Have you ever wondered what Sundance Film Festival programmers look for in a film? Here’s your chance to find out.

Prior to this year’s Sundance Film Festival final submission deadlines, Film Independent is please to offer an extended Q&A with Sundance programmer Ana Souza.

She will discuss Sundance’s programming philosophy, what types of films programmers look for, and the do’s and don’ts for submitting a project.
 
About the instructor

Born in Brazil, Ana Souza was partially raised in The Netherlands and now resides in Los Angeles. She is the Manager of the Programming department at the Sundance Film Festival and a programmer on the features team, focusing on US and International fiction films across sections. She helped launch Sundance Film Festival’s newest international edition in CDMX in partnership with Cinépolis and regularly contributed to Sundance Film Festival: London.

In addition to her work at the Sundance Film Festival, she is the Director of Programming at the Sun Valley Film Festival and the Forum Producer for the Palm Springs International ShortFest. She has also programmed for AFI FEST, Outfest, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, and the LA Film Festival. She has worked in various capacities for LALIFF, Ambulante California, and NALIP’s Latino Media Fest, and has consulted with Washington FilmWorks, among others. In 2024 she was named one of Screen International’s “Future Leaders in Programming and Curation.”
 
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Accessibility

Film Independent is committed to hosting events that are accessible. For inquiries regarding accessibility, or to request an accommodation, please contact us at accessibility@filmindependent.org or 323 556 9305.