The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Kicks Off With Kristen Stewart, Jodie Foster, Robert Downey Jr. & More

Photo Credit: Sundance

Last night, the Sundance Institute kicked off the 40th annual Sundance Film Festival with Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire, held at the DeJoria Center in Utah. The annual event honored inspiring and breakout storytellers whose journeys have been connected to Sundance. The event raised funds to enable Sundance Institute’s year-round support for independent artists through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists globally.

The evening honored Kristen Stewart, Christopher Nolan, director/writer Celine Song, and Pat Mitchell, former Sundance Institute Board Chair and trustee.

Photo Credit: Sundance

Christopher Nolan received the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award, which recognizes an artist’s unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of independent film. Oppenheimer star Robert Downey Jr. presented Nolan with the award, joking that Nolan “confidentially, needs his spirits lifted right now” due to the tragedy of “recently becoming recognizable on the street.” He praised Nolan’s body of work, including Memento, which premiered at Sundance 23 years ago, and the more recent Tenet, “which I can explain, having watched it backwards and forward on screens simultaneously.” Nolan reflected on what makes Sundance special for him. “It’s the audience. The two weeks or so in which filmmaking doesn’t mean a business model, it means an aspiration for filmmakers… It tells you what you’re supposed to be doing, what your real purpose is.”

Photo Credit: Sundance

Kristen Stewart received the Visionary Award in recognition of her profound work as an actor that exemplifies the bold, risk-taking storytelling that Sundance has championed for many years. This year Stewart stars in two films at the festival, Love Me and Love Lies Bleeding. Jesse Eisenberg, who previously co-starred with Stewart in the Sundance film Adventureland, presented Stewart with the award, saying, “Kristen is one of these rare performers that is so committed, so authentic, so feeling, that you want to make sure she’s ok at the end of the day.”

She responded, “Awards are only as meaningful as the people and places that give them to you and to be accepted by the community I have admired so, so personally, is lovely and enlivening. Sundance is the f***ing shit, I’m so happy to be here.”
The annual Vanguard Awards presented by Acura honor artists whose work highlights the art of storytelling and creative independence in both nonfiction and fiction.

Photo Credit: Sundance