Celebrate Sundance Institute: A Festival Gala
Event Details
It’s time to honor our long artistic legacy and celebrate Sundance Institute’s bright future — and you’re invited!
Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV, co-chaired by Ebs Burnough and Pat Mitchell, will celebrate Michelle Satter, Sundance Institute’s Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs, for her unparalleled commitment to nurturing and supporting artists through the Sundance Labs for the past four decades. Sundance Labs and Festival alum James Mangold, writer-director of A Complete Unknown, will be honored with the Trailblazer Award in recognition of his unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of cinema. Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award–winner and two-time Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo, currently starring as Elphaba in Universal Pictures’ Wicked, will be honored with the Visionary Award in recognition of her uncompromising work and notable contributions to the entertainment industry.The annual Vanguard Awards Presented by Acura will be awarded to Sean Wang, writer-director of Dìdi (弟弟), and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, co-directors of Sugarcane, who premiered their films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Your support, this evening and beyond, directly contributes to Sundance Institute’s year-round work enabling artists to bring their stories to life. Through these ongoing grants, mentorships, and other critical resources, the work that Michelle has built and championed will continue for decades to come.
Since 1981, the nonprofit Sundance Institute, founded by Robert Redford, has been dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through our programs, we seek to uplift, support, and inspire independent film and media artists from around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. Be a part of the night’s magic all while helping support the Institute’s mission to cultivate the next generation of filmmakers.
We hope to see you at our gala, Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV, at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, in Park City, Utah, starting at 6:30 p.m. MT with a cocktail reception. The dinner and program will begin at 8 p.m. MT.
Due to popular demand, Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV is sold out. Sorry we missed you for the 2025 Festival gala. If you would like to make a donation to Sundance Institute, please use the button below. Contact benefitevent@sundance.org with any questions.
If you are unable to attend the event, please consider making a general contribution to Sundance Institute which directly supports independent artists through resources such as labs, grants, and fellowships. Please reach out to benefitevent@sundance.org with any questions.
Still deciding on lodging for your stay during the 2025 Festival? The venue for this gala, Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, is offering 15% off all bookings.
Honorees
Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award
With A Complete Unknown James Mangold continues the tradition of filmmakers who can project their own vision and style onto a range of genres, uniting his films with constant humanist themes, intimate performances, and striking staging and imagery. Mangold’s diverse award-winning writing and directing work includes Heavy, Cop Land, Girl, Interrupted, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Best Adapted Screenplay nominee Logan, and Best Picture nominee Ford v. Ferrari. Over his career, Mangold has collaborated with legendary actors such as Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Vanessa Redgrave, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Reese Witherspoon (Oscar winner for Walk the Line), Joaquin Phoenix (Oscar nominee for Walk the Line), Meg Ryan, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie (Oscar winner for Girl, Interrupted), Winona Ryder, and Harrison Ford.
Sundance Institute Visionary Award
Cynthia Erivo is a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award–winning actress, singer, author, and producer, as well as an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG nominee. Since bursting onto the West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple, she has taken the world by storm. Erivo stars as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Universal’s record-breaking film adaptation of the hit musical Wicked from director Jon M. Chu. Erivo has received widespread critical acclaim and rave reviews for her performance as Elphaba. Erivo recently wrapped production on the second season of Poker Face, Peacock’s critically acclaimed series from creator Rian Johnson starring Natasha Lyonne. Erivo will guest star in season two alongside BJ Novak and Margo Martindale. She can recently be seen starring in Disney+’s Pinocchio as the Blue Fairy opposite Tom Hanks, Keegan Michael Key and Luke Evans, and Luther where she starred alongside Idris Elba and Andy Serkis in the feature film installment, which continues the story of the acclaimed BBC crime series. Erivo can currently be seen starring in Drift, which Erivo produces with her production company Edith’s Daughter. Drift follows a young Liberian refugee named Jacqueline (Erivo) who has barely escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and opened to rave reviews. Erivo also wrote and recorded an original song for the film entitled “It Would Be.”
A Tribute to Michelle Satter
Michelle Satter
Photo Credit: The Academy / Robert Trachtenberg
Founding Senior Director, Artist Programs
Michelle Satter is the Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs at the Sundance Institute. As a key executive of the Leadership Team, Satter has been one of the chief architects of the Institute’s programs since 1981 and has created and leads the programs supporting scripted storytelling. Through the Sundance signature Labs, granting and in-depth support, the programs have launched many of the groundbreaking and award-winning filmmakers of the past 40 years. Additionally, Satter expanded the Institute’s international initiatives and she founded Sundance Collab, a global digital storytelling community and learning platform. In recent years, Satter has been recognized with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Women in Film Business Leadership Award, and the ACLU Bill of Rights Award.
Sundance Institute Vanguard Awards
presented by Acura
The annual Sundance Institute Vanguard Awards, presented by Acura, will be given during the evening to honor artists whose work highlights the art of storytelling and creative independence in both nonfiction and fiction. The Sundance Institute Vanguard Award for nonfiction will be presented to Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, directors of Sugarcane (2024 Sundance Film Festival), and the Sundance Institute Vanguard Award for fiction will go to Sean Wang, director of Dìdi (弟弟) (2024 Sundance Film Festival). NoiseCat, Kassie, and Wang join the likes of past honorees such as Celine Song, Maite Alberdi, W. Kamau Bell, Nikyatu Jusu, Ryan Coogler, Siân Heder, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Radha Blank, Lulu Wang, Dee Rees, Damien Chazelle, Marielle Heller, Benh Zeitlin, Boots Riley, and many more.
Tables and Tickets
Champion Table - $50,000
($47,000 is a charitable contribution)
DETAILS
- One table for 10 guests with placement toward the front of the room for the dinner and program
- Logo (or Line Listing if no logo available) Recognition in the following locations:
- Event promotional emails distributed to over 5,000 Sundance supporters
- Event webpage on Sundance.org
- On-screen recognition
- On-site digital program
Advocate Table - $25,000
($22,000 is a charitable contribution)
DETAILS
- One table for 10 guests for the dinner and program
- Line Listing Recognition in the following locations:
- Event promotional emails distributed to over 5,000 Sundance supporters
- Event webpage on Sundance.org
- On-screen recognition
- On-site digital program
Patron Pair Package - $4,000
($3,400 is a charitable contribution)
DETAILS
- Two tickets for the dinner and program
- Line Listing Recognition in the following locations:
- Event webpage on Sundance.org
- On-site digital program
Individual Ticket - $1,750
($1,450 is a charitable contribution)
DETAILS
- One ticket for the dinner and program
- Line Listing Recognition in the on-site digital program
Due to popular demand, Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV is sold out. Sorry we missed you for the 2025 Festival gala. If you would like to make a donation to Sundance Institute, please use the button below. Contact benefitevent@sundance.org with any questions.
Event Sponsorship Opportunities
For information on event sponsorships, please contact corporategiving@sundance.org
If you are unable to attend the event, please consider making a general contribution to Sundance Institute which directly supports independent artists through resources such as labs, grants, and fellowships. Please reach out to benefitevent@sundance.org with any questions.
Presenting Sponsor
Vanguard Award Sponsor
Supporting Sponsor
Event Chairs:
Ebs Burnough and Pat Mitchell
Thank you to our Host Committee,
Ebs Burnough Event Co-Chair
Pat Mitchell Event Co-Chair
Andrew Ahn
Paul Thomas Anderson
Darren Aronofsky
Miguel Arteta
Ritesh Batra
Radha Blank
Anna Boden
Patricia Cardoso
Lisa Cholodenko
Ryan Coogler
Cherien Dabis
Nia DaCosta
Mark Duplass
Sean Durkin
Ava DuVernay
Robert Eggers
Chris Eyre
Rick Famuyiwa
Ryan Fleck
Scott Frank
Sydney Freeland
Rashad Frett
Cary Fukunaga
Rodrigo Garcia
Debra Granik
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Sterlin Harjo
Ed Harris
Sian Heder
Marielle Heller
Nicole Holofcener
Tamara Jenkins
Eliza Hittman
Miranda July
Nikyatu Jusu
Nicole Kassel
Rory Kennedy
Braden King
Daniel Kwan
Kasi Lemmons
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
David Lowery
Joshua Marston
Christopher McQuarrie
John Cameron Mitchell
Gregory Nava
Jessie Nelson
Pete Nicks
Kimberly Peirce
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Dee Rees
A.V. Rockwell
Howard Rodman
Ira Sachs
Walter Salles
Daniel Scheinert
Tessa Thompson
Charlotte Wells
Roger Ross Williams
Benh Zeitlin
Chloe Zhao
Champion tables
Acton Family Giving
Ebs Burnough and Pierre Lagrange
Nina and David Fialkow
Jeanne Donovan Fisher
Madison Wells
Jim and Susan Swartz
Advocate Tables
Blumhouse
IMDbPro
Impact Partners
Margo Jacobs
K Period Media
Ann Lewnes
THE LIBRARIANS
Pat Mitchell
Bill Plapinger and Cassie Murray
Zoltana Films
Patron Pair Packages
Cherien Dabis
Jonathan Gardner
Hidden Empire
Simbelle Productions
Laura Turner Seydel
Janice Ugaki
Alexa M. Whiteside, Esq.
Official Providers
The Dufour Collaborative
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley
About Your Contribution
The Sundance Film Festival is one of the many programs offered by the nonprofit Sundance Institute. Your ticket purchase to the Sundance Film Festival’s Celebrating Sundance Institute presented by Google TV includes a contribution to Sundance Institute and directly supports independent artists through resources such as labs, grants, and fellowships. Working to advance the impact of artists and their work in society while introducing audiences to their new work, the Institute seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and media artists from the United States and around the world. Through all of its activities, the Institute fosters originality, authenticity, and diversity in storytelling.
Gifts to Sundance Institute are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Contact Information
To reserve your tickets or request additional information, please contact us at (424) 302-5160 or benefitevent@sundance.org
Accessibility and Community Agreement
The Sundance Institute is committed to ensuring our events are as accessible as possible for everyone who attends. If any accommodation would support your full participation in this event, please contact accessibility@sundance.org to describe your specific request. Every effort will be made to accommodate advance requests; requests made within seven days of the event may not be guaranteed.
In alignment with our Community Agreement, we ask you to be intentional with your words (hateful speech or actions will not be tolerated) and be respectful of moderators, artists, and other attendees. See our full Community Agreement to read more or to learn how to report violations. We sincerely thank you for helping us create an inclusive, welcoming environment for all.