Elsa Ramo advising at Sundance Producer’s Lab; Sundance Institute Sets Fellows For 2023 Producers Lab And Intensive:

The Sundance Institute has today named the participants and projects set for the latest edition of its Producers Lab, taking place at Utah’s Sundance Mountain Resort from July 24-28, as well as for its Producers Intensive, taking place this fall.

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Feature Film producers taking part in the Producers Lab include Pierre M. Coleman (Ricky), Julia Kennelly (Clare), Liz Lian (Skin), Valerie Castillo Martinez (Anita) and Cameron Morton (Lollygag). Among those coming to the Lab with documentary projects are Colleen Cassingham (Life After), Nicole Docta (The Dead Zone), Emma D. Miller (Untitled Mistress Dispeller Project), Jolene Pinder (Fun House) and Flor de oro Tejada (Wild Darlings Sing the Blues (And It’s a Song of Freedom)).

Fellows for the third edition of the Producers Intensive, on the fiction side, include Alifya Ali and Samantha Skinner (’06-’07), Paula González-Nasser (Saca Tu Lengua), Kyra Knox (South Side Girls), Xin Li (Santa Anita) and Tony Yang (Let The Sleepers Lie). Participants on the nonfiction side will include Karla Claudio-Betancourt (Matininó), Alan Domínguez (Commerce City), Artemis Fannin (Untitled Epilepsy Documentary), Brit Fryer (Adam’s Apple) and Chelsea Moore (Untitled Texas Doc).

The Sundance Institute has long looked with its Producers Program to champion up-and-coming independent producers working across fiction and nonfiction film, offering mentorship, granting, educational and professional development resources, community gatherings and networking opportunities year-round. Participants in the Producers Lab are offered project-specific support through one-on-one meetings and intimate group sessions with veteran advisors, receiving guidance as they look to develop strategies for pitching, financing, production, navigating the marketplace and sustainability. A two-day, concentrated workshop, the Producers Intensive, offers producers from traditionally underrepresented communities the opportunity to enhance their craft with access to creative, strategic and professional development support.

Advisors for the 2023 Producers Lab on the Feature side will include Nina Yang Bongiovi (Fruitvale Station), Neil Kopp (Showing Up), Jordana Mollick (Spoiler Alert), Elsa Ramo (Ramo Law PC, Joyland) and Anish Savjani (Showing Up). The Documentary-focused Lab advisors, this time around, are Sabaah Folayan (Look at Me: XXXTentacion), Cristina Ibarra (The Infiltrators), Andrea Meditch (Fathom), Bob Moore (Midwives) and Diane Quon (Unseen).

Said the Sundance Institute’s s Producing and Artist Support Director Shira Rockowitz and Documentary Film Program Deputy Director Kristin Feeley, “As the media landscape evolves and often poses new challenges to creating bold, risk-taking work, we were humbled and inspired by the creative possibilities expressed by this year’s projects and the determination and ingenuity of the producers behind them. Their original work reflects the world we’re living in and the world we want to see.”

The pair went on to note, in a statement to Deadline, that “the labs are a unique space for producers to interrogate their work, build community, hone leadership skills, and develop strategies to advance their current projects and build sustainable careers. Cultivating the next generation of bold, creative entrepreneurs is critical, and we’re thrilled to welcome these independent filmmakers into the fold.”

For more in-depth information on this year’s Producers Program participants and their projects, view this article at Deadline.