Writer-director-producer James Mangold (Searchlight Pictures’ A Complete Unknown) were honored with the Trailblazer Award. Multi-hyphenate, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award–winning and two-time Academy Award nominated actress, singer, producer, and author Cynthia Erivo, currently starring in Universal Pictures’ Wicked, were honored with the Visionary Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s gala fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV. 

As previously announced, the evening also honored Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs at SundanceInstitute, for her longstanding commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through the Sundance Labs, where visionary artists convene to develop groundbreaking projects through an in-depth creative process, for the past four decades. The gala was an evening in celebration of the Sundance Institute and its impact on the filmmaking community. The annual Vanguard Awards Presented by Acura will be awarded during the evening to Sean Wang, writer and 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. 

This year's gala took place on January 24, 2025 at the new Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah, co-chaired by Board Chair Ebs Burnough and long time Board Trustee Pat Mitchell. The annual gala enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming that nurture artists from all over the world. 

James Mangold was honored with the Trailblazer Award in recognition of his unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of cinema. As a writer, director, and producer he 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 relationship with Sundance began in 1994, when he first participated in the Institute’s year-round artist programs, designed to support emerging filmmakers. It was then that he developed the screenplay for his 1997 film Copland at the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs. His directorial debut, Heavy, received the Special Jury Prize for Directing at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Over the years, Mangold has played a role in shaping the landscape of film, leaving an indelible impact on both the industry and popular culture. From Girl, Interrupted and Walk the Line to 3:10 to Yuma, Ford v. Ferrari and A Complete Unknown, this award celebrates Mangold's lasting legacy of powerful storytelling. 

“Sundance has been many things in my life; a far away dream on a mountain, a laboratory at which I developed the script for Cop Land, a festival a

 MTFB OSCAR SPECIAL; FINAL NOMINATION PREDICTIONS

Well, here we are...months removed from the close of TFF #51 and now down to less than 24 hours until the big reveal of nominees for the 97th Academy Awards.  It could be a history making day for film from Telluride and the Oscars.  The largest number of nominees in a single year that have come from TFF films is 35 which has happened thrice with TFF films from 2016, 2021 and 2023 (those are the years of the fest).  TFF could see 35+ nominations for films that screened there by the end of the announcement tomorrow morning.  Exciting stuff...

So, drumroll please, here are the MTFB final Oscar nomination predictions (as always, TFF films are in Bold.  The film's previous rank is to the right in parentheses).

Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV, at the  Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, in Park City, Utah, starting January 24 at 6:30 p.m. MT with a cocktail reception. The dinner and program will begin at 8 p.m. MT.

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.

BAFTA AND TFF #51

The Golden Globes, often referred to as “Hollywood’s Party of the Year®,” is the largest awards show in the world to celebrate the best of both film and television. Emmy®-nominated comedian and actress Nikki Glaser hosted this year’s show, and multi-Emmy Award®-winning producing duo Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner of White Cherry Entertainment (WCE) served as executive producing showrunners for the 82nd Golden Globes. A Dick Clark Productions : the annual Golden Globes have been viewed in more than 185 countries and territories worldwide.

Best Motion Picture, Drama
“The Brutalist”
Nominees in this category: “The Brutalist”; “A Complete Unknown”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Nickel Boys”; “September 5”
 

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Emilia Pérez”
Nominees in this category: “Anora”; “Challengers”; “Emilia Pérez”; “A Real Pain”; “The Substance”; “Wicked”

Best Motion Picture, Animated
“Flow”
Nominees in this category: “Flow”; “Inside Out 2”; “Memoir of a Snail”; ”Moana 2”; “The Wild Robot”; “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
“Wicked”
Nominees in this category: “Alien: Romulus”; “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”; “Deadpool & Wolverine”; “Gladiator II”; “Inside Out 2”; “Twisters”; “Wicked”; “The Wild Robot”

Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language
“Emilia Pérez”
Nominees in this category: “All We Imagine as Light”; “Emilia Pérez”; “The Girl With the Needle”; “I’m Still Here”; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; “Vermiglio”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”
Nominees in this category: Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl”; Angelina Jolie, “Maria”; Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”; Tilda Swinton, “The Room Next Door”; Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”; Kate Winslet, “Lee”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Nominees in this category: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”; Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”; Daniel Craig, “Queer”; Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”; Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”; Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Nominees in this category: Amy Adams, “Nightbitch”; Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”; Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”; Mikey Madison, “Anora”; Demi Moore, “The Substance”; Zendaya, “Challengers”