Spielberg foundation gives Sundance $3 million, returning Directors Lab to Utah
Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg's Hearthland Foundation made a multiyear gift to Sundance Institute. The Directors Lab returns to Sundance Mountain Resort.
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Sundance Institute has received a $3 million multiyear commitment from The Hearthland Foundation, founded by Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg. The institute called it one of the largest contributions in its history. The money will return the Directors Lab, its program for filmmakers developing features, to its historic home at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, the institute announced Oct. 22 in Los Angeles.
The gift will also support the institute's Feature Film Program and expand fellowships and direct, unrestricted grants to independent artists. The institute did not announce dates for the next lab. "This gift is a profound vote of confidence in independent artists and in the future of Sundance Institute," CEO David Linde said.
Robert Redford founded Sundance Institute in 1981. Alumni of its programs include Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao, according to the institute. The Sundance Film Festival will be held Jan. 21–31, 2027, for the first time in Boulder, Colorado.