Still from Catching the Sun, a new film by director Shalini Kantayya
Rauschenberg Foundation announces collaboration with Sundance Institute
We are excited to announce a new initiative developed in collaboration with Sundance Institute that will support films and emerging media projects that tackle one of the most critical issues of our time - climate change and the urgent need for action. This initiative will identify and fund the creation of four projects, which focus on stories that address climate change with the goal of inspiring action. As part of this joint initiative, filmmakers and climate change experts will have the opportunity to come together for a Climate Change Lab in 2017 at the Rauschenberg Residency on Captiva Island.
This collaboration between the Foundation and Sundance brings together two organizations with deep connections to the environment. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive.
Risë Wilson, our Director of Philanthropy, said, “Sundance has a long history of nurturing new works of the highest caliber and giving them global reach. This commitment to artistic excellence, combined with an equally held concern for environmental sustainability shared by our founders makes this a natural partnership.”
The first project in this series, the documentary Catching the Sun, will premiere on Netflix on April 22, the 46th annual Earth Day. Telling the stories of an unlikely group of workers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China, it brings attention to the global race to lead the clean energy future. The Foundation and Sundance Institute will also support the film’s public education campaign, which seeks to empower local communities across the country with the tools to advocate for energy efficiency.