The Sundance Institute currently has several open or upcoming application deadlines for 2025‑2026 supporting independent artists and projects. Key deadlines include the 2026 Episodic Lab closing on November 9, 2025, the Merata Mita Fellowship on November 3, 2025, the Graton Fellowship on December 8, 2025, and the Native Lab on December 22, 2025. The Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship deadline is February 12, 2026, and the Feature Film Producers Track closes around February 11‑12, 2026. The Ignite Challenge accepts applications through July 1, 2026. These opportunities span labs, fellowships, mentorships, and development tracks for filmmakers and storytellers. Most programs are open to international applicants, though some (like Native Lab and Graton Fellowship) have specific community or regional eligibility requirements. Additionally, submission windows for film and episodic content for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival occurred during mid‑2025, with the festival itself scheduled from January 22 to February 1, 2026. These dates represent the latest publicly available deadlines across multiple Sundance initiatives.
DIFFERENT DATES FOR ACTIVITIES
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Sundance Institute
The Industry Academy Chile is an intensive training program created by the Locarno Film Festival in 2014, designed to foster innovation among young professionals in the film industry. The program focuses on key areas such as distribution, sales, film marketing, exhibition, and festival programming.
This program is developed in collaboration with SANFIC (Santiago International Film Festival) in Chile, with the goal of providing participants with practical and strategic tools to strengthen their skills in the audiovisual industry. The Industry Academy Chile takes place within the framework of SANFIC, a major platform for independent Latin American and global cinema.
Throughout the program, participants have the opportunity to attend masterclasses, workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking activities, which allow them to expand their contacts and strengthen their presence in the international market. Additionally, the selected participants receive training on essential industry aspects, such as the development and commercialization of film projects, international distribution, and the dynamics of film festivals.
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Industry Academy Chile
Ib Platform is a space for training and creativity on the process of making films: the strategy, the narrative idea or impact campaign is part of a whole. The Ib Platform experience is an individual and collective networking process that catapults the international projection of projects and of the professionals who carry them out.
Since 2009 it has promoted emerging and senior talents who have projects in fiction, documentary, animation and audiovisual innovation (series, transmedia, virtual reality, augmented and immersive). Likewise, it promotes possibilities of co-production and strategic alliances between the various participants, strengthening the exchange for the productive and cultural development of the region.
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DocsMX - DocsLab
The Industry Academy Brasil is an intensive training program created by the Locarno Film Festival in 2014, designed to foster innovation among young professionals in the film industry, focusing on areas such as distribution, sales, film marketing, exhibition, and festival programming. This program is aimed at young professionals with the goal of providing them with strategic tools to enhance their skills and strengthen their presence in the international film market.
The program takes place within the framework of BrLab, a renowned event in Brazil dedicated to the training, development, and support of the audiovisual industry in Latin America. BrLab is a key space for cinema professionals seeking to improve their projects, gain knowledge about the global industry, and strengthen their network of contacts. During the program, participants have the opportunity to engage in workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking activities, focusing on key aspects such as the internationalization and distribution of film projects, as well as financing and marketing strategy.
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Industry Academy Brasil
BrLab Audience Design 2026 is a workshop focused on strategic audience development for fiction and documentary feature films. The call is open to projects from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, accepting international submissions.
Applications are open until December 12, 2025, and the main in-person workshop will take place in São Paulo, Brazil, from April 7 to 14, 2026, with preparatory online activities in February and March. The lab focuses on audience strategy for projects in development, rather than pitches or traditional markets.
Only feature films are accepted, including live action, animation, or hybrid projects. The program provides tools and expert guidance to strengthen the connection between the project and its potential audience, fostering effective dissemination and promotion strategies.
BrLab Audience Design offers a unique opportunity for filmmakers to optimize the reception of their works, expand their audience, and enhance their projects’ international presence.
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BrLab Audience Design
