![](//www.4rfv.com/images/no_image.jpg)
November 16, 2023, Park City, UT - The nonprofit Sundance Institute today revealed an additional honoree of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival's fundraiser, Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire , which will take place on January 18, 2024, at the DeJoria Center in Utah. The gala, which kicks off the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, celebrates individuals who have made notable contributions to the storytelling landscape. This year, former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee Pat Mitchell will receive the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy, recognizing her exemplary commitment to the Institute's support and to philanthropy for social impact.
As previously announced, the Opening Night Gala will also recognize Christopher Nolan, who will be honored with the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Celine Song and Maite Alberdi - who premiered their films Past Lives and The Eternal Memory, respectively, at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival - will each receive the annual Vanguard Award Presented by Acura.
The annual Opening Night Gala enables the nonprofit to raise critical funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists globally. The 2024 event is made possible with the generous support of Chase Sapphire and the George S. and Dolores Dor Eccles Foundation. The upcoming Sundance Film Festival will take place January 18-28, 2024, in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as online from January 25-28.
It is with immense excitement that we will honor Pat Mitchell at our Opening Night Gala, said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. Beyond being a stalwart champion of the role of media and storytelling as an agent for social change, Pat is a fierce advocate for gender and racial equality, and in all her diverse roles and responsibilities - as a journalist, documentary producer, and media executive - has supported the stories and ideas that move us forward toward a more equitable future. Pat's career and commitments of her time and resources epitomize what it means to be a leader for positive change. I am honored to celebrate Pat and the boundless value of independent storytelling as we near the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Institute's Vanguard Award for Philanthropy honors innovation, originality, and independent spirit as demonstrated through an exemplary commitment to philanthropy and social impact. Pat Mitchell, this year's honoree, has exhibited a steadfast, decadeslong commitment to the Sundance Institute's mission, the issues of women and girls, and global climate change.
Sundance is so much more than a film festival. It's a mission to discover and to support the stories and ideas that open hearts and minds, that challenge and expand our boundaries, and that connect us as a community of storytellers and change-makers, said Pat Mitchell. It's been a privilege to support and serve that mission, to share the learning journey that is core to all that Sundance is and will continue to be.
Throughout Pat Mitchell's career as an award-winning journalist and producer, her projects have received 34 Emmys, five Peabodys, and two Academy Award nominations, and as a media executive she was the first woman president of CNN Productions and PBS. She broke new ground for women and elevated the role of media for social change. Mitchell is a co-founder, host, and curator for TEDWomen, co-founder and managing partner of ConnectedWomenLeaders, and she sits on the boards of The Skoll Foundation and Participant Media. She is chair emeritus of the Women's Media Center, which named a Lifetime Achievement Award in her honor, and she has been a Sundance trustee since 1995, serving as chair of the board for more than a decade. Mitchell is the author of Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World and is currently leading a global campaign for climate justice titled Project Dandelion.
For more information about tables and tickets, please visit festival.sundance.org/opening-night-gala or contact openingnight@sundance.org.
# # #
Sundance Institute
As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute's signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don't Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Drunktown's Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fruitvale Station, Get Out, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, Honeyland, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, Navalny, O.J.: Made in America, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, The Souvenir, Strong Island, Summer of Soul ( or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, Sydney, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Walking and Talking, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, and
More from Sundance Institute
26/07/2024
by Ianeta Le'i
I honestly don't remember the first time I met Bryson Ch...
26/07/2024
(L-R) Louise (Karen Gillan) and Antonina (Margaret Sophie Stein) strike up an un...
24/07/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: (L-R) Quentin Laurent, Sarvnik Kaur, and Koval Bhatia attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Against the Tide premiere at the Eg...
23/07/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
19/07/2024
Six cities selected to move forward in the next phase of the process...
18/07/2024
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the artists selected to participate in the Sundance Institute Trans Possibilities Intensive, a three-part event...
17/07/2024
by Sundance Collab team
Showrunner Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead, The Shield) thinks that writing for TV has one rule: Cool people doing cool stuff every epis...
17/07/2024
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
17/07/2024
With limited-edition summer merch out now and our Early Bird Ticket Sale happeni...
15/07/2024
By Kristin Feeley, Documentary Film Program Interim Director
When a film is wel...
13/07/2024
Jeff Zimbalist, Ivan Beerkus, Angela Nikolau, and Maria Bukhonina at the premiere of Skywalkers: A Love Story at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah, on Januar...
11/07/2024
The Hoover family embarks on an eventful road trip to California for a junior beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine....
10/07/2024
Year-round Program Offers Pivotal Support to Women Filmmakers
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 10, 2024 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the eight wom...
09/07/2024
TICKETS ON SALE JULY 23: WWW.SUNDANCEFFASIA.COM
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, July 9, 2024 - G2Go Entertainment and the nonprofit Sundance Institute reveal the lineup of 1...
08/07/2024
Priscilla Miranda and director Ella Glendining attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Is There Anybody Out There? Premiere at Prospector Square Theatre on Jan...
06/07/2024
Kate Jean Hollowell's Say Hi After You Die took home the Short Film Jury A...
03/07/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about starting each year with th...
01/07/2024
Daredevils Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus ascend to dizzying heights in Jeff Zimbalist's documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story....
29/06/2024
Fred Hechinger, June Squibb, and Clark Gregg at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival....
28/06/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 20: (L-R) Erica Tremblay, Crystle Lightning, Isabel Deroy-Olson, and Lily Gladstone attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Fancy Danc...
28/06/2024
Kate Jean Hollowell's Say Hi After You Die took home the Short Film Jury A...
26/06/2024
By the Archives team
Let the summer games begin! While we wait a few more weeks for the Paris Olympics, we're introducing some Sundance Institute trivia to...
25/06/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
24/06/2024
Rob Epstein (photo by Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance)...
21/06/2024
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...
20/06/2024
I am still processing what it means to be part of the Sally Menke Fellowship and the Sundance Directors Labs, says Troy Lewis from a condo-turned-edit-bay at t...
17/06/2024
(L-R) Josh Margolin, Fred Hechinger, June Squibb, and Clark Gregg pose for a photo celebrating the premiere of Thelma on January 18, 2024, at the Sundance Fil...
14/06/2024
Program Uplifts Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25...
14/06/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 21: Actor Jennifer Connelly attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Bad Behaviour Premiere at The Ray Theatre on January 21, 2023 in...
13/06/2024
Top L-R: Skywalkers: A Love Story, Daughters, My Old Ass. Center L-R: Your Monst...
12/06/2024
This summer we're pulling back the curtain on Sundance Labs by sharing lette...
12/06/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
10/06/2024
(L-R: Cast: Melissa Barrera, Director, Producer & Screenwriter: Caroline Lindy a...
10/06/2024
PARK CITY, UT, June 10, 2024 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced the 10 producers selected to participate in its annual Producers Lab, being held...
07/06/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: (L-R) Tara Mallen and Katherine Mallen Kupferer attend the Ghostlight premiere at Prospector Square Theatre on January 18, 2024,...
06/06/2024
(L-R) Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) and Jax (Lily Gladstone) prepare for a powwow and search for Roki's missing mother in Fancy Dance, which premiered at the ...
05/06/2024
Sabbath Queen...
05/06/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
03/06/2024
By the Archives team
During a recent trip to the archives, our team came across several early Sundance Institute newsletters. The newsletters are always a fun ...
03/06/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH, June 3, 2024 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 2024 Sundance Institute Indigenous Film Tour, a 83-minute short film progra...
30/05/2024
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
30/05/2024
Tickets are now available for the first-of-its-kind event in the United States f...
28/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 22: Chris Nash attends the 2024 Sundance Film Festival In A Violent Nature premiere at the Library Center Theatre on January 22, 202...
25/05/2024
(L-R) Writer-director Hannah Pearl Utt and co-writer Jen Tullock star as sisters in Before You Know It, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival....
22/05/2024
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell (photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance)...
20/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 22: The cast and crew of The Tuba Thieves pose during the 2023 Sundance Film Festival The Tuba Thieves premiere at Prospector Squa...
16/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: Director Yance Ford introduces the Power premiere at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Chad Salvador/Shutterstock for Sundance F...
15/05/2024
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
14/05/2024
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
13/05/2024
Tickets on sale now
London, 13 May 2024 - Today Picturehouse and the nonprofit ...