Television
The Partnership Will Support Filmmakers Worldwide Through Original Short Films Inspired by Merrells It Starts Outside Global Brand Platform
ROCKFORD, Mich.– WEBWIRE — Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Merrellthe worldwide leader in outside shoes, and Sundance Collab, the Sundance Institutes digital knowing platform for filmmakers worldwide, revealed a three-year worldwide storytelling collaboration, bringing Merrells worldwide brand name platform, It Starts Outside, to life through initial social-first movies developed by filmmakers worldwide.
Sundance Collab is a best partner for It Starts Outside due to the fact that it unites first-rate filmmakers from various backgrounds, each with an unique method of informing stories, stated Richard McLeod, Chief Marketing Officer at Merrell. When we presented It Starts Outside previously this year, we shared our belief that even the most basic minutes outdoors can stimulate something significant. Through this collaboration, filmmakers from worldwide will bring that belief to life through human interest stories that reveal what the exterior can open in us, how it links us and the lots of methods it can form our lives.
Merrell and Sundance Collab Embark on Three-Year Creative Storytelling Program
Merrell and Sundance Collab initially came together in June 2026 to introduce the Merrell Brand-Supported Storytelling Program ( It Starts Outside welcoming filmmakers from around the globe to send initial ideas motivated by the transformative power of stepping outdoors.
More than 1,200 filmmakers from 90 nations sent propositions. Applications were examined by a committee of Merrell executives, professional athletes, creatives and movie specialists, with 6 filmmakers eventually chosen to bring their concepts to life.
Each picked filmmaker will get $20,000 in assistance from Merrell to produce an initial 60- to 90-second social-first movie, along with mentorship, education, assistance and feedback throughout a three-month production program with Sundance Collab.
At Sundance Collab, our objective is to promote independent writers from every corner of the world, and this collaboration with Merrell bridges an important area for emerging artists. This effort provides filmmakers an uncommon chance to not just find out the principles of brand-supported storytelling and find brand-new profession paths as directors, however to really get the financing and mentorship required to make and launch their movies with the assistance of a first-rate brand name like Merrell, stated Patty West, Director, Sundance Collab. Sundance Institute has actually constantly enjoyed supporting writers as they unload the power, connection, and individual change that includes stepping outdoors, and we eagerly anticipate seeing this worldwide associate grow.
The 6 filmmakers chosen for the inaugural program are Sharon Liese, Ciril Jazbec, Jean Luke Miraflore, Laura Basil Duncan, Gabriella Canal and Quinne Larsen.
Their movies will check out the significance of It Starts Outside through definitely individual viewpoints, showing that there is no single meaning of the outdoors, or of what it can open, from connection and imagination to individual improvement.
Merrell Partners with the 2027 Sundance Film Festival
As part of the collaboration, the program will culminate at the 2027 Sundance Film Festival, where these 6 filmmakers will sign up with Merrell for a live panel checking out the crossway of movie and the outdoors, and the function both can play in motivating connection, imagination and individual development.
The Festival will likewise mark Merrells launching as the Official Footwear Partner of the 2027 Sundance Film Festival, extending the relationship beyond the storytelling program and into among the worlds most prominent neighborhoods of independent writers and developers.
Together, the three-year collaboration shows Merrells aspiration to expand the discussion around the outdoors and produce area for brand-new voices, point of views and stories, enhancing the belief at the heart of It Starts Outside : often the primary step outside can be the start of something much larger.
To read more about Merrells collaboration with Sundance Collab, see merrell.com/it-starts-outside
About Merrell:
Merrell exists to share the basic power of being outdoors and is dedicated to constructing an inclusive and more sustainable environment for future generations to take pleasure in. As the international leader in outside active shoes with the Moab treking boot and Jungle Moc, Merrell is concentrated on combining efficiency, styling, and convenience to empower all individuals to check out the outdoors with confidence. The brand name was called Footwear News 2022 Brand of the Year for promoting a more varied vision of the outdoors. Check out Merrell.com or follow us on social @MerrellMerrell is a department of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWWamong the worlds leading online marketers and licensors of top quality casual, active way of life, work, outside sport, athletic, kids, and consistent shoes and garments.
About Sundance Institute:
As a champ and manager of independent stories, the not-for-profit Sundance Institute supplies and maintains the area for artists throughout storytelling media to develop and grow. Established in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institutes signature laboratories, approving, and mentorship programs, committed to establishing brand-new work, happen throughout the year in the U.S. and worldwide. Sundance Collaba digital neighborhood platform, brings an international mate of working artists together to gain from Sundance Institute consultants and get in touch with each other in an innovative area, establishing and sharing operate in development. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs link audiences and artists to spark originalities, find initial voices, and develop a neighborhood committed to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have actually supported such tasks as Monsters of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Ddi (弟弟), Drunktowns Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, Fruitvale Station, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, RBG, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Swiss Army Man, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Wont You Be My Neighbor?and Zola. Through year-round artist programs, the Institute likewise supported the early professions of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Nia DaCosta, Ryan Coogler, The Daniels, Robert Eggers, Rick Famuyiwa, David Gordon Green, Sterlin Harjo, Marielle Heller, Miranda July, Nikyatu Jusu, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Boots Riley, A.V. Rockwell, Ira Sachs, Walter Salles, Quentin Tarantino, Erica Tremblay, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chlo Zhao. Assistance Sundance Institute in our dedication to uplifting vibrant artists and effective storytelling internationally by making a contribution at sundance.org/donateSign Up With Sundance Institute on FacebookInstagramTikTokYouTubeXand Bluesky
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