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Highlights

All of the Sundance Film Festival Projects by Sundance Ignite Program Fellows

By Jessica Herndon

The list of dynamic storytellers who began making films as young adults is a long one. In the lineup are several Sundance Film Festival alums, including Robert Rodriguez, who was in his early-20s when he made El Mariachi, and Kevin Smith, whose cult classic Clerks was released before he hit 25. 

We’re all about supporting the next generation of diverse filmmakers here, and through our Sundance Ignite program we enlist storytellers ages 18 to 25 for our yearlong Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, an artist development program designed to provide filmmakers with creative assistance and guide their professional development. Among the program’s many benefits is its close connection to the Festival, where several Sundance Ignite alums have gone on to showcase their work.

Below, we spotlight past Sundance Ignite fellows, like Sean Wang, whose film Dìdi (弟弟) premiered at the 2024 Fest, where it won the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble. 


Check out the work of these former fellows and get inspired! Applications for the 2025 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship are open now until February 14. And don’t miss a frame of the incredible projects from the next wave of filmmakers. Meet us on the mountain for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, taking place from January 23–February 2, 2025. Grab your in-person or online pass or package today.

Fry-Up

2018 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Charlotte Regan — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter, Editor

Nevada

2018 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program 

Leah Galant — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow 

Additional Animation

Emily Ann Hoffman — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow 

Director, Screenwriter, Animation

Edgecombe

2019 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program 

Crystal Kayiza2018 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Producer, Editor

Lavender

2019 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program 

Matthew Puccini — 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter

Tyler Rabinowitz — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow  

Producer

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019 Sundance Film Festival, Doc Premieres

Yusuf Kapadia2019 Sundance Ignite fellow

Assistant Editor

The Silence of the Dying Fish

2019 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Vasilis Kekatos — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow 

Director, Screenwriter

Dirty 

2020 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program 

Emily Ann Hoffman — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow

Art Director

Matthew Puccini — 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter, Producer

Linhan Zhang — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow 

Executive Producer 

See You Next Time

2020 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Maya Cueva — 2019 Sundance Ignite fellow

Field Sound

Crystal Kayiza — 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Producer, Editor

-Ship: A Visual Poem 

2020 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program. Won the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction. 

Terrance Daye — 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter

Some Kind of Heaven

2020 Sundance Film Festival, NEXT

Lance Oppenheim — 2019 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Producer, Co-Editor

To Know Her

2021 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Natalie A. Chao2020 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor

Child of Empire 

2022 Sundance Film Festival, New Frontier Projects

Omi Zola Gupta2023 Sundance Ignite fellow

Lead Artist, Writer

 

Birdsong

2023 Sundance Film Festival: London, International Documentary Short

Omi Zola Gupta — 2023 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director

Rest Stop 

2023 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program. Won the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction.

Crystal Kayiza — 2018 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter

Scrapper  

2023 Sundance Film Festival, World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. 

Charlotte Regan — 2017 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter

Simo

2023 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Aziz Zoromba — 2019 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter, Editor

Dìdi (弟弟) 

2024 Sundance Film Festival, U.S. Dramatic Competition. Won the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble.

Sean Wang — 2020 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter, Producer

Girls State

2024 Sundance Film Festival, Premieres 

Aurora Brachman — 2020 Sundance Ignite fellow

Co-Producer

Grace

2024 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Natalie Jasmine Harris 2024 Sundance Ignite fellow

Director, Screenwriter, Producer

To Be Invisible

2024 Sundance Film Festival, Shorts Program

Devon Blackwell — 2024 Sundance Ignite fellow

Associate Producer

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