Sundance Institute Honors Libby Hakaraya and Tazbeh Rose Chavez with Fellowships – The Hollywood Reporter

Libby Hakaraya and Tazbeh Rose Chavez

Courtesy of the Sundance Institute

The Sundance Institute has two new fellowship winners.

On Saturday, during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the institute unveiled the recipients of its Mirata Mita Fellowship and its inaugural Graton Grant for California Tribal Artists.

The Mirata Mita Fellowship – an annual initiative named in honor of the late Māori director Mirata Mita as a way to support female Indigenous artists on the path to making their first film – has been awarded to Libby Hakaraia. The Gratton Fellowship, launched to support Indigenous artists from California-based tribes, will go to Tazpah Rose Chavez. They were selected during the Sundance Film Festival’s Original Forum Gala presented by NBCUniversal Launch and Nia Tero at The Park on Saturday.

The event featured an opening blessing from Bart Powakee and the Red Spirit Singers of the Ute Tribal Nation and remarks from Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute Board Member Amy Redford, Nia Tero, NBCUniversal’s Jeanne Mau and Indigenous Program Director Adam Perron. Perone also announced five Native Lab Fellows and recognized the seven locally made projects from around the world that will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

“It feels incredibly meaningful to have Libby and Tazpah as recipients of the Mirata Mita and Gratton Fellowships respectively this year. “It’s also a spiritual homecoming as well,” Biron offered. “They are both established artists with deep connections to their communities, and the history in which these Fellowships, and we are pleased to support their upcoming projects with these amazing opportunities.”

Hakaraya is an Indigenous storyteller with over 30 years of experience as a director, writer and producer. I produced Cousins And Coca. The fellowship, now in its ninth year, includes year-long support through activities, including attendance at the Sundance Film Festival, access to strategic and creative services offered by the Sundance Institute Artist Programs, a cash grant and mentorship opportunities.

“With this support from the Sundance Institute, along with the support provided by mentors in the Indigenous filmmaking community, I intend to be bold and aim for new heights in storytelling,” Hakaria said. “This fellowship will enable me to enhance my skills, expand my networks, and increase my self-confidence.” – And prepare to drive a large-scale feature in 2024.

Chavez, the inaugural Gratton Fellow, will receive a $25,000 grant, one year of creative mentorship from Indigenous program staff, access to creative and professional development opportunities and support to attend Sundance. The Graton Fellowship is made possible as part of a recently announced $4 million grant from the Federation of Indians of Graton Rancheria, the largest gift in the nonprofit organization’s history.

Chavez is a performance poet turned television writer and director from the Bishop Paiute Reservation. She currently works as a co-executive producer/episode director at FX Reservation dogs. I’ve worked on Syfy Resident alien And the peacock Rutherford Fallsaddressed to Max Sexual life of college girlsHe is a writer and director on the new Fox series Accused. I began my Sundance journey as an undergraduate intern in the Indigenous and Indigenous Program.

“This fellowship is vital because California is home to the film industry and the largest population of tribal nations in the country, and California Native perspectives are sorely missing from the film landscape,” Chavez said. “The support from the Graton Fellowship comes at an opportune time, as I work to develop my feature film the first.