Robert Downey Jr., Christopher Nolan, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg Kick Off 2024 Sundance Film Festival Opening Night Gala

Annual Event Celebrates Independent Storytellers and Raised Funds to Support the Sundance Institute’s Year-Round Programs

From The LifeMinute. TV Team

January 19, 2024

The Sundance Institute kicked off its 40th annual Sundance Film Festival with an Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire at the DeJoria Center in Utah last night. 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.

Oppenheimer star Robert Downey Jr. presented Christopher Nolan with the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award, recognizing an artist’s unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of independent film.

Downey Jr. joked 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 backward 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." 

Nolan also praised Emma Thomas, who has produced all of his films.

Jesse Eisenberg, who previously co-starred with Stewart in the Sundance film Adventureland, presented Kristen Stewart with 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.

“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,” said Eisenberg.

“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 personally is lovely and enlivening,” Stewart remarked. “Sundance is the f***ing shit. I’m so happy to be here.”