In 1979, Robert Redford launched the Sundance Institute to develop independent films as an alternative to big-budget blockbusters. Three years later, the National Endowment For the Arts granted Sundance $25,000 to launch the initial four-week filmmaker workshop.

The NEA has supported the Sundance Institute ever since, most recently giving the organization a grant of $100,000 for 2017. This is only a small portion of the NEA's $148 million budget, which also gives to thousands of other organizations. And this overall NEA budget amounts for a minuscule fraction of the federal government spending (less than a single F-22 Fighter Jet). But this support might vanish, as President Trump's proposed budget would slash funding to the NEA.

"Sundance Institute vigorously supports the National Endowment for the Arts, and calls upon our country's leadership to do the same," the Sundance Institute said in a statement to Esquire. "NEA support played a crucial role in launching Sundance Institute in 1981 and has helped thousands of museums, arts programs and organizations. The NEA plays a critical role in building a culture that values artists and understands the important economic benefits of investing in the arts. Defunding the Endowment undermines our national artistic heritage, and handicaps our future potential."

This support from the federal government has directly resulted in some of the finest art produced in this country. And specifically, some of today's most iconic filmmakers worked on their early projects in Sundance Institute programs supported by NEA grants. Here's a look at some of the biggest names to come out of Sundance's programs in the last two decades.

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Paul Thomas Anderson

In 1993, Paul Thomas Anderson directed and wrote his first film, Sydney, through the Sundance Institute Directors Lab. This film was later retitled Hard Eight, which launched Anderson's career in film—over the course of which he has earned six Oscar nominations.

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Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino participated in the Sundance Directors Lab in 1991 after selling his first script, Natural Born Killers. It was through the lab that he honed his directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs—which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to career-making buzz (even if it didn't gain distribution from Miramax until months later at Cannes). Considered a milestone in independent filmmaking, Tarantino followed up his debut with his masterpiece, Pulp Fiction, in 1994.

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Wes Anderson

Originally a 13-minute short film, which premiered at the Festival in 1993, Anderson developed his debut Bottle Rocket into a feature-length movie through the support of the Institute's Screenwriters Lab. His latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel, was nominated for nine Academy Awards in 2015.

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Darren Aronofsky

His first film, Pi won Aronofsky the Director's Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Aronofsky developed his next project, Requiem for a Dream, through Sundance programs. Since then he's gone on to make some of the most critically acclaimed films of the 21st century, including Black Swan and The Wrestler.

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Ryan Coogler

In 2012, Coogler joined the Sundance Institute to develop the screenplay for Fruitvale Station. The following year, Fruitvale won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance. Released in 2013, the film won dozens of awards and earned Coogler cred in Hollywood. He went on to direct Creed in 2015 and has signed on to direct the Marvel film Black Panther.

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Cary Fukunaga

Fukunaga developed Sin Nombre, his award-winning debut, at the 2006 Directors Lab. The film premiered at the festival in 2009, earning him the Directing award. He's since directed Jane Eyre, Beasts of No Nation, and the first season of True Detective, for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

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Kimberly Peirce

During the 1997 Directors Lab, Peirce wrote and directed her debut film Boys Don't Cry, which she began writing in the mid-'90s and attracted notable indie producer Christine Vachon. Portions of the film, then titled Take It Like a Man, premiered at the festival in 1999 before receiving a limited release later that year. Opening to critical acclaim, Boys Don't Cry notably earned its lead Hilary Swank her first Oscar for Best Actress.

Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

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