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Sundance Institute fundraising gala,


Cynthia Erivo attends the Celebrating Sundance Institute Gala on Day Two of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. | Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock.

Sundance Institute Gala Celebrates Storytelling Luminaries and Oscar Nominees

Last night, the Sundance Institute hosted its annual fundraising gala, Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV, at the newly opened Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. The event brought together filmmakers, industry leaders, and supporters of independent cinema to honor some of the industry's most creative minds and raise funds for the Institute's year-round artist development programs.

Among the evening’s honorees were newly-minted Oscar nominees James Mangold, Cynthia Erivo, and Sugarcane documentary filmmakers Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat, celebrated for their contributions to storytelling and cinema.

Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs at Sundance Institute, was honored for her four decades of mentorship. Introduced by Marielle Heller and Glenn Close, Satter's work has fostered the careers of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Chloé Zhao, and Ryan Coogler. Reflecting on her career, Satter noted, “Through their creative brilliance and courage to spark vital conversations, these stories have become a powerful force for empathy, understanding, advocacy, and yes, entertainment.”

Writer-Director-Producer James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted, A Complete Unknown) received the Trailblazer Award, presented by Joel Edgerton and Edward Norton. Mangold spoke about the importance of sincerity in cinema: “In this time of irony and snark, we need sincerity and earnestness more than ever... I hope my work is remembered for that, and I am sure it’s how Sundance will be.”

Cynthia Erivo, recognized with the Visionary Award, delivered an emotional speech upon receiving the honor from Olivia Colman: “So many of us artists only have the drive of a wish or a dream to point us in the right direction... If that is what makes me a visionary, then I have been, and am surrounded by visionaries constantly.”

The Vanguard Awards Presented by Acura highlighted bold new voices in fiction and non-fiction filmmaking. Sean Wang, writer-director of Dìdi (弟弟), and Sugarcane co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, were celebrated for their boundary-pushing work. Wang reflected on his time at Sundance Labs, saying, “The labs provided me with guidance and taught me to trust my instincts, putting my own experiences into my work.”

Kassie and NoiseCat expressed gratitude for Sundance’s support: “The Sundance documentary fund gave us one of our first grants. The Catalyst Lab helped us raise the rest, and the festival launched our film.”

The gala featured performances by the Red Spirit Singers and Grammy and Tony Award-winner Sara Bareilles, who delivered soulful renditions of songs from Waitress. Attendees included Glenn Close, Tessa Thompson, Lena Waithe, Jon Hamm, and Boots Riley.

The evening set the stage for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, running January 23–February 2 in Utah, with select films available online from January 30–February 2. The Festival continues to be a global platform for fresh voices in storytelling.

For more on Sundance Institute's programs and artist support initiatives, visit sundance.org and follow on social media: #SundanceGala #IndependentFilm #SundanceFilmFestival

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