Sundance Film Festival 2025 Gala to Honor Sean Wang and ‘Sugarcane’ Co-Directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie with Vanguard Awards

Michelle Satter, the founding Senior Director of Artist Programs at Sundance Institute, will be toasted at the ceremony on January 24.

The annual Sundance Film Festival gala fundraiser has unveiled its 2025 honorees. Known as “Celebrating Sundance Institute,” presented by Google TV, the gala will bestow the Vanguard Awards to “Dìdi” writer/director Sean Wang, and “Sugarcane” co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie. Both features premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

“Dìdi” won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast, before being acquired by Focus Features.

“For over a decade, Sundance has been my north star, symbolizing artistic excellence and bold, distinct voices,” Wang said of the honor. “It has since also become a community of artists, an unwavering support system, and a creative home for both myself and my first feature, ‘Dìdi (弟弟)’. As the recipient of several Sundance Institute artist development programs — Ignite, TAAF, and the Screenwriters and Directors Labs — I know firsthand how deeply transformative that support can be for emerging storytellers. I’ll especially never forget the experience of being at the Sundance Labs, just months before shooting my movie, and how reinvigorated and inspired I felt. It is a feeling that is too special to not nourish and carry forward for others. I truly wouldn’t be the filmmaker I am today without Sundance. I’m so grateful to receive this award and I’m excited to see the future of independent cinema continue to flourish under Michelle Satter’s steadfast vision and commitment to supporting new artists.”

“Sugarcane” won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award.

“We are deeply honored to receive the Vanguard Award for ‘Sugarcane,’” NoiseCat and Kassie said. “Sundance gave us and our film a place to learn and grow through the generosity of mentors, peers, and fellow artists. We will never forget that special afternoon at the Library Center Theatre when the room went dark and we held hands — and our breath — with anticipation. It meant the world to us and our participants, who so bravely shared their lives on screen, for this long ignored but essential history to be recognized by the preeminent home for independent cinema. Sundance helped bring the reckoning our film follows to a global audience at a pivotal moment, not just for the First People of North America but for all people who call this continent home. Thank you for letting us be part of this extraordinary legacy and for celebrating the film — and community — of ‘Sugarcane.’”

The Vanguard Awards are presented by Acura. Previous recipients include Celine Song, Maite Alberdi, W. Kamau Bell, Nikyatu Jusu, Ryan Coogler, Siân Heder, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Radha Blank, Lulu Wang, Dee Rees, Damien Chazelle, Marielle Heller, Benh Zeitlin, Boots Riley, and more. 

Wang will receive the Vanguard Award for Fiction, with the Vanguard Award for Nonfiction going to NoiseCat and Kassie for their documentary. The awards honor emerging artists whose work highlights the art of storytelling and creative independence.

“We are thrilled to recognize Sean Wang, Julian Brave NoiseCat, and Emily Kassie — inspiring filmmakers that represent the next generation of independent storytelling, who have each been supported by the Institute,” Amanda Kelso, the acting CEO of Sundance Institute, said. “We look forward to our guests joining us at the Celebrating Sundance Institute gala, allowing us to continue our nonprofit efforts of launching, transforming, and sustaining the work of artists and their immeasurable impact on the world.”

The gala will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. 

The evening itself will be in celebration of Michelle Satter, the founding Senior Director of Artist Programs at Sundance Institute. Satter’s longstanding, four-decade commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film with the Sundance Labs will be feted.

“For over four decades Michelle has been devoted to truly championing independent storytellers,” Kelso added. “She has encouraged artists to own their voice, learn their craft, become fierce leaders, and develop their resilience in our changing ecosystem. Her life-long commitment to supporting artists, especially in underrepresented communities, has helped produce some of the most bold and distinctive films that have engaged audiences globally and sustained their visionary work throughout their career.”

Satter worked alongside festival founder Robert Redford since 1981. Satter launched with the annual Filmmakers Lab, and has mentored award-winning filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Chloé Zhao, Dee Rees, John Cameron Mitchell, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ryan Coogler, Miranda July, Kimberly Peirce, Darren Aronofsky, Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi, and more.

Over the years, Satter built the Episodic Program, Producers Program, the Institute’s global initiatives, and oversees the Indigenous, Catalyst, and Documentary Film Programs. She also founded Sundance Collab — a global digital platform for storytelling, learning, and community, open to creators everywhere. Her contributions to film and advocacy have been recognized with numerous awards including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an Oscar presented at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science’s 2024 Governors Awards, the Women in Film Business Leadership Award, and the ACLU Bill of Rights Award.

“Championing independent artists through the Sundance Institute has been the driving force of my career,” Satter said in a press 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. Our Labs have grown into vital spaces for creativity, risk-taking, and community — building a model for artist support around the world. In today’s fast-changing industry, the mission of Sundance and other forward-thinking organizations has never been more crucial, paving new paths for independent artists and elevating voices that deserve to be heard.”

The 2025 festival will take place from January 23 through February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online from January 30 through February 2, 2025 for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling.