Sundance Institute Announces Ignite and Adobe Fellows (EXCLUSIVE)

The Sundance Institute has announced the 10 fellows for its 2023 Ignite x Adobe fellowship. Those selected for the yearlong program include Rafal Beauchamp, Omi Zola Gupta, Dylan Habil, Xiaoxuan Jiang, Alvina Joshi, Milla Lewis, Andrs Lira, Dallin Mello, Leonardo Pirondi and Chloe Xtina.

The fellowship is designed to support emerging fiction and documentary filmmakers ages 18 to 25, through the assistance with artistic and professional development. The select fellows receive an artist grant supported by Adobe and Arison Arts Foundation, a one-year complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud, access to Sundance Institute alumni mentors, the opportunity to develop relationships within the Ignite community and access to the Sundance Film Festival.

Being able to discover and support emerging filmmakers while offering a space for creative risk-taking, and to do so in particular with a new generation of artists, is truly enriching, said Toby Brooks, assistant director, Sundance Ignite. The 2023 Sundance Ignite x Adobe fellows reflect the rising voices that are crucial to inspiring independent storytelling.

More about the 2023 fellows:

Rafal Beauchamp

Beauchamp is a French Canadian filmmaker whose films have been screened at SXSW, Palm Springs, Leiden Shorts, and Inside Out film festivals, and works to create genre cinema that provides a commentary on modern societal issues.

Omi Zola Gupta

Gupta, a UK and India-based writer and director, is an incoming student at NYU Tischs MFA Film program. The filmmakers debut short film, Birdsong, premiered at SXSW 2023 and was acquired by The Guardian.

Dylan Habil

Habil, a Kenyan filmmaker, documentary photographer, cultural historian and media strategist, works to create stories that document environmental conservation strides for online awareness and fundraising efforts.

Xiaoxuan Jiang

Originally from, Inner Mongolia, China, Jiang recently graduated with a BFA in Film from NYU; and her latest short, Graveyard of Horses, was selected for SXSW 2023, Pff Shorts, and won the NETPAC Award at Beijing International Short Film Festival.

Alvina Joshi

Joshi, an Indian filmmaker and editor, works primarily in nonfiction and is eager to uncover the relationship between spaces, time and memory within unequal societies.

Milla Lewis

Lewis, an award-winning photography odz National Film School graduate and UK filmmaker, focuses her work on the intersection of history, memory and myth.

Andrs Lira

Mexican American filmmaker and artist of Native descent centers his work on documenting stories of the Latino and Indigenous communities.

Dallin Mello

Mello, a UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism graduate and New York-based cinematographer, pursues stories about underrepresented communities as they grieve and heal.

Leonardo Pirondi

California-based Brazilian filmmaker, Pirondis films have been screened at IFFR, True/False and BFI. Pirondis selected documentary, experimental and narrative films each explore the abyss between the different derived versions of reality.

Chloe Xtina

Originally from Oakland and now based in Brooklyn, the UCLA BA Playwriting graduate tells stories about psychosexual gazes, desire, and Californias climate crisis through a magical realist lens.

Sundance Ignite is supported by Adobe and Arison Arts Foundation.