While Atlanta was in the running to become the new host city of the Sundance Film Festival back in 2024, the festival ultimately went with Boulder, Co. as a replacement for Park City, Utah. But in November, Dunaway Gardens announced via press release that it would be the new home for the Sundance Institute’s Episodic Lab program, bringing a little piece of Sundance to Georgia.
For Dunaway Gardens owner Tena Clark, it felt like a full circle moment.
“The first time I ever saw this place and learned the history of it, I thought of Sundance,” Clark said. “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have Sundance here?”
Dunaway Gardens was initially founded in 1915 by Hetty Jane Dunaway, an actress who opened the land as a sort of performing arts training ground. During its heyday, the Gardens counted famous figures such as Walt Disney and Tallulah Bankhead among its guests, and housed up-and-coming entertainers such as Minnie Pearl.
Originally from Mississippi, Clark is a successful songwriter and music producer who has worked with artists like Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, and Gladys Knight. She moved from Los Angeles to Serenbe a decade ago and purchased Dunaway Gardens in January of 2022. From the beginning, she knew she wanted Sundance to be a part of the new Dunaway experience.
“I have been a big fan of Sundance for a couple of decades. I always go to the Sundance [Film] Festival, I was very well aware of the Institute. I knew so many of the people involved,” she said. “When I bought Dunaway, I started talking to them about coming here.”
Sundance hosted its first Episodic Story Lab in September and October of 2014. According to the release, the lab will take place from May 15-20 in 2026, before Dunaway Gardens fully opens to the public. Sundance fellows will workshop their pilots, pitch their series, and participate in meetings, panels, and other workshops focused on helping them advance their concepts
“We are thrilled to launch an exciting new partnership with Dunaway Gardens, which will serve as the home for our Sundance Episodic Labs beginning with the 2026 Lab, running May 15–20, and continuing for years to come,” Michelle Satter, Sundance Institute Founding Senior Director, Artist Programs, said in the release. “As a cornerstone of the Sundance Institute, our Episodic Program has provided rigorous, customized creative and strategic support to hundreds of emerging writers, helping them develop original, visionary scripted episodic pilots that have elevated their careers and made an impact in the industry.”
The Gardens are expected to fully open to the public in late 2028 or early 2029. Clark said amenities on the site will include a 40-room luxury lodge, treehouses and cottages, a spa, a screening room, an events center, and more.
Clark said the central idea for Dunaway Gardens was to create a space where art and nature meet. In her mind, the Gardens match up with Founder Robert Redford’s vision for the Sundance Institute — a safe and beautiful place where artists can join together and share their work.
“When you come out here and you walk on the stage in the amphitheatre, or you walk through the historical gardens, you feel it,” Clark said. “You feel the creative energy.”