News

The Gotham announced today that Theresa Peters, Partner in the Talent department at UTA, will join the organization’s Board of Directors.

As a Board member, Peters will work with The Gotham to advance its mission of celebrating and nurturing independent film and media creators by providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition.

Peters joined UTA in 2008 from the William Morris Agency, where she was an agent for 14 years. She is a fixture within the entertainment industry, having cultivated a roster of long-time clients both in front of and behind the camera.

Notable clients include Kirsten Dunst, James McAvoy, Viggo Mortensen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Theo James, Sam Claflin, George MacKay, Tahar Rahim, Thomasin McKenzie, Zoe Kazan, Sam Heughan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Antony Starr, Jessica Biel, Haley Bennett, Hugh Dancy, Finn Cole, Ben Hardy, Harry Lawtey, Alba Baptista, Kyle MacLachlan, Letitia Wright, Rafe Spall, and Jamie Dornan,...

In mid-October, “Fauda” producer Liat Benasuly fired off an email to a group of nearly 100 people who had recently converged at former Paramount chief Sherry Lansing’s Los Angeles home. Attendees included “The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik and singer Montana Tucker, and the topic at hand was one rarely discussed outside of similar informal gatherings — that Israeli content creators are increasingly becoming pariahs in the global marketplace. As a result, the next hit series like “Fauda,” “Homeland” or “Euphoria” could die on the vine. In the email, Benasuly issued a dire warning and solicited donations for a newly formed 501(c)(3) dubbed Friends of Israeli Film & TV Producers Association.

“As you may know, a significant number of our investors and partners have paused their collaborations with Israeli storytellers and producers since October 7th,” she wrote. “Most projects in our industry now face a funding gap of approximately 20-30%. This...

Film festivals in North America have launched some of the greatest movies ever – whether nonfiction or fiction. Telluride premiered Free Solo, Slumdog Millionaire, and Argo; Sundance debuted sex, lies and videotape, Napoleon Dynamite, An Inconvenient Truth, and this year’s Oscar winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol; the Toronto International Film Festival premiered I Am Not Your Negro and Ray.

The importance of festivals to the industry is beyond question, but many of the most celebrated ones on this continent are facing a moment of crisis. Post-pandemic financial struggles are plaguing Sundance, TIFF, and Hot Docs among others, and the situation with the latter festival is serious enough that it may have to fold.

Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast digs into the precarious state of film festivals in our latest episode, examining that vital question with guests steeped in the field: Ken Jacobson, executive director of the Hot Springs Documentary...

Sundance Institute has begun the process of exploring potential host locations in the United States for its flagship festival starting in 2027, after residing in Park City, Utah, for nearly 40 years.

While the 2025 (January 23-February 2) and 2026 iterations of Sundance Film Festival will remain in Park City and Salt Lake City, Institute executives are moving to address concerns before the current 13-year contract expires in 2027.

The high cost of travelling to and staying in or around Park City has been cited on numerous occasions by Sundance filmmakers as a drawback, with prohibitive hotel rates often forcing them to say further out of town.

By 2027, the Sundance Film Festival headquarters may no longer be in Park City, Utah, the festival’s home since 1985.

Sundance Institute has launched an open call for American cities to raise their hands as potential hosting grounds as of 2027. The request for Information (Rfi) process, which begins today, will include Utah. The Rfi does not mean Sundance has made a decision to move.

The Rfi closes May 1, with a Request for Proposal (Rfp) to run May 7-June 21. The Institute will announce its selection — whether in Utah or elsewhere — in the final quarter of 2024 or first quarter of 2025. The Rfi/Rfp process will target the usual January dates for the festival in 2027.

The 2025-2026 editions of the festival will take place in Park City. However, if Sundance wants to extend its contract with Park City beyond 2026, the deadline is October 2024. That already represents an extension of the original deadline, which was in March.

For once, the global film festival circuit is in perilous waters while Los Angeles — the city that Hollywood built, but can’t seem to retain a film festival — is hosting a vital resurgence of year-round screening series and niche festivals created in pursuit of love, not money.

This weekend (April 4-7) brings the inaugural Los Angeles Festival of Movies (Lafm), operating in three venues far east of the 405: Eagle Rock’s Vidiots, Filipinotown’s 2220 Arts + Archives, and Chinatown’s Now Instant Image Hall.

The LA cinephile scene is meanwhile thriving elsewhere, too. American Cinematheque returned to its gorgeously refurbished Egyptian Theatre in November and just announced a new documentary film festival, This Is Not a Fiction, to usher in its 40th anniversary. Plus, Quentin Tarantino’s emblematic, century-old, single-screen Vista Theater reopened, playing new releases like “The Zone of Interest” and “Dune: Part Two” as well as 35mm and...

Carla Gutiérrez’s documentary Frida about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo will open the inaugural Sundance Film Festival Cdmx 2024 in Mexico City.

Running April 25-28 in partnership with exhibition giant Cinépolis, the event will present 12 features in total. Selections include Alessandra Lacorazza’s Grand Jury Prize U.S. Dramatic Competition winner In The Summers, and Angela Patton and Natalie Rae’s Daughters, winner of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and Festival Favorite Award.

Mstyslav Chernov’s best documentary feature Oscar winner 20 Days In Mariupol and Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart will also screen.

Sundance...

Scandal at a film festival is usually generated by provocative auteurs or loose-lipped actors stirring up drama at press conferences. Last weekend’s laid-back Sonoma International Film Festival, held in the heart of California wine country, was a different story.

Numerous indie film players spotted Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez at the event, alongside his two predecessors in the role: John Cooper, who left in 2020, and Tabitha Jackson, who stepped down in 2022. All three were in town to screen films and mingle when the eye-popping news spread that Joana Vicente, CEO of Sundance, had resigned her post after less than three years. Surely these observers found the right pinot noir to pair with whispers about what Vicente’s exit means for Sundance — the 40-year-old nonprofit founded by Robert Redford, known in global cinema circles as a destination for artistic discovery. So, what the hell happened?

Vicente arrived at Sundance...

Any way you look at it, Joana Vicente had a difficult job.

When she assumed the post of CEO of the Sundance Institute in late 2021, the world was a year into a pandemic that made indie filmmaking, festival planning and fundraising all challenging. During her tenure, she had to walk a careful line between the wants and needs of the entertainment industry and the realities of running a nonprofit that had to capitalize on new, potentially profitable revenue generators like online offerings.

But after a little over two years, these problems are no longer Vicente’s to face, with the surprise announcement last week that she would be stepping down from her post.

Sundance insiders describe Vicente’s departure as amicable and preplanned, with her memo to staff noting, “I have decided that it is time to explore new opportunities and adventures.” But it caught festival regulars and industry insiders off guard.

Sundance Institute has partnered with Choose Chicago and the Chicago Film Office to launch Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 – the first Sundance-branded weekend event in the US outside Park City, Utah.

Running June 28-30, the event will feature screenings of four selections from the Park City festival in January supported by Q&a’s, and a short film programme and masterclass for emerging and underrepresented filmmakers.

The roster includes a panel discussions at Chicago Cultural Center and other venues, and a presentation on Sundance Institute and how to apply to its artist programmes and labs.

The Chicago Film Office will play...

The Sundance Institute is partnering with Choose Chicago and the Chicago Film Office on Sundance Institute x Chicago, a new event to kick off in the Windy City this summer.

Viewed as an opportunity to highlight Chicago’s cultural scene and bolster its status as a filmmaking hub, while sharing information from the Institute’s artist development programs with emerging artists, the event is set to take place June 28 – 30.

In addition to screenings of four films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival and filmmaker Q&As to accompany them, Sundance Institute x Chicago will feature a short film program and masterclass for emerging and underrepresented filmmakers, panel discussions at the Chicago Cultural Center and other venues, and a presentation about the Sundance Institute, offering insights on its artist programs, and how to apply. The news makes Chicago the only U.S. city to host an independent artist and film...

Amanda Kelso, the new acting CEO of the Sundance Institute, told the Sundance community that she is focused on the “long term sustainability and growth” of the non-profit well into the 21st century.

“As we look to the future of the Sundance Institute, I am filled with both pride and humility as I take on the role of acting CEO,” Kelso said in a statement shared with press. “It is an immense honor to return to lead during this pivotal time for arts organizations and, more specifically, independent storytellers. I believe in the power of Sundance and its ongoing impact in nurturing our mission-based work. This work is dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and connecting them with audiences around the world.”

Joana Vicente, who joined Sundance from TIFF back in 2021, announced Friday that she will be stepping down, with Kelso coming aboard in April and Vicente...

In a sudden announcement, Sundance Institute said on Friday that CEO Joana Vicente is stepping down after two and a half years and Amanda Kelso is returning as acting CEO.

Kelso, who is a trustee of the Institute, previously served as acting CEO, co-chair of the technology committee, a member of the finance committee, and was actively involved in the digital festival task force.

She will transition into her role in April, and Vicente will continue to serve as an advisor to her and the board through June.

“After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to...

In a sudden announcement, Sundance Institute said on Friday that CEO Joana Vicente is stepping down after two and a half years and Amanda Kelso is returning as acting CEO.

Kelso, who is a trustee of the Institute, previously served as acting CEO, co-chair of the technology committee, a member of the finance committee, and was actively involved in the digital festival task force.

She will transition into her role in April, and Vicente will continue to serve as an advisor to her and the board through June.

“After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to...

Joana Vicente has stepped down as CEO of the Sundance Institute.

The news will come as a shock to the global independent film community, as Vicente served under three years in a plum role she took after years in leadership at the Toronto International Film Festival. Amanda Kelso, a four-year member of the Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees, has been named acting CEO in her place.

“After two-and-a-half inspiring years, I have made the decision to begin a new chapter and will be moving on,” Vicente wrote in a Friday memo to colleagues. “Over the past six years, I have had the privilege of leading two of the most culturally significant organizations for independent film in North America through some of the most challenging times for our industry … [and] have decided that it is time to explore new opportunities and adventures while I continue my lifelong passion for supporting transformative storytelling.

Joana Vicente is departing the Sundance Institute, where she has overseen the nonprofit and its storied film festival since late 2021. Sundance board member Amanda Kelso will step in as acting CEO through April, while Vicente will remain as an adviser to Kelso and the board through June.

Vicente came to Sundance from the Toronto International Film Festival, and arrived as Covid had pushed the festival online for 2021 and again in 2022. During her tenure, she spearheaded a hybrid format for 2023 and 2024, in which films would be viewed in person as well as online. Like most festivals, fundraising has been challenging due to the pandemic followed by pressures in the larger economy. In June, the Institute laid off 11 staffers. Vicente has also been under pressure to set the festival up for the long term and shape its vision amid a challenging landscape for independent film.

“I look back at the significant work...

Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente is stepping down from her role as CEO after two-and-a-half years on the job, the non-profit organization announced Friday.

Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees has appointed board member Amanda Kelso as acting CEO while the institute launches a search for a new CEO. Kelso is returning to the organization after formerly serving as acting CEO in 2021 before Vicente was picked for the job after the departure of long-time CEO Keri Putnam. She’ll transition into the role in April, and Vicente will stay on in an advisory role through June.

“After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to begin a new chapter and will be moving on from my role as CEO of Sundance Institute,” Vicente wrote in a memo shared by Sundance. “Over the past six years, I have had the privilege of leading two of the most culturally...

The Sundance Institute announced on Friday that Joana Vicente will be stepping down as CEO, with Amanda Kelso to lead the organization as Acting CEO.

No specific reason for Vicente’s departure was given, nor a next destination. But Kelso starts in her new role in April, with Vicente to continue to serve as an advisor to Kelso and the board through June.

“After two and half inspiring years, I have made the decision to begin a new chapter and will be moving on from my role as CEO of Sundance Institute,” wrote Vicente in a letter to staff. “Over the past six years, I have had the privilege of leading two of the most culturally significant organizations for independent film in North America through some of the most challenging times for our industry. This journey has been incredibly rewarding, and I’m so proud of the work our Sundance team has accomplished together,...

Marlee Matlin is calling out CBS after the network didn’t feature the American Sign Language (Asl) performers during the live Super Bowl Lviii broadcast.

Deaf artists Shaheem Sanchez, Anjel Piñero and Daniel Durant were introduced during the game before their performances. Sanchez performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” with Andra Day, Piñero was introduced to perform alongside Post Malone “America, The Beautiful” and Durant interpreted the National Anthem alongside Reba McEntire.

“I am absolutely Shocked at CBS for introducing the Deaf performers at today’s pregame #SuperBowl and then not showing even one second (or more) of their performance… as has been tradition for the last 30 years. Why!?” Matlin posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

I am absolutely Shocked at @CBS for introducing the Deaf performers at today’s pregame #SuperBowl and then not showing even one second (or more) of their performance… as...

The Sundance Film Festival wrapped Sunday with some big sales in a challenging indie film landscape with distributors in need of content. New at the 40th edition, the second post-Covid and led for the first time by director Eugene Hernandez: a kickoff event with Jason Blum, 19 films on opening day, a narrower digital footprint, and fewer features as Hernandez focuses on “first impressions” and “giving each of our invited films and filmmakers the celebratory, unforgettable introduction they deserve.” Cost and staffing considerations were also at play.

Meanwhile, Sundance is about to start renewal talks with longtime host Park City, a conversation that comes around every seven years. Hernandez, the longtime New York Film Festival director and IndieWire co-founder, who also heads year-round public programming for the Sundance Institute, talked with Deadline about his inaugural run in snowy Utah.

(The Q&a was edited and condensed for clarity.)

Deadline: Can...

A still from In ‘The Summers’ by Alessandra Lacorazza (Courtesy of Sundance Institute.)

In the Summers took home the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Porcelain War was named the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary winner at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Sujo and A New Kind of Wilderness were also recognized with Grand Jury Prizes during the awards ceremony held on February 26, 2024 at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.

Daughters, directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, was named the Festival Favorite Award winner and also received the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary.

“This year was especially meaningful to all of us for being the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival,” stated Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “We congratulate all of our artists in the program this year for their contributions to an incredible slate and Festival experience. Something we were pleasantly surprised by was how...

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival has announced its winners, with In the Summers taking the Grand Jury prize for U.S. Dramatic Competition and Porcelain War landing the award for U.S. Documentary Competition.

Sujo won the jury prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, and A New Kind of Wilderness won for World Cinema Documentary Competition.

Audience awards went to Sean Wang’s Dìdi (弟弟) in the U.S. Dramatic Competition and Daughters in the U.S. Documentary Competition, with the latter also earning the Festival Favorite Award selected by audiences across all new feature films presented at the fest. Girls Will Be Girls landed the audience award for World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and Ibelin won it in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.

Elsewhere, the Next innovator award went to Little Death, with Irish rap biopic Kneecap winning the audience award for the Next section.

Sundance CEO Joana Vicente said,...

Sundance Institute and Alfred Sloan Foundation honoured previously announced Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize winner Love Me at a reception in Park City on Monday.

Married filmmaker duo Sam and Andy Zuchero received a $25,000 cash award for Love Me, which stars Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun as a buoy and a satellite who fall in love after the end of humanity.

Three artists were awarded grants to support projects currently in development: Emily Everhard received the Sloan Episodic Fellowship for Tektite, Sara Crow and Daniel Rafailedes received the Sloan Development Fellowship for Satoshi, and Lizzi Oyebode received the Sloan Commissioning Grant for Inverses.

Sundance Institute and Alfred Sloan Foundation honoured previously announced Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize winner Love Me at a reception in Park City on Monday.

Married filmmaker duo Sam and Andy Zuchero received a $25,000 cash award for Love Me, which stars Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun as a buoy and a satellite who fall in love after the end of humanity.

Three artists were awarded grants to support projects currently in development: Emily Everhard received the Sloan Episodic Fellowship for Tektite, Sara Crow and Daniel Rafailedes received the Sloan Development Fellowship for Satoshi, and Lizzi Oyebode received the Sloan Commissioning Grant for Inverses.

What is the Sundance Film Festival outside of Park City?

Sundance Institute CEO Joanna Vicente has addressed the possibility of a move for the Sundance Film Festival out of Park City, where it has taken place since the early ’80s.

Vicente was the surprise guest at the live-taping of Puck founding partner Matt Belloni‘s Ringer podcast The Town. During the wide-ranging conversation that touched on everything from the Netflix acquisition of Fair Play to the five-year plan for the festival, Belloni asked Vicente about the state of negotiations for staying in Park City.

“Park City is part of Sundance,” Vicente answered. “It’s a beautiful location. It’s kind of remote. We get immersed into the festival.” At that point, Belloni interjected to say, “I feel a but coming,” adding that in his conversations with Uber drivers, restaurant employees and ski industry insiders, “They don’t like Sundance.”

“No,...

Sundance is showing some love to Love Me filmmakers Sam and Andy Zuchero.

The husband and wife filmmaking team were honored on Monday with the juried film prize from the Sundance Institute and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s joint Science-In-Film initiative during a special reception in Park City during the film festival.

The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize comes with a $25,000 cash award from the foundation and is selected by a jury of film and science professionals. Per the organization, it’s “presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.”

Sitting on this year’s jury were Dr. Mandë Holford, Dr. Nia Imara, Matt Johnson, Theresa Park and Courtney Stephens. They cited the Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun-starrer “for its ambitious and formally inventive portrayal of a post-human Earth in which...

The Sundance Institute and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation today named the recipients of three artist grants aimed at supporting projects currently in development, as they officially bestowed their Feature Film Prize on Sam and Andy Zuchero’s Love Me, all through their joint Science-In-Film Initiative.

Emily Everhard received a $17,000 cash award under the Sloan Episodic Fellowship for her NASA aquanaut script Tektite, with writer-directors Sara Crow and David Rafailedes claiming the Sloan Development Fellowship for Satoshi, taking home $17,000 for their project about the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin. Filmmaker Lizzi Oyebode received a $25,000 cash award through the Sloan Commissioning Grant for her feature project Inverses, about the lone Jewish professor resisting a Nazi takeover of the world’s leading university math department.

The Zucheros’ debut feature Love Me had previously been announced as the recipients of the $25,000 Feature Film Prize, presented to an outstanding title focusing on science or technology as a theme,...

One of the biggest challenges of the Sundance Film Festival is trying to fit it all in and be everywhere all at once in Park City. On Sunday morning at The Park, a group of festival insiders stayed in one place for about two hours to take in a keynote from Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Oscar-winning producer Jonathan Wang and witness two producers being singled out with awards and $10,000 grants.

It all went down as part of a producers award collaboration between the Sundance Institute and Amazon MGM Studios. The prizes — one for fiction, one for nonfiction — were awarded to producers Brad Becker-Parton of Stress Positions and Toni Kamau of The Battle for Laikipia, two films that premiered in this year’s lineup.

Becker-Parton’s other credits include Tina Satter’s Reality, starring Sydney Sweeney, and Mariama Diallo’s Master, starring Regina Hall, a Sundance selection released by...

The Sundance Institute has two new fellowship winners.

On Saturday, during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, the institute revealed the recipients of the Merata Mita Fellowship and the inaugural Graton Fellowship for Artists from California-based tribes.

The Merata Mita Fellowship — an annual initiative named in honor of the late Māori filmmaker Merata Mita as a way to support Indigenous women-identified artists on the path towards making their first film — has been awarded to Libby Hakaraia. The Graton Fellowship, launched to support Indigenous artists from California-based tribes, will go to Tazbah Rose Chavez. Both were singled out during the Sundance Film Festival Native Forum Celebration presented by NBCUniversal Launch and Nia Tero at The Park venue on Saturday.

The event featured an opening blessing by Bart Powakee and the Red Spirit Singers from the Ute Tribal Nation and remarks from Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute board member Amy Redford,...

Just a few short hours before the first wave of films hit the big screen to kick off the milestone 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers offered high praise for what Robert Redford and his team started here in Park City.

“Sundance is a vital, vital part of the entertainment ecosystem, and I think it’s undervalued in that way,” said Jason Blum as he took the stage inside the Filmmakers Lodge on Thursday morning to moderate Sundance Scoop, a press conference and conversation that set the stage for this year’s fest. “Without Sundance, the United States would not be where it is in entertainment, and I really think not enough people make that connection.”

To be fair, Blum is the ultimate Sundance insider. He’s been attending the festival since 1992. One of his first major screenings was Ben Stiller’s...

Eugene Hernandez has reached the top of the mountain.

The journalist turned nonprofit executive has spent decades rising through the ranks of the American independent film scene. This January he assumes his seat at its apex: as the director of the Sundance Film Festival.

Hernandez, the co-founder of IndieWire and longtime leader of Film at Lincoln Center, got the coveted job in late 2022. But his official duties begin with this year’s festival, the 40th edition of the annual celebration of film that kicks off Jan. 18. He still remembers his first time in the luxury ski town of Park City, Utah, watching Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi” in 1993.

“It all feels full circle,” Hernandez tells Variety, adding that he shed tears when Sundance CEO Joana Vicente called to offer the job.

Sundance remains the preeminent film festival for spotlighting new talent. This year, the group received 17,000 submissions, many of them...

Kristen Stewart is getting down and dirty for the upcoming queer romance thriller “Love Lies Bleeding.”

The actress plays a gym employee who becomes romantically entangled with a bisexual bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian) in the sophomore directorial effort from “Saint Maud” director Rose Glass. Glass directs the film using a script she cowrote with Weronika Tofilska. “Love Lies Bleeding” will premiere at the upcoming 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight section.

“Love Lies Bleeding” is a billed as an “off-the-wall, rambunctious lesbian love story” set in a suburban small town that has a “heightened Americana sensibility.”

The official synopsis reads: “Reclusive gym manager Lou (Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.”

“Love Lies Bleeding” is a co-production between A24 and Film4. Dave Franco,...

Fundraiser gala to take place January 18, 2024.

Kristen Stewart will receive the 2024 Sundance Visionary Award at the festival’s 40th anniversary opening night gala fundraiser on January 18, 2024.

Stewart is being honoured “in recognition of her work as an uncompromising artist and contributions to the field of independent film”.

The actress earned an Oscar nomination for playing Diana Spencer in Spencer and became the first American actress to receive the Cesar Award for her role in Clouds Of Sils Maria.

Her latest films will both premiere at Sundance in January. Rose Glass’s Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize winner Love Lies Bleeding...

Kristen Stewart will be lauded with the Visionary Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s opening-night gala January 18 at the DeJoria Center in Utah.

The Visionary Award is given to a recipient in recognition of their work as an uncompromising artist and contributions to the field of independent film.

“Stewart’s profound work as an actor has exemplified the bold, risk-taking storytelling that Sundance has championed for many years,” the festival said Thursday in a release.

During her career Stewart counts 10 movies that screened at Sundance including The Runaways, Adventureland and Lizzie. She made her directorial debut with Come Swim at the 2017 Sundance. At the 2024 fest she has Love Me premiering in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, which is also the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, as well as Love Lies Bleeding, premiering in the Midnight section.

Stewart was nominated for an Oscar for her...

Updated: This story was originally published on November 1, 2023, and has now been updated to include new honorees.

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival will honor actress and filmmaker Kristen Stewart; filmmakers Christopher Nolan, Maite Alberdi, and Celine Song; and journalist and producer Pat Mitchell with awards at its annual opening night gala and fundraiser.

The fundraiser will take place January 18, 2024 on the opening night of next year’s Sundance, this year celebrating 40 years of the film festival.

Stewart, who will appear in two films at this year’s Sundance, including U.S. Dramatic Competition title “Love Me” and Midnight movie “Love Lies Bleeding,” will receive the Visionary Award “in recognition of her work as an uncompromising artist and contributions to the field of independent film.”

“Oppenheimer” director Nolan will receive a new prize from Sundance called the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Nolan’s “Memento” from 2001 played at Sundance that year. Meanwhile, Song...

Anniversary screenings include Park City hits Napoleon Dynamite, Mississippi Masala, The Babadook.

Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the 53 shorts as well as the eight films celebrating the festival’s 40th edition – a list which includes Park City hits Napoleon Dynamite, Mississippi Masala, and The Babadook.

The 40th edition celebration screenings and events are set for the second half of the festival from January 23-26, 2024, with a slate of retrospective programming that will bring alumni artists together for conversations and gatherings.

Sundance Film festival runs January 18-28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles...

Providing our first glimpse at the next year in cinema, the 2024 Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 82 films, eight episodic titles, and New Frontier interactive experiences. Taking place January 18–28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024, the festival celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Notable highlights in this year’s edition includes Steven Soderbergh’s new Lucy Liu-led feature Presence, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales starring Pedro Pascal, the Zellners’ Sasquatch Sunset, Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Handling the Undead starring Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie, the Saoirse Ronan-led The Outrun, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, Nathan Silver’s Between the Temples starring Jason Schwartzman, Brett Story and Stephan Maing’s Amazon Labor Union documentary Union,...

The 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival unveiled the aorta of its lineup which runs from Jan. 18-28 in Park City, Ut, with movies about AI being a running theme in the politically and socially conscious event as well as 80% of movies up for grabs for distribution.

In addition there are movies starring Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg (who is also back directing), Pedro Pascal, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Woody Harrelson, Laura Linney with the return of Sundance darling Aubrey Plaza.

Coming out of a dual strike in which the guilds were adamant about setting guardrails for AI to protect actors and writers, several titles are taking various angles on the technology.

‘Eno’ Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

In the New Frontier section there’s the documentary Eno about the legendary music producer of David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2 and other artists. The movie is billed as a “groundbreaking generative documentary...

The Sundance Film Festival has announced its line-up for its 40th incarnation.

The 2024 fest will see new entries from fest regulars like Steven Soderbergh, Lana Wilson and Richard Linklater, while also debuting titles from new directors with 40 percent of the features program coming from first time feature filmmakers. A-list talent like Kirsten Stewart, Pedro Pascal, Lucy Liu, Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson star in fest films, while onscreen talents like Jesse Eisenberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor continue their forays into directing.

This year’s fest marks the first with Eugene Hernandez at the helm as festival director. “This will be my 30th time attending the festival,” Hernandez tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Now, to have this different vantage point, I was able to witness exactly what goes into [the festival] I have loved and cared about for so long.”

The festival had over 17,000 submission, with programmers noting this is the most in the history of the festival.

Up, up and away! The Sundance Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 40th edition, which will take place in Park City, Utah, from Jan. 18–28, with the online component starting Jan. 25. The program includes Christopher Reeve doc “Super/Man,” two films apiece from indie darlings Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, plus fresh projects from a handful of directors who launched their careers at Sundance years ago.

The veteran contingent includes Richard Linklater (who’ll bring both “Hit Man” and an episode of the “God Bless Texas” anthology series), the Zellner Brothers (whose starry “Sasquatch Sunset” winks to their low-budget 2011 Sundance short “Sasquatch Birth Journal 2”) and Steven Soderbergh.

Also on hand will be director Christopher Nolan, set to collect the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award, an honor meant to boost his award-season profile while reminding the world that the “Oppenheimer” helmer brought “Memento” to Park City, Utah, way back in...

Updated: Former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee Pat Mitchell, the first woman president of CNN Productions and PBS, has joined the list of honorees for the Sundance Gala that includes Christopher Nolan, Celine Song and Maite Alberdi. Mitchell will receive the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy for her commitment to the Institute’s support and to philanthropy for social impact.

The upcoming Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire will be held on Jan. 18 at the DeJoria Center in Kamas, Utah.

“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...

Christopher Nolan, Celine Song and Maite Alberdi will be feted at a gala fundraiser on the opening night of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the nonprofit Sundance Institute said Wednesday.

The Jan. 18 gathering, which will take place at the DeJoria Center, will “raise critical funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants and public programming that nurture artists globally.”

Nolan, who started in indie film before becoming the director of large-scale studio blockbusters like this year’s Oppenheimer, will be honored with the first-ever Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. Song, the writer and director of this year’s Past Lives, and Alberdi, who helmed this year’s documentary The Eternal Memory, will each receive the Vanguard Award, Song for fiction and Alberdi for nonfiction.

Meanwhile, former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee Pat Mitchell will receive the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy.

“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival,...

Nolan will get the new Trailblazer award and Song and Alberdi the festival’s Vanguard awards.

Christopher Nolan, Celine Song and Maite Alberdi have been set as award recipients for the opening night gala of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (January 18-28).

Nolan, whose breakthrough film Memento screened at Sundance in 2001 and won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, will receive the first ever Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award.

Song, whose debut feature as a writer-director Past Lives premiered at this year’s Sundance and is currently an awards contender, will be presented with the Vanguard Award for Fiction.

Alberdi, who was at...

The Sundance Institute will honor Christopher Nolan with the first-ever Sundance Trailblazer Award. The Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented Chase Sapphire, on January 18, 2024 at the DeJoria Center in Utah, will also present the annual Vanguard Award to “Past Lives” writer/director Celine Song and “The Eternal Memory” writer/director Maite Alberdi. Their 40th annual film festival will take place from January 18 through January 28, 2024, as well as online from January 25 to January 28.

“As we step into the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, it is a distinct honor to recognize Christopher Nolan, a prodigious artist whose singular talent and remarkable body of work have made him one of the most respected filmmakers of our time. We are looking forward to spotlighting the unique voices of both Celine and Maite, storytellers we have been supporting and deeply believe in. All three of these storytellers represent Sundance’s values,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente.

Actress Tessa Thompson has officially joined the Sundance Institute’s Board of Trustees.

The “Creed” actress and producer, along with documentarian Pete Nicks and producers Nina Fialkow and Kimberly Steward, comprise the new additions to the Board. Per an official press release, the foursome are now among the “leaders who guide and steer the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity.”

Thompson said in a statement, “Both the Sundance Film Festival and the Institute have served as an artistic home for me throughout my career. I’m proud to expand this journey by joining the board to eagerly serve a community that has been so incredibly impactful to me and countless others.”

The new trustees will closely work with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente to usher in the next wave of rising filmmakers.

“As Sundance Institute continues to respond to the needs of independent artists,...

The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced four newly appointed additions to the Institute’s Board of Trustees. Tessa Thompson, Pete Nicks, Nina Fialkow, and Kimberly Steward have joined the leaders who guide the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity. They add to the Institute’s Board of values-based leaders, building an enduring, evolving community for storytellers. The distinguished new Trustees will work closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente and bring invaluable experience.

“As Sundance Institute continues to respond to the needs of independent artists, we welcome these new members of our Board, each of whom has an incredible commitment to independent film and a long history with the Institute,” said Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough. “Together, the Board is poised to identify new and strengthened ways to uplift independent storytellers.”

“We are so pleased to have Tessa, Pete, Nina, and Kimberly join...

Lila Aviles received best director in the international competition.

Marie Amachoukeli’s Ama Gloria and Juraj Lerotic’s Safe Place lead the winners of the 40th Jerusalem Film Festival, which handed out 1m Ils in prizes this evening (July 20).

Ama Gloria, which premiered in Critics’ Week at Cannes this year, won the best international film award. The film depicts the last summer between a six-year-old girl and her nanny Gloria, before the latter returns to Cape Verde to care for her own children.

Scroll down for the full list of feature winners

A jury led by Claire Denis and consisting of Whit Stillman,...

Marie Amachoukeli’s Ama Gloria has won the Best International Film Prize at the 40th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival, running from July 13 to July 26.

The feature, which world premiered as the opening film of Cannes Critics’ Week in May, revolves around a motherless six-year-old girl who travels to Cape Verde to reunite with her longtime nanny.

The jury presided over by Claire Denis, and also figuring Whit Stillman, Florian Zeller, Joana Vicente, and Maria Schrader praised the film’s “extraordinary poignancy, beauty and insight”.

Ama Gloria is produced by Bénédicte Couvreur, the long-time producer of Céline Sciamma and her films Petite Maman and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire.

Other winners in the International Competition include Best Director for Mexico’s Lila Avilés for Berlinale-selected family drama Totem and a Special Mention for the ensemble cast of Argentinian director Rodrigo Moreno’s The Delinquents, which debuted in Un Certain Regard this year.

Song accepted the award at London’s Picturehouse Central cinema.

Celine Song’s Past Lives has won the 2023 Sundance Film Festival: London audience award, bringing the 10th edition of the UK event to a close at the Picturehouse Central cinema.

It is the latest international prize for Song’s debut feature, which launched in the Premieres section at the US Sundance event in January, and topped the Screen jury grid when in competition at the Berlinale.

Studiocanal will release Past Lives in UK cinemas from September 8; A24, which also produced the film, released it in the US last month.

Past Lives...

Jurors include Whit Stillman, Florian Zeller, Maria Schrader, Joana Vicente.

French filmmaker Claire Denis will lead the international competition jury for the 40th Jerusalem Film Festival, which runs from July 13-23.

Denis will be joined by directors Whit Stillman, Florian Zeller and Maria Schrader on the jury, plus Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente.

Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo will preside over the Israeli competition jury. Directors make up the majority of the jurors across the competitive sections, including Jasmila Zbanic, Ali Abbasi, Sebastian Meise, Julian Rosefeldt, Joseph Cedar, Sebastien Lifshitz, Barbara Albert, Alexandru Belc and Manuela Martelli, plus Mathilde Henrot from Locarno Film Festival.