A Mountain of Film Independent Fellows at This Year’s Sundance Program
Fall is a stressful time for indie filmmakers. There are plenty of sleepless nights getting your cut in shape for the first-quarter festivals, including a certain Park City based affair. Recently, they finally found out if all those nights on the edit-bay couch were worth it– Sundance announced its 2026 lineup. And for these Film Independent Fellows, the answer was a resounding ‘Yes’. Twenty-one projects across seven categories had Fellows on key positions on the teams.
Three projects that will premiere at the festival were also directly supported through Film Independent Artist Development programs. Joybubbles, which went through the 2021 Fast Track finance market and Soul Patrol, supported in this year’s Amplifier Fellowship, will both premiere in the US Documentary Competition. Union County, which went through the 2023 Screenwriting Lab and 2023 Fast Track finance market, will premiere in the US Dramatic Competition.
Let’s take a look at all the films that our Fellows will be bringing to Sundance in January.
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Josephine
After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her.
Post produced by Kate Sharp (Producing Lab 2016, Fast Track 2018, Grant Recipient 2018)
The Friend’s House Is Here
In Tehran’s underground art scene, two young women build a blissful world of freedom and sisterhood. But when their creative circle is exposed, they must fight to save each other.
Written, directed and produced by Hossein Keshavarz (Grant Recipient 2013)
Union County
Assigned to a county-mandated drug court program, Cody Parsons embarks on the tenuous journey toward recovery amid the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio.
Written, directed and edited by Adam Meeks (Screenwriting Lab 2023, Fast Track 2023) and produced by Faye Tsakas (Fast Track 2023) and Brad Becker-Parton (Fast Track 2023). Union County went through the 2023 Screenwriting Lab with writer/director Adam Meeks, as well as the 2023 Fast Track finance market with writer/director Adam Meeks and producers Brad Becker-Parton and Faye Tsakas.
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
American Doctor
When three American doctors — Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian — enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth.
Produced by Kirstine Barfod (Documentary Lab 2023)
American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez
Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story.
Edited by Daniel Chavez-Ontiveros (CNN Docuseries Intensive 2021)
Joybubbles
Joybubbles discovers he can manipulate the telephone system by whistling a magic tone. Born blind and yearning for connection, his early obsession unwittingly lays the groundwork for a subculture that shapes the future of hacking and technology.
Directed by Rachael J. Morrison (Fast Track 2021), produced by Sarah Winshall (Fast Track 2021, 2025 Producers Award winner) and co-produced by Annie Marr (Documentary Producing Lab 2024). Joybubbles went through the 2021 Fast Track finance market with director Rachael J. Morrison and producer Sarah Winshall.
Soul Patrol
From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story.
Directed and produced by J.M. Harper (Amplifier Fellowship 2025). Soul Patrol was directly supported in the 2025 Amplifier Fellowship.
The Lake
An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.
Executive produced by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (2016 Truer Than Fiction Award winner)
Who Killed Alex Odeh?
The assassination of a beloved Palestinian American activist in Southern California ignites a 40-year quest for justice, revealing the roots of a dangerous political movement that thrives today.
Directed and produced by Jason Osder (2014 Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award winner)
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
The Huntress (La Cazadora)
In the border city of Juárez, Mexico, where violence against women is perpetrated with impunity, an unlikely defender emerges with a desperate call for change. Inspired by true events.
Produced by Mynette Louie (Fast Track 2009, Fast Track 2010, Grant Recipient 2013)
PREMIERES
Chasing Summer
After losing both her job and boyfriend, Jamie retreats to her small Texas hometown, where friends and flings from a fateful high school summer turn her life upside down.
Produced by Houston King (Grant Recipient 2014)
See You When I See You
With the help of his family, a comedy writer battles PTSD after the tragic death of his sister.
Executive produced by Mel Eslyn (2016 Piaget Producers Award winner)
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with the AI insanity, exploring the existential dangers and stunning promise of this technology that humanity has created.
Produced by Shane Boris (Documentary Lab 2018)
The Moment
A rising pop star navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut.
Executive produced by Mikey Schwartz-Wright (Fast Track 2025)
The Oldest Person in the World
A decade-long global journey chronicles the ever-changing record holders of the title of oldest person alive. What begins as a portrait of longevity becomes a meditation on the passage of time, the randomness of fate, and the joy and profound human experience of being alive.
Produced by Josh Penn (Grant Recipient 2014)
Time and Water
Facing the death of his country’s glaciers and the loss of his beloved grandparents, Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason turns his archives into a time capsule to hold what is slipping away — family, memory, time, and water.
Directed by Sara Dosa (Documentary Lab 2018) and produced by Shane Boris (Documentary Lab 2018) and Jameka Autry (Fast Track 2022, Amplifier Fellowship 2025)
Wicker
A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband.
Executive produced by Jennifer Westin (Producing Lab 2007)
MIDNIGHT
The Best Summer
Immersive POV camera footage reveals electric performances, candid interviews, and intimate backstage life with the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill — an all-access view inside an era-defining moment in music.
Edited by Jessica Hernández (Project Involve 2001)
Leviticus
Two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Produced by Samantha Jennings (Fast Track 2019)
Rock Springs
After the death of her father, a grieving young girl moves to an isolated house in a new town with her mother and grandmother, only to discover there is something monstrous hidden in the town’s history and the woods behind their new home.
Written, directed and produced by Vera Miao (Screenwriting Lab 2014) and produced by Jason Michael Berman (Fast Track 2009)
EPISODIC
FreeLance
A young filmmaker documents his journey toward his first movie as he moves in with a friend group of ambitious creatives, all trying to support one another’s dreams in an oversaturated market. This inexperienced crew of 20-somethings takes on unorthodox jobs to build their brand and pay rent.
Executive produced by Stephen Love Jr. (Project Involve 2015, Grant Recipient 2015)
FAMILY MATINEE
Cookie Queens
It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and four tenacious girls strive to be a top-selling “Cookie Queen,” navigating an $800 million business in which childhood and ambition collide.
Directed and produced by Alysha Nahmias (2012 Jameson FIND Your Audience Award winner, Fast Track 2013, Documentary Lab 2020) and shot by Antonio Cisneros (Project Involve 2013)
Congratulations to all the Fellows! To learn more about all the Labs and Programs that Artist Development provides these filmmakers, and to apply to be a part of them, click here.
Header Image: Union County, Adam Meeks, 2023 Screenwriting Lab & 2023 Fast Track finance market with writer/director Adam Meeks and producers Brad Becker-Parton and Faye Tsakas.
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