Google.org backs Sundance push to put AI literacy in filmmakers’ hands

Google.org is providing $2m to the Sundance Institute to help build a community-led ecosystem for artificial intelligence education in film, as creative industries grapple with how new tools should be learned, governed and used.

In a statement, Google.org said the funding is intended to bridge an AI skills gap by training more than 100,000 artists in foundational AI skills. The initiative sits within its AI Opportunity Fund, which focuses on widening access to AI learning beyond technical roles and into sectors where creative work and livelihoods are at stake.

For a lay audience, AI literacy in this context is not about teaching filmmakers to code. It is about helping them understand what AI tools can and cannot do, how to use them responsibly in writing, editing and visual effects, and how to retain creative control when algorithms are part of the workflow.

The Sundance Institute will use the funding to establish an AI Literacy Alliance alongside The Gotham and Film Independent. According to Google.org, the alliance is intended to support artist communities while developing shared values and ethical guidelines that protect human creativity as AI tools become more common.

As part of the programme, the partners will develop a free online curriculum aimed at filmmakers at different stages of their careers. Scholarships will also be offered for Google courses such as AI Essentials, which introduce non-technical users to core concepts like generative models, responsible use and practical applications.

Google said the grant builds on a year of collaboration with filmmakers that has already influenced how its creative tools are designed. One example is Flow, a platform for experimenting with AI-assisted storytelling, and Flow Sessions, which allow artists to test tools hands-on and provide feedback. These sessions are intended to demystify AI by putting it directly into creative practice rather than presenting it as an abstract technology.

The company also highlighted the AI on Screen short film programme, developed with Range Media Partners. The first film from the programme, Sweetwater, is cited as an example of how filmmakers can explore AI-assisted techniques within a controlled, artist-led framework.

Another collaboration referenced is with Primordial Soup, the studio founded by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. Work on the film Ancestra prompted technical developments at Google, including personalised video and motion-matching tools. For a lay reader, motion matching refers to aligning movement generated by AI with human performance, helping maintain continuity and intent rather than replacing it.

Google said it will showcase some of this work in Park City, presenting a Flow deep dive session and previewing Dear Upstairs Neighbors. The demonstration will feature custom models developed by Google DeepMind and tools designed to give artists more granular creative control, rather than fully automated outputs.

The emphasis on control is central to the initiative’s messaging. Concerns about AI in film often centre on authorship, consent and the use of training data. By pairing education with ethics and community standards, the partners are attempting to address those fears directly, rather than treating AI as an inevitable replacement for human labour.

For Sundance, the project aligns with its long-standing role as a convenor for independent filmmakers navigating industry change. For Google.org, it extends a strategy of funding skills programmes that aim to shape how AI is adopted, not just who has access to it.

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Whether the effort succeeds will depend on uptake and trust. Training 100,000 artists is ambitious, but the deeper challenge is cultural: convincing creators that AI tools can be learned on their own terms, without eroding originality or ownership.

By anchoring the initiative in film communities and offering free, open resources, the partners are betting that education, rather than restriction, is the best way to ensure AI serves creativity rather than displacing it.

The Recap

• Google.org gives Sundance Institute $2 million to fund AI training.
• The program aims to train over 100,000 artists in AI.
• Sundance will launch AI Literacy Alliance with The Gotham.