In a press release sent out today, the Sundance Institute has announced the creation of a new section in the Sundance Film Festival beginning next year called NEXT. The release describes the section as “featuring six to eight films selected for their innovative and original work in low- and no-budget filmmaking.”

Capitalizing on the continued interest by filmmakers to do their films in a DIY style, the release goes on to say, “With NEXT, Festival programmers hope to provide a platform for these filmmakers to connect to audiences, industry and press while at the same time inviting the artists to be a part of an ever-evolving community of filmmakers working outside the system. Festival staffers refer to the new section with the symbol < = > which literally translates to ‘less than equals greater than’.”

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will take place on January 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Submissions are still being accepted. Click here to learn more.