Cara Mertes is a long time advocate for independent media artists, and an award winning filmmaker, programmer, teacher and writer whose work has been featured widely in museums, festivals, on PBS and internationally. She is currently the director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, where she is responsible for all aspects of the program, including the Documentary Fund, the Labs , and programming initiatives globally in support of contemporary-issues documentaries worldwide. The program supports up to 40 international contemporary-issue documentary projects annually with grants, creative support and other activities. The Program also provides support for documentary-based activities at the Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Independent Producer's Conference.
