The UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television and the Sundance Institute have established a collaboration to develop the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers.

The five-year agreement is scheduled to begin in September. The pact combines the academic resources of UCLA with the expertise of the Sundance Institute and the international Sundance Collab community of more than 130,000 artists in 177 countries.

“This collaboration connects Sundance Collab, our global online platform for visionary creators, with UCLA’s distinguished legacy of artist development. Together, we are creating an unprecedented channel to amplify independent voices and evolve the future of storytelling and connected audience engagement,” said Michelle Satter, founding senior director of the Sundance Institute and Sundance Collab artist programs.

The Digital Hub will begin collaboration and is expected to expand to all of UCLA in 2027, providing TFT students and staff with resources to address the “hidden curriculum of film education.”

Three additional programs are also being developed, including an annual Summer Summit at UCLA; the UCLA Bridge Intensive, which presents a Sundance Film Festival experience for TFT students in Boulder, Colorado; and a jointly developed program that focuses on new technologies, creativity, justice and equity. All three programs are expected to launch throughout 2028.

“This is what it looks like when the leading independent film institution comes to the leading public film school and says, ‘Let’s build something together.’ Sundance has always been the place where independent voices are found and championed,” Celine Parreñas Shimizu, dean of TFT, said in a statement. “TFT has always been the place where those voices are forged: in the craft, in the method and in the authorship.”