2025 Sundance Gala to honor film champion Michelle Satter’s 40-year legacy

Sean Wang, Julian Brave NoiseCat, and Emily Kassie to Receive Annual Vanguard Awards Presented by Acura. Photo: Sundance Institute.

PARK CITY, Utah – The Sundance Institute has announced that its 2025 gala fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV, will honor longtime artist development executive Michelle Satter. The event, to be held on January 24, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, will recognize Satter’s four decades of dedication to nurturing independent artists through the Sundance Labs.

The gala will also present the annual Vanguard Awards Presented by Acura to rising filmmakers Sean Wang, writer and director of Dìdi (弟弟), and Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, co-directors of Sugarcane. Both films premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

The event is crucial for fundraising to support Sundance Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists, including labs, grants, and public programming.

“For over four decades Michelle has been devoted to truly championing independent storytellers,” said Amanda Kelso, Acting CEO of Sundance Institute, in a statement. “She has encouraged artists to own their voice, learn their craft, become fierce leaders, and develop their resilience in our changing ecosystem.”

Satter began working with Robert Redford, the founder of the Sundance Institute, in 1981. Together, they developed impactful ways to mentor emerging independent storytellers in a creative, rigorous, and safe space, starting with the annual June Filmmakers Lab. Satter has mentored award-winning filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Chloé Zhao, Dee Rees, and Ryan Coogler. She founded Sundance Collab, a global digital platform for storytelling and learning, and has overseen the Institute’s global initiatives, including the Indigenous, Catalyst, and Documentary Film Programs.

“Championing independent artists through the Sundance Institute has been the driving force of my career,” said Satter in a statement. “I’m passionately invested in this work because I believe that art and storytelling can truly reshape the world, sparking empathy, bridging humanity, and fostering understanding for global audiences, all while engaging and inspiring them.”

The Vanguard Awards recognize emerging artists whose work exemplifies creative independence and storytelling. Previous honorees are Celine Song, Maite Alberdi, Ryan Coogler, and Lulu Wang.

Wang received support from Sundance Institute through the Ignite x Adobe Fellowship, the Asian American Foundation Fellowship, and the 2023 Directors and Screenwriters Labs. Dìdi (弟弟) won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and was acquired by Focus Features.

Brave NoiseCat and Kassie’s Sugarcane won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Brave NoiseCat is a Canim Lake Band and Lil’Wat Nation descendant and his debut book, We Survived the Night, will be published in 2025. Kassie is an Emmy and Peabody-nominated filmmaker and investigative journalist whose work has been featured in The New York Times, PBS, and Netflix.

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025.

2025 Sundance Film Festival ticket passes and packages on sale now