Sundance Gala Sees Cynthia Erivo, James Mangold & Michelle Satter Honored

the Sundance The film festival really took off last year when The Honorees chose to fundraise tonight at the newly opened Grand Hyatt Deer Valley.

However, even with the newly minted Oscar nominees Cynthia Evo and James Mangold At home to receive the Vision Award and Trailblazer Award respectively, that was it Michelle Saterfounding director of the Sundance Institute’s Artists Program brought the ballroom full of notable people together.

Satter is recognized for its decades-long commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through Sundance Labs. As many in the room knew, and as Sater herself reported, she and her husband, David Lat, were among the thousands who lost their homes in the recent wildfires that burned Los Angeles. Horribly, Sater and Lat’s younger son Michael, an industry advocate for social justice, was shot in November 2023 at his home on the Miracle Mile.

Reading a letter from her father, Sundance board member Amy Redford Teed from a series of honorary speeches tonight for Satter, which also included warm praise from Glen close And director Marielle Heller. “Michelle, my heart is sad that I cannot be in person tonight,” correspondence from the 88-year-old Robert Redford He started. “You have been with me since the beginning of Sundance in 1981 when this organization was just an idea…You have been instrumental in shaping it into the influential entity it is today.”

With dozens of Lab graduates over the decades in attendance at the sprawling Grand Hyatt Ballroom, Sater took the stage to warm applause and tears rolling down the cheeks of more than a few in attendance.

Near the end of her poignant remarks, noting the loss of her home but the continuing “village” of family, friends and artists, Sater thanked her husband and other son (CAA agent) Franklin Lott for their support and love of independent film. Taking a moment, Sutter then spoke about Michael directly to an also full room of friends and colleagues. “He wants to tell all of you, Leading with love, building community, fostering equity and cultural change through heart and storytelling, is our central path forward.”

Others in attendance tonight include Sundance regular Jon Hamm and his wife, Anna Osceola, formerly Sundance Film Festival Director John Cooper, documentarian Rory Kennedy and husband Mark Bailey. There were also macro coach Charles King, reality TV producer, and recently appointed Trump UK envoy Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey, Boots Riley and his wife Gabby La La, Boys don’t cry Director Kimberly Peirce, Searchlight Pictures President Matthew Greenfield, and Sundance Alum, director Nikyatu Jusu.

the evil Star received the Visionary Award, which honors those known for their relentless work and notable contributions to the entertainment industry. On Thursday, she received her third Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress in evil. Evo’s history with Sundance is being part of the 2021 jury and its film Drifting Here in Park City in 2023, which I also produced. evil It is the highest grossing feature adaptation of a Broadway musical ever at the global box office ($710.8 million).

Fellow fellow British thespian Olivia Colman Evo was presented with the Insight Award which pays tribute to Multihyphenate’s “dedication”, “courageous charisma and warm spirit”. Every two-time actress nominee, Coleman said: “She makes every revelation feel like it’s specifically for you.” Drifting.

Taking up the award, Ervio said she had to research the word insight, not because she didn’t know what the word meant, but what its full scope was. “The first part of the word, it has to do with sight or seeing… It’s thinking about the future or planning for the future with imagination and wisdom. A visionary is someone who can see into the future. “I don’t consider myself a person who can see what’s coming,” the actress admitted. However, She said she was “calm, determined and passionate” when it came to her career; that “I’m lucky and grateful to be surrounded by heads.”

Mangold Completely anonymous Oscar nominee for Best Support supported Edward Norton in praising the director, as well as Joel Edgerton who was in person to present the award.

Mangold, who developed his script for 1997 Copeland Here at the Script and Directors Lab at the Sundance Institute in 1994, he receives the Trailblazer Award. He also won a Special Jury Award in 1995 for his film heavy In 1995. Mangold landed three Oscar noms in a career tally of five for his Bob Dylan biopic Completely anonymous In Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with Jay Cocks). Trailblazer Kudo goes to those with unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of cinema.

Mangold extended the institute’s “strong support system.” Before it arrived at Sundance, it was a far cry from Mangold, a place to beat out Tarantino and Spike Lee. At the institute, he came up with shooting plans copeland, He polished the script “with the assistance of Robert Redford, Sally Field, and Michelle Sutter.”

Turning to his villainy, the Logan and Walk the Line director said he’s always been fascinated by films “that put their emotions on the line, put their heart on their sleeve. We get a little antagonistic in the way we talk. Like melodramatic. We kill some of the fear.”

“We should be embarrassed,” he added in “a time of ridicule and sarcasm.”

Those receiving tonight’s Vanguard Awards are Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie for Non-Fiction, last year’s Directors sugar-cane, and Shun Wang, Director Didi For imagination.