We are honored to share the newest cohort of sixteen grantees supported by the Michael Latt Legacy Fund, in its third year of grant making to the next generation of storytellers and change-makers.
Each of these artists, filmmakers, and community organizations embody the spirit of what Michael stood for—storytelling as a force for justice, creativity as a tool for connection, and community as the foundation for lasting change.
We invite you to learn more about each of the grantees and join us in celebrating their work.
Artists & Organizations
SoLa Foundation / Art in Action
Expanding on Sola’s mission to end intergenerational poverty through education and community development, the organization is partnering for the second year with the Michael Latt Legacy Fund, to empower young artists in South Los Angeles. Exploring the intersection of art and activism, the students will engage in workshops with guest speakers and mentors while developing community centered projects. @thesolafoundation
Protect the Sacred
Led by Allie Redhorse Young, Protect the Sacred educates and empowers the next generation of leaders and allies to use transformative storytelling and community building to strengthen Indigenous sovereignty and protect Indigenous elders, languages, and medicine ways. With a focus on youth programming, the organization serves to strengthen community connection by using storytelling, sports and cultural expression as pathways for participation and belonging.
@protectsacred
Jon Boogz / Stories Are Living Things
S.A.L.T. is an immersive storytelling performance and participatory community exhibition that explores how body movement, language, and narratives shape our brains, bodies and relationships. The Remedy in the Rhythm Impact Campaign presents a series of grassroots screenings of the film accompanied by somatic healing workshops. @jonboogz
“I had the privilege of being great friends with Michael. We forged a strong bond… I shared my dreams, goals, and aspirations with him, and we often talked about the future…. Michael was someone I envisioned working with for the rest of my life. We both believed deeply in the transformative power of art, especially art that uplifts and empowers communities, particularly communities of color. I love and miss my brother.”‘
Artists Fellowships
Panavision Package
For three years, Panavision has provided a camera package and educational resources for an underrepresented filmmaker making their first feature film. This year the award has been gifted to Leo Aguirre. For his debut feature, Verano, which was supported by the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Labs. Verano tells the story of an unruly teenager whose plans for a carefree summer are unexpectedly disrupted when his parents welcome an adolescent asylum seeker from Central America into their home. Forced to share more than just a bedroom, the two teens navigate cultural divides, personal struggles, and the realities of displacement, ultimately discovering the transformative power of empathy, resilience, and human connection.
@leoaguirre @panavisionofficial
Michael Latt Marketing Impact Grant in partnership with Spark Features
For three years, the Michael Latt Legacy Fund / Spark Feature Marketing Impact Grant will support the first feature directed by a bold new artist that will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. This year, the partnership selected the film The Friend’s House is Here, directed by Maryam Ataei and Hossein Keshavarz. Ataei and Keshavarz made their festival directorial debut at Sundance exploring artistic practice and community in contemporary Iran. The film will be distributed by Greenwich Entertainment and open in the fall 2026. @spark_features @maryam.ataei @hossein.k.arshadi
Michael Latt Legacy / Further Adventures Fellowship
We are thrilled to announce the inaugural recipients of the Michael Latt Legacy / Further Adventures Fellowship for Visionary Co-Directors: Kasey Elise Walker and Andrea Ellsworth for their Sundance Institute-supported feature, Too Many Hoops. Established in partnership with Further Adventures, the Fellowship will provide an annual grant to exceptional first-time feature directors whose work reflects Michael Latt’s unwavering belief in the power of storytelling to create empathy, inspire change, and build community. Designed as a critical “soft prep” grant, the Fellowship will help emerging filmmakers bridge the gap between development and production, providing essential support at one of the most pivotal moments in bringing a first feature to life.
Kasey and Andrea embody the bold creative spirit and collaborative vision that Michael championed throughout his life. Their work is fearless, deeply human, and rooted in authentic voices that challenge, entertain, and inspire.
Short Film and Advocacy Projects
Creativity Documentary Short
A documentary short, co-directed by Chiké Okonkwo and Chris Advansun with producer Fiona Hardingham, on the human impulse to create and how creative expression becomes a pathway to connection, healing and transformation. The doc will feature Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Common and Glenn Kaino, approaching the concept of creativity as a birthright, not a privilege.
@chike_okonkwo @advanson
Jarrett Harper / Better Days
“I Got My Brother” is an award winning short film exploring the foster care to prison pipeline through the eyes of formerly incarcerated Jarrett Harper and his younger brother Baylon.
The film serves as a significant opportunity to support Harper’s advocacy and policy work for foster youth at a local and national level. Harper founded the organization Better Days to amplify foster youth through resilience, hope and love.
@jarrettharpersb9 @better.days.foundation
Community & Collaboration
Represent Justice
Represent Justice uses the power of storytelling to engage audiences in reimaging the legal system and creating real demand for change. Represent Justice partners with Sundance Collab – The Sundance Institute’s Community and Educational Online Platform – to support Ambassadors as emerging filmmakers learning about the art and craft of storytelling.
@werepjustice
Sundance Collab/Michael Latt Artist Residency
The Sundance Collab residency supports early-career, underrepresented storytellers whose work is rooted in creative, cultural and social impact. The 2026 cohort includes documentary fellows Amin Pakparvar and Sara Chishti, writer-directors Gabby Beans, Lydia Matata and Rippin Sindher and film/TV writer fellows Marisa Francis and Pedro Eiras. They are all receiving access to courses, masterclasses, mentors and change-making learning opportunities.
Harness
Harness focuses on advocacy, culture, change, capacity building, inner resilience and strategic partnerships with Hollywood leaders, mobilizing collective power for a more just future. The Harness Practitioner in Residency Program created in partnership with the Legacy Fund, has provided a platform for activists and artists to strengthen their work in community advocacy. @iwillharness
Bold Futures
Get Lit / Creative Career Lab
Get Lit ensures young people gain the literacy skills, confidence, and opportunities to shape their own stories and futures. Their Career Lab is a development program to prepare and help place California young adults in dream jobs via an integrated model that combines rigorous literary study and creative expression. This represents a key pillar of Get Lit’s impact on workforce for youth program through spoken word and media. @getlitpoet
Howard University
The Howard University Michael Latt Legacy Fellowship will support a full scholarship for a Howard University student who demonstrates a strong commitment to social justice and bold, innovative storytelling. The year-long Fellowship will provide opportunities for creative guidance in fiction and documentary storytelling through a package of educational opportunities on Sundance Collab, a Sundance Film Festival experience and a six-month mentorship.
The Young Women’s Freedom Center / Freedom Conversations
Focused on the critical work of serving systems-involved young women, girls, and gender-expansive youth in Los Angeles County, YWFC will provide gender-specific and trauma-informed services that works to heal youth and to support them in their leadership development. Freedom Conversations: Shifting the Narrative about Power, Opportunity, and Freedom will support Young Women’s Freedom Center’s storytelling and public education initiative. @young_women_free
Venice Arts / Center for Creative Workforce Equity
Venice Arts is a center for media and imagination, transforming lives of low income youth in Los Angeles through photography and film education. The organization uses participatory storytelling practices to amplify voices of underrepresented communities. Their Media Arts Education program will put creativity, art making, and art learning at the center of youth development and their Center for Creative Workforce Equity serves as the umbrella for a critical career pathways programs including digital storytelling and pre-apprenticeship training. @venicearts
Deon Jones / American Rave
A cultural revival, American Rave has been set in several cities across the South, designed to reconnect the tradition of collective gathering through music, art and social discourse. Creating sites as cultural hubs and creative sanctuaries, audiences will be called to action in light of our collective cultural and civic responsibilities. Through music, discourse and joy, the artist asks what it means to be American. @deontjones
| “Grants made through the Michael Latt Legacy Fund affirm what Michael believed: that leading with love is something we practice through action. Dedicating our granting to support extraordinary organizations, community leaders and storytellers ensures that his vision continues through the work of people who are changing lives every day.”– Michelle Satter and David Latt, founders Michael Latt Legacy Fund |
