance Indigenous Fellow focused on Native diaspora experience and self-determination in filmmaking. She holds a BA in Film Studies from Mount Holyoke College and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jana Schmieding (writer/producer/actor) with Auntie Chuck (U.S.A.)

Jana Schmieding, Lakota, wrote on and co-starred in Rutherford Falls and is known for her comedic roles on Reservation Dogs, The Great North, and Spirit Rangers.(Courtesy image)
Jana Schmieding, Lakota, wrote on and co-starred in Rutherford Falls and is known for her comedic roles on Reservation Dogs, The Great North, and Spirit Rangers.(Courtesy image)

A rezzy spinster must find her inner auntie when she’s tasked with taking care of her siblings for two weeks.

Jana Schmieding wrote on and co-starred in Rutherford Falls and is known for her comedic roles on Reservation Dogs, The Great North, and Spirit Rangers. A Lakota woman, Jana is making her mark on the entertainment industry as an actor, writer, and producer bringing Native stories to mainstream audiences.

Cian Elyse White (director/writer) with Te Puhi’ (New Zealand, United Kingdom)

Cian Elyse White (she/her) is a Te Arawa, Ngāti Pikiao/ Ngāti Te Tākinga, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou (Te Whānau a Ruataupare, Te Whānau a Hinetāpora), Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Tainui writer, director and actress born in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Cian Elyse White (she/her) is a Te Arawa, Ngāti Pikiao/ Ngāti Te Tākinga, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou (Te Whānau a Ruataupare, Te Whānau a Hinetāpora), Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Tainui writer, director and actress born in Rotorua, New Zealand. (Courtesy image)

Aotearoa, 1962. 19-year-old Te Puhi claims international fame overnight when she is crowned Miss New Zealand – the first Māori to win the title. Torn between duty and her dreams, Te Puhi navigates the disconnect from home when she moves to London against her family’s wishes.

Cian Elyse White (she/her) is a Te Arawa, Ngāti Pikiao/ Ngāti Te Tākinga, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou (Te Whānau a Ruataupare, Te Whānau a Hinetāpora), Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, Tainui writer, director and actress born in Rotorua, New Zealand. Cian has written scripts for stage and screen including Kōtiro (Daddy’s Girl), PIIKSI/HUIA, and Te Puhi (in development). In 2022, Cian won the award for ‘Outstanding Newcomer’ at the Women in Film & Television Awards, NZ.

The Sundance Institute Indigenous Program

The Sundance Institute Indigenous Program is supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The 11th Hour Project/The Schmidt Family Foundation, Endeavor, Warner Bros. Discovery, Nia Tero Foundation, The Christensen Fund, Indigenous Screen Office, SAGindie, Susan Shilliday, Felix Culpa, and Sterlin Harjo.

Sundance Institute

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’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working 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.

Through the Sundance Institute artists programs we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me By Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fruitvale Station, Get Out, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, Honeyland, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, Navalny, O.J.: Made in America, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, The Souvenir, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, Sydney, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Walking and Talking, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. As well as nurtured artists early on through the year-round artist programs, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloe Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.