Leading Nonprofits and Creative Organizations Unite for a Panel at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival to Address the Future of Filmmaker Sustainability
Leading Nonprofits and Creative Organizations Unite for a Panel at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival to Address the Future of Filmmaker Sustainability
PARK CITY, UT — January 14, 2026 — As the independent film industry faces unprecedented disruption — from consolidation and shifting business models to rapid technological change — an Official panel at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival will bring together nonprofit leaders and creative advocates working to sustain the careers of filmmakers at every stage.
From First Break to Lasting Impact: Building Creative Pipelines in Film & Media, presented by NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA), Alliance of Women Directors (AWD), Shine Global, and Creating Creators, will take place at the Filmmaker Lodge on Main Street, moderated by Sola Fasehun, founder of The Distribution Collective and The Diversity and Inclusion Film Festival.
The panel connects with what Sundance Institute has long represented: not only the discovery of new voices, but the communities, mentors, and institutions that help those voices endure. At a moment when many creators are struggling to navigate shrinking opportunities and an increasingly fragmented industry, the conversation reframes success beyond individual projects — toward sustainable, long-term creative careers.
Panelists will discuss how intentional career pipeline programs support artists across the full arc of their journeys: from early discovery and skill-building, to mid-career growth and leadership, to long-term sustainability and legacy. Drawing on real-world models of mentorship, professional development, funding access, and community-building, the discussion will explore how aligned ecosystems can better serve filmmakers — and why that work has never been more urgent.
“Independent film is at an inflection point,” said the organizing partners in a joint statement. “As consolidation reshapes the business and new technologies disrupt traditional pathways, the question isn’t just how films get made — it’s how filmmakers survive, evolve, and stay in the industry at all. If we don’t invest in sustainable career pipelines now, we risk losing an entire generation of storytellers.”
Panel Details
Date: Sunday, January 25, 2026
Time: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MT
Location: Filmmaker Lodge
550 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060
RSVP: Requested by January 23, 2026 at 2:00 PM MT
(A free Sundance profile is required; entry subject to capacity)
https://festival.sundance.org/program/partner-event/696013ba7cf1ef53a87d9966
For any accessibility needs, please send us a request by email to info@NFMLA.org at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Panelists
Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz
Filmmaker & Ambassador, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA); Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz is an award-winning writer-director whose short film When Big People Lie premiered at Telluride, screened at Cannes, and was profiled by Deadline. The film was also a Shine Global Resilience Award finalist in partnership with Indy Shorts and featured as part of Shine Global’s Fall Screening Series. Named NFMLA’s 2024 Best New Filmmaker, he earned his MFA in Directing from the AFI Conservatory. His debut feature, Summer of Mercedes, is currently in development.
Kylie Eaton
Executive Director, Alliance of Women Directors (AWD)
Kylie Eaton leads strategic growth, fundraising, and membership expansion at AWD. A director and writer, her work centers women’s lived experiences and includes the award-winning short DISPEL, starring Gina Torres.
Alexandra Blaney
Co-CEO & Creative Director, Shine Global
Alexandra Blaney leads content development and impact storytelling at Shine Global, a nonprofit media company founded by producers of Oscar®- and Emmy®-winning films. Her producing credits include the Academy Award®–nominated short Anuja. She also created and leads Shine Global’s Resilience Awards Initiative, which supports filmmakers centering children’s stories around the world.
Jessica Just
CEO & Co-Founder, Creating Creators
Jessica Just is an actress, producer, and editor who began her career at Miramax and Apostle Films. She is currently a partner at Open Perspective Media and leads Creating Creators’ mission to align education with real-world creative and entrepreneurial filmmaking skills.
Moderator
Sola Fasehun
Founder, The Distribution Collective; Fasehun Films; Diversity and Inclusion Film Festival
Sola Fasehun has worked across sales, distribution, representation, and production, including roles at UTA and Submarine Entertainment. She is a longtime advocate for equity, access, and sustainability within the film ecosystem.
About the Organizations
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) is a nonprofit organization championing emerging and independent filmmakers through screenings, professional development, and global community-building, with a focus on underrepresented voices.
Alliance of Women Directors (AWD) is a nonprofit dedicated to achieving gender parity in the entertainment industry by increasing the number of working women and gender-diverse directors through mentorship, craft enrichment, and industry partnerships.
Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that has produced the Oscar®-winning film Inocente and Academy Award®-nominated films Anuja and War/Dance, the latter of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and later won two Emmy® Awards. The organization is dedicated to improving the lives of children through powerful storytelling and filmmaker support initiatives.
Creating Creators supports emerging talent by bridging education and industry, aligning classroom learning with the collaborative and entrepreneurial rigor of film production.
From First Break to Lasting Impact offers a timely reminder: the future of independent film depends not only on bold stories, but on the systems that sustain the people who tell them.
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ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL
Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce and support inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.
Since our founding in 2005 by Susan MacLaury and Albie Hecht, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente, an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short for Anuja, and an Academy Award® nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds which is currently in film festivals.
ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS
The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
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- Comedy Against the Odds Now Streaming Free on Doc+ for World Autism Awareness Day
- Shine Global Awards Remaining Native the Unstoppable Kids Prize at the 2026 New York International Children’s Film Festival
- Shine Global at the Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour
- Sundance 2026 Shine Global Recap: Radical Hope, Collective Care, and Why Filmmaker Support Matters More Than Ever
- Meet our Spring 2026 Interns
Shine Global’s Director of Marketing and Production, Alexandra Blaney, will be speaking at the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Media Summit on June 7th, 2014 on a panel entitled “Creating Docs that Make an Impact.”