- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Arts and Culture
The Sundance Institute selected four filmmakers for its 2026 Native Lab, a development program supporting Indigenous storytellers working on feature and episodic projects.
The cohort includes three U.S.-based participants — Taylor Foreman-Niko (Samoan), Miles T. RedCorn (Osage and Caddo) and Sabrina Saleha (Navajo) — and one Canadian participant, Ashley Qilavaq-Savard (Inuk/Inuit). Two additional artists, Sayun Simung (Tayal) and Taylour Chang (Kanaka Maoli), will participate as artists-in-residence.
The Native Lab, April 6–11 in Santa Fe, N.M., provides filmmakers with one-on-one mentorship, script development sessions and industry feedback as they refine projects in development. The program is part of the nonprofit Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, which focuses on supporting Native and Indigenous creators across film and television.
Foreman-Niko is a Los Angeles-based writer selected for the 2022 BloodList of unproduced scripts. Qilavaq-Savard is an Inuk filmmaker from Iqaluit whose work centers Indigenous narratives and decolonization. RedCorn, based in Oklahoma, focuses on sovereignty and Native history in his projects. Saleha is a writer-director and television staff writer whose work explores contemporary Native experiences.
Since its launch in 2009, the Native Lab has supported filmmakers developing projects for film and television, with alumni contributing to a growing body of Indigenous-led storytelling in the industry.
