The stories of filmmakers, creators, and dreamers bring us together at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Stories bring us together. They have the power to open minds, unlock hearts and change the world. Through our decades long support for independent filmmakers, we have committed to bridging gaps, and supporting, elevating and amplifying underrepresented creators, so the world can see, learn and benefit from more perspectives.

As we officially head back to the Sundance Film Festival in person, we’re proud to again be a Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival together finding ways of advocating, celebrating and inspiring the next generation of storytellers.

Supporting all the incredible work of independent filmmakers from around the world has never been more important. Of all the 101 feature-length films in this year’s Sundance Film Festival, 53 percent have a female director and 45 percent have a director of color — the highest numbers to date and a positive sign of progress. There is more work to do in the industry, and we are proud to be part of the journey to help enable creators everywhere and provide a space for the community to be challenged, inspired and most importantly bring their stories to life.

Showing up at Sundance 2023

As the Official Editing Solution of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Adobe again is the leading choice for Festival filmmakers, with 67 percent of this year’s films using Adobe Premiere Pro or Frame.io. For the fifth year in a row, Adobe Premiere Pro is the most popular video editing software at the Festival used by more than half of Sundance films including Plan C, Going Varsity in Mariachi, Sometimes I Think About Dying and Fremont, among many others. Additionally, 74 percent of the 2023 films were made using Adobe Creative Cloud tools, including After Effects and Photoshop and Substance 3D Collection. As collaboration has become critically important in a time of remote filmmaking, the addition of Frame.io to Adobe Creative Cloud is empowering Sundance storytellers with innovative, powerful technologies to create, cut and review footage with anyone, anywhere in the world.

Just as world-class editors are using Premiere Pro and Frame.io to bring creative visions to the big screen, the Sundance Institute is also using Adobe Camera to Cloud, Premiere Pro and After Effects to produce daily festival recaps and videos for its social media channels. Quickly publishing content during live events requires fast turnarounds and streamlined workflows. Using Adobe’s video tools, the Sundance Institute’s editorial teams can start cutting sooner so they can deliver content faster, saving production and post-production hours.

We're excited to team up with IndieWire again to share stories from both emerging and seasoned filmmakers, on the stories that inspire and connect us most. Check out videos from IndieWire Studio, featuring interviews with Festival filmmakers, directors, editors and more on their thoughts about stories that have changed the world and hear their take on where storytelling needs to go next.

Illuminating diverse voices

Created in 2020, Adobe and the Sundance Institute launched the first-ever women-focused fellowship for filmmakers, the Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellowship. The year-round program is designed to foster community, and offer support to female artists creating bold new work in film and media. Through our Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellowship Program over the last seven years, we have also empowered a new generation of filmmakers from all backgrounds and provided necessary tools, mentorship and resources needed to tell their stories. Both collaborations have supported over 100 filmmakers and program alumni have taken their filmmaking careers to new heights, including having films featured at previous Sundance Festivals.

We’re excited to congratulate and honor three of our Ignite Fellow alumni whose films have been selected for this year’s Festival and celebrate five Fellows from Women to Watch who are also premiering work at Sundance.

Charlotte Regan — 2017 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellow

Her feature film, Scrapper, is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Crystal Kayiza — 2018 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellow

Her short film, Rest Stop, is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Aziz Zoromba — 2019 Sundance Ignite x Adobe Fellow

His short film, Simo, is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Miciana Alise — 2022 Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellow

Her feature film, Fancy Dance, is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Deidre Backs — 2022 Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellow

Her feature film, Fancy Dance, is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Milisuthando Bongela — 2020 Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellow

Her feature film, Milisuthando, is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Laura Moss — 2020 Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellow

Her feature film, birth/rebirth is an official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Join us in celebrating and recognizing the extraordinary filmmakers, creators, dreamers and beyond at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, who year after year connect the world with powerful, progressive and poignant stories. For in-person festival goers, visit our Sundance page to find out more about the events we’ll be hosting and how to join us and be part of the conversation. And for the latest updates on events, and interviews with next-gen filmmakers, festival directors, talent and more as well the new Sundance Adobe Express Template Collection: @Adobe, @AdobeExpress @AdobeGenCreate and @Adobevideo on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.