Sundance Institute is laying off 11 staffers – just over 6% of its workforce – reflecting ongoing Hollywood restructures in an economic climate that brings particular challenges to non-profits.
The lay-offs, which impact all departments and do not affect Sundance London (July 6-9), come as the organisation focuses on building a sustainable operation and preserving its core work and prioritising artistic collaborators.
In addition to the 11 staffers, who were notified today, the Institute said one employee is transitioning to a reduced work schedule and decisions have been made relating to seasonal labour requests.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente notified staff in a memo on Wednesday, writing: “We entered FY23 with a deficit, and it has gotten more expensive to run the Institute due to rising costs from inflation, a drop in our earned revenue, and a more challenging fundraising climate.
Vicente added that the lay-offs resulted from a “rigorous” review by the Institute to identify a way forward.
She continued, “We have a strong mission, impactful and life-changing programs for artists, and a community focused on discovering and supporting artists – artists who help change culture, entertain, and move us. As you know, we are working on a 3-5 year strategic plan focused on refreshing the Institute’s priorities, business model, and operations; today’s organizational changes work in concert with this.”
In recent years the Institute has continued to support marginalised filmmakers, increased the size of grants such as its documentary fund, and maintained programming and courses on digital storytelling and learning platform Sundance Collab.
In the past several years Sundance Film Festival pivoted to an online-only and then hybrid festival during Covid. This year’s event saw a return by attendees as the pandemic receded, although there were fewer marquee sales than in pre-pandemic years, which some observers attributed to a challenged distribution sector.
Earlier this month the Institute announced it had received the largest endowment gift in its history in the form of a $4m gift to its Indigenous Program from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.
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