The Sunrise House is the official Asian American and Pacific Islander House at the Sundance Film Festival. It was hosted by the Sunrise Collective, created by Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD, Gold House and The Asian American Foundation three years ago.

Like previous years, the Sunrise House presented two days of interactive programming during the festival. Park City Community Foundation Board Member Eyee Hsu participated. She said the programming highlights Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander filmmaking.

Hsu said one of the big takeaways was more films following and featuring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are starting to surface in mainstream media. She said it’s been a decades-long effort.

“I grew up with stereotypes around Asian Americans in entertainment like Long Duk Dong from ‘16 Candles,’” Hsu said. “I never had somebody that I could see on television that really could display the true stories of the Asian American experience, and I think that’s true for so many underrepresented groups.” 

But now, the Sundance Institute and other similar organizations are helping to elevate marginalized voices.

During one panel, Hsu said director Justin Lin spoke about his return to independent filmmaking. He debuted his film “Last Days” at this year’s festival. It’s his first time bringing an independent film to Sundance since 2007. In the intervening years, Lin worked on commercial projects, including television shows and the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Hsu said directors like Lin and others say independent filmmaking is dear to their hearts because they can develop more authentic stories.

“We want to get to a place where it’s not necessarily an Asian American story or a Latinx story, but it is, you know, a story of being human and that we all belong in this community,” she said. 

The Sunrise House is not the only space dedicated to underrepresented groups at Sundance. The Latinx House, Blackhouse and others serve as gathering places for various communities.

Each space plans to return to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah next year to celebrate and uplift underrepresented voices.

The Sundance Institute has not yet announced its plans for 2027 and beyond.

Along with Utah, festival leaders are considering Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati, Ohio, as potential future homes for the event.