The Sundance Institute recognized this year’s Merata Mita and Graton Fellowship recipients during the Native Forum Celebration at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The annual gathering brings together Indigenous filmmakers, artists, and alumni during the festival to spotlight new voices and ongoing work.
Masami Kawai was named the 2026 Merata Mita Fellow. A Ryukyuan filmmaker based in Oregon, Kawai’s work often explores identity, history, and Indigenous experience, and she has previously participated in Sundance’s Directors and Screenwriters Lab. The fellowship supports an Indigenous woman-identified filmmaker developing a feature project.
The 2026 Graton Fellows are Isabella Madrigal and Tsanavi Spoonhunter. Madrigal, a writer-director and actor, is developing her first feature, expanding a story rooted in Indigenous community performance and cultural memory. Spoonhunter, a nonfiction filmmaker and journalist, is based in Northern Nevada and focuses on documentary storytelling through her independent media company, Mahebe Media.
The Native Forum Celebration took place during the festival as a moment to recognize Indigenous-led projects across Sundance programs and to acknowledge the broader creative community gathered in Park City throughout the week.


































