Adobe Celebrates Everyone With a Story to Tell

Everyone has a story to tell. Nowhere is that more evident than the Sundance Film Festival, where stories are shared, ideas are brought to life, and creativity is everywhere. This year, we’re heading back to Park City to celebrate the creativity within all of us by empowering everyone – from filmmakers, creators, festival goers, dreamers and beyond – to share their story with the world. Because it’s when we come together and illuminate diverse perspectives, told through the lens of difference experiences, that we can create change within ourselves, our communities, and the world.

At Adobe, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves, and we’re honored that filmmakers, artists and creators alike turn to us to help bring their stories to life. This year, more films than ever have been created with Premiere Pro, making Adobe the most used editing software at Sundance, based on an official festival survey. We’re thrilled to see the diverse breadth of filmmakers and artists who are relying on Adobe tools to share their stories; for the second year in a row, the majority (56%) of films use Premiere Pro to bring their vision to the screen, and 82% of the 2020 Festival lineup is powered by Adobe Creative Cloud. We’re also honored to be sponsoring the New Frontier program at Sundance, helping to showcase independent artists and creative technologies innovating the art and form of storytelling. We can’t wait to see these immersive experience projects, 72% of which used Creative Cloud, break ground at the festival, from Still Here to VR Free to Spaced Out and more.

At Adobe we believe it’s important to give a platform to all creators, especially the underrepresented communities and the next generation of creators, to expand inclusivity through a diverse set of voices, and so that a variety of perspectives are represented. From last year’s lauded films like American Factory (recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature), Knock Down the House, Clemency, Last Black Man in San Francisco, and Native Son to this year’s highly-anticipated films such as Crip Camp, Us Kids, Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, The Nowhere Inn, and more, we’re constantly inspired by the incredible voices and perspectives that are shaping our society and culture. But we know there’s still more to be done.

As we look towards building a positive future, we are proud to announce the inaugural Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellowship, offering bespoke support to five artists, who identify as women, that are creating bold new work across diverse disciplines and various Sundance Institute artist development programs. The Fellowship includes a $10,000 cash grant, participation in a Sundance Institute Lab or Program, and year-round mentorship from Sundance Institute staff and Adobe executives.

We’re also committed to empowering the next generation of filmmakers with tools and mentorship through the <u>Sundance Ignite</u> program, helping aspiring filmmakers tap into their creativity and shape the future of filmmaking. We’re thrilled to see four alumni showing projects in the festival this year: Lance Oppenheim, Some Kind of Heaven – the first Ignite alum with a feature film in competition – Matthew Puccini, Dirty; Crystal Kayiza, See You Next Time; and Terrance Daye, Ship.

If you’ll be at Sundance this year, read on to find out more about the events we’ll be hosting, and how you can join us and be part of the conversation. We’ll be livestreaming and sharing interviews with filmmakers, celebrities and more. Follow us for the latest: @Adobe Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.