Sundance Institute’s 2024 Momentum Fellowship: Elevating Diverse Voices in Storytelling

The Sundance Institute proudly unveiled its 2024 Momentum Fellowship, a vital initiative now in its sixth year. This program, led by the Institute’s Women at Sundance and Artist Accelerator programs, continues to champion mid-career artists from historically marginalized backgrounds, fostering their professional growth during a crucial phase in their creative journey.

The eight selected storytellers for 2024 showcase an impressive array of talent and diversity, reflecting the program’s commitment to inclusivity. Among them are Aitch Alberto, a Miami-born writer-director known for “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” and award-winning filmmaker Raven Jackson, whose debut feature, “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance’s Momentum Fellowship doesn’t just acknowledge achievement; it propels creators to new heights. The year-long program offers tailored support, including an unrestricted artist grant, professional coaching, and exclusive access to the Sundance Institute’s ELEVATE professional development track. Moreover, a groundbreaking partnership with Universal ensures selected fellows working on fiction projects receive support from the studio, connecting them with creative executives and producers.

Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, Director of Artist Accelerator and Women at Sundance, emphasized the significance of the program in addressing the unique challenges faced by artists, even those with successful projects. She expressed excitement about this year’s cohort and their potential to lead the way in the industry.

The 2024 Momentum fellows include talents like A.V. Rockwell, whose directorial debut, “A Thousand and One,” secured the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and D. Smith, a two-time Grammy-nominated producer who made a notable film debut directing the documentary “Kokomo City.”

This intersectional program targets artists identifying as women, nonbinary, and/or transgender; Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color; and artists with disabilities, contributing to a more diverse and representative narrative landscape.

The Women at Sundance program, supported by organizations like Adobe, NBCUniversal, and The Harnisch Foundation, plays a pivotal role in making initiatives like Momentum possible. Additionally, Artist Accelerator receives generous support from The Walt Disney Company, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Gold House, and others.

As the Momentum Fellowship continues to make a significant impact on the careers of underrepresented artists, it stands as a beacon of progress in the film industry, demonstrating Sundance Institute’s commitment to uplifting bold voices and fostering powerful storytelling globally.