What a $3 Million Hearthland Gift Pays For at Sundance Institute, and What It Leaves Open

Sundance Institute announced on Oct. 22, 2026 a $3 million multiyear gift from The Hearthland Foundation, which was founded by Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg. The Institute called it one of the largest contributions in its history.

The money will strengthen the Feature Film Program, support the return of the Directors Lab to Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, and increase fellowships and direct, unrestricted grants to independent artists. The release does not say how the $3 million is divided among those three uses.

Three Channels for One Gift

The release lists three areas. The first is the Feature Film Program, which the gift is meant to strengthen. The second is the Directors Lab, which the Institute says will return to its historic home at Sundance Mountain Resort. The third is a set of fellowships and direct grants to artists.

The release describes the grants as direct and unrestricted. It does not give the number of awards or their size.

Michelle Satter, founding senior director of artist programs at the Institute, says the support will fund the Directors Lab's return and artist granting. The release says the lab will offer a creative sanctuary, mentorship and resources from development through audience engagement.

Rachel Levin, president of philanthropy at The Hearthland Foundation, says artists help people see what is, imagine what could be and understand one another. She also hopes the gift will encourage others to support Sundance's mission.

David Linde, chief executive of Sundance Institute, describes the gift as a vote of confidence in independent artists and says it ensures support for artists at every stage of the creative process.

For readers who follow film financing, the release shows a foundation founded by Spielberg and Capshaw putting multiyear money into an institution's programs and individual artists. It does not describe support for a single production.

What the Directors Lab Move Means

The Directors Lab ran June 9–24, 2026 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, according to a Sundance Institute blog post reviewing its 2026 summer labs. The same post says the Institute will move back next year to Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah.

A Park Record article dated March 17, 2026 says the lab moved to the Stanley Hotel in 2024 amid construction at the resort. It also says the lab will return to Sundance Mountain Resort in 2027. The release itself gives no year.

The Park Record article's headline reports that the film festival is moving to Boulder, and the article places that move in 2027. The Institute's blog also names Boulder, Colorado, as its future location. The Park Record says the Screenwriters Lab will continue to be held at Sundance Mountain Resort, while the blog says its June 29–July 2 Screenwriters Lab was online.

The lab's return is the only element of the gift tied to a specific location.

The 2026 Lab Calendar Around the Gift

The blog lists the Institute's other 2026 labs. The Native Lab ran April 6–11 at Hotel Santa Fe in New Mexico. The Episodic Lab ran May 15–20 at Dunaway Gardens in Georgia. The Ignite Lab ran June 14–19 at MASSMoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts.

The Documentary Edit Intensive ran June 21–26 at Francis Ford Coppola's All-Movie Hotel in Peachtree City, Georgia. The Producers Labs ran July 13–25 at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, and the Trans Possibilities Intensive ran July 27–29.

Together, the 2026 labs whose locations the blog names spanned New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts and Wyoming. The release does not connect the gift to any of them.

What Has Not Been Announced

The release gives no dates for the Directors Lab's return, only that the lab will move back to Sundance Mountain Resort. The release gives no split of the $3 million.

The release calls the commitment multiyear without stating its length or payment schedule. It gives no annual amounts either.

The release gives no opening date for new fellowship or grant applications. The release also gives no dollar figures for the fellowships or the direct grants.

The 2027 year for the Directors Lab's return comes from the Park Record, while the Institute's blog says only that the move comes next year.