Fellowship Enters Fifth Year of Supporting Filmmakers from Underrepresented Communities As They Focus on a Sustainable and Creative Path Forward
Los Angeles, CA – Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the eight participants selected for the fifth annual Momentum Fellowship, a program designed to support and provide coaching to mid-career artists with a focus on career development during a pivotal moment in their creative practice. Created to support storytellers from historically marginalized communities who have recently achieved a noteworthy accomplishment, such as a highly regarded feature film or series, Momentum provides fellows with a full-year program of deep, customized support around the goals they have identified for themselves to level up in their craft and career. The Momentum Fellowship is a program of Women at Sundance, with support from Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.
The Momentum Fellowship includes an unrestricted artist grant; professional coaching offered by Renee Freedman & Company, supported by The Harnisch Foundation; connection to ELEVATE, Sundance’s professional development initiative; and bespoke year-round support from Sundance Institute staff. Additionally, as part of an ongoing partnership with Universal’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion team (GTDI), the Studio will provide additional support for up to four (4) Momentum fellows working on fiction projects. GTDI is providing select participants access to the Studio’s creative executives and producers to build career momentum and exposure to potential directing opportunities across the Company’s portfolio.”Over the years, the fellows selected for Momentum have all experienced success with their recently completed projects. This has often been a critical moment for artists to receive creative and tactical support as they focus on a meaningful path forward,” said Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Artist Programs. “This is where Momentum is both aptly named and unique in the industry — the fellowship is customized to the needs of individual filmmakers as they move forward with their next steps, making choices that will ensure they can sustain a career that gives them exciting and timely creative opportunities.”
The Momentum Fellowship was launched in 2018 as a highly successful model for sustaining and leveling up artists in their careers that merited expansion for impact across a broader cohort of underrepresented communities. Those eligible for this intersectional program include artists identifying as women, nonbinary, and/or transgender; Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color; and artists with disabilities. Previous Momentum fellows have included Yance Ford, Andrew Ahn, Jamila Wignot, Minhal Baig, Cristina Costantini, Edson Oda, Linda Yvette Chávez, Ekwa Msangi, Christina Choe, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, and Billy Luther.
The 2023 Momentum Fellows are:
