BOULDER, COLORADO, NOVEMBER 13, 2026 — The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced details for the 2027 Sundance Film Festival’s annual fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute: The Boulder Debut, taking place on Friday, January 22, 2027, at the Limelight Boulder hotel in Boulder, Colorado. The evening will be emceed by Stanley Tucci and will honor Jesse Eisenberg with the annual Trailblazer Award, Gina Prince-Bythewood with the second annual Robert Redford Luminary Award, Beth de Araújo with the annual Vanguard Award Presented by Acura for Fiction, and Dawn Porter with the annual Vanguard Award Presented by Acura for Nonfiction. 

 

The annual gala enables the nonprofit Institute to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programs that nurture artists from all over the world. The 2027 Festival will be held from January 21–31, 2027, in person in Boulder, Colorado, with the at-home program available online from January 28–31, 2027, for audiences across the country.

 

“As we open this exciting new chapter for the Sundance Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado, we are proud to gather for our annual fundraising gala,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair. “This special evening directly supports the Institute’s core mission to nurture and uplift independent storytellers around the world through our labs, grants, and public programs. We look forward to welcoming our community to celebrate our extraordinary honorees and champion the values that continue to guide us.”

 

“We are deeply honored to recognize the incredible and groundbreaking honorees at Celebrating Sundance Institute: The Boulder Debut,” said David Linde, CEO of Sundance Institute. “This year’s event will be a memorable kickoff to mark a historic first Festival in our new home, while continuing Sundance Institute’s legacy of supporting and honoring bold voices in independent cinema.”

 

“This is an incredibly meaningful year for Sundance Institute as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Documentary Film Program (DFP),” said Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs at Sundance Institute. “For over two decades, the DFP has championed independent filmmakers of cinematic documentaries, from development through audience engagement, on a wide range of contemporary topics and themes. The films supported by the DFP through our international granting fund, labs, and educational and international partnership opportunities have sparked essential conversations, helped shape social and cultural movements, and expanded audiences for nonfiction storytelling globally, inspiring generations of artists, many of whom have gone on to bring their work to the Sundance Film Festival. We are thrilled to come together for the first time in Boulder for our annual gathering, which plays a vital role in sustaining our year-round commitment to nurturing bold, independent voices and advancing the work of the Documentary Film Program and all artist programs.”

 

Stanley Tucci is an Academy Award–nominated, Emmy- and Golden Globe–winning actor, writer, director, and producer and a New York Times bestselling author. His celebrated career spans more than 100 films, television, and theater, alongside acclaimed work exploring food and culture, and he’s participated in the Feature Film Program labs as a creative advisor.

 

“I am very honored to host the 2027 Sundance Film Festival’s Celebrating Sundance Institute: The Boulder Debut fundraising event,” said Stanley Tucci. “Sundance Film Festival has played a significant role in my career for close to 40 years, and I am very happy it has found a new home in Boulder so that it might continue to champion independent film.”

 

Recognizing an artist’s unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of independent film, the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award will be presented to filmmaker and actor Jesse Eisenberg. Previous honorees include Chloé Zhao, James Mangold, and Christopher Nolan. 

 

Jesse Eisenberg has been to the Sundance Film Festival as an actor with such films as The Squid and the Whale (2005), Holy Rollers (2010), and The Double (2014), and as a filmmaker with When You Finish Saving the World (2022) and A Real Pain (2024), for which he won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic. His new film, The Debut, stars Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti.

 

“Every time I’ve been invited to the Sundance Film Festival, I’ve jumped for joy,” said Jesse Eisenberg. “This time, I’m jumping with joy and gratitude. I’m so honored — and surprised — to receive the Trailblazer Award.”

 

The Robert Redford Luminary Award recognizes and celebrates individuals who have, in a visionary way, used their resources, insights, and reach to create possibility where there wasn’t, thus doing their part to make the world a better place. Gina Prince-Bythewood will be honored for her dedication to Robert Redford’s vision of elevating new voices and championing independent storytelling. Prior to her iconic debut feature, Love & Basketball, premiering at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, Prince-Bythewood developed the project at Sundance Institute labs, including the 1998 January Screenwriters Lab, 1998 Directors Lab, 1998 Screenplay Reading Series, and the 1998 June Screenwriters Lab. Prince-Bythewood returned to the Sundance Film Festival in 2017 with her episodic series Shots Fired alongside co-creator and partner Reggie Rock Bythewood. She served as a creative advisor for the 2023 Directors Lab, graciously giving her time and expertise to mentor and support the fellows that came after her. The Robert Redford Luminary Award debuted in January 2026 during Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Robert Redford and was presented to Ed Harris and Gyula Gazdag.

 

Gina Prince-Bythewood is a writer-director known for her authentic, character-driven films Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights, The Old Guard, The Woman King, and the upcoming Children of Blood and Bone.

 

“The Sundance Institute labs changed the trajectory of my life,” said Gina Prince-Bythewood. “Every single studio and production company passed on Love & Basketball. And then the labs called to invite me and the script to be a part of their world. I am forever grateful for Robert Redford’s vision to amplify the silenced voices, to champion the untold stories, and to believe in first-time filmmakers. Receiving this award that honors him is incredibly meaningful and feels beautifully full circle.”

 

The annual Vanguard Awards Presented by Acura honor emerging artists whose work highlights the art of storytelling and creative independence in both fiction and nonfiction. The Vanguard Award Presented by Acura for Fiction will be presented to Beth de Araújo, director of Josephine (2026), and the Vanguard Award Presented by Acura for Nonfiction will go to Dawn Porter, director of When A Witness Recants (2026). Previous honorees include Nia DaCosta, Geeta Gandbhir, Sean Wang, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, Celine Song, Maite Alberdi, Ryan Coogler, W. Kamau Bell, Nikyatu Jusu, Siân Heder, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Radha Blank, Lulu Wang, Boots Riley, Dee Rees, Marielle Heller, Damien Chazelle, Benh Zeitlin, and many more. Acura’s commitment as a Presenting Sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival and the Vanguard Award underscores its long-standing efforts to uplift independent artists and emerging voices in film.

 

Writer-director Beth de Araújo’s sophomore feature, Josephine, was supported by the Feature Film Program labs and won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Josephine was acquired by Sumerian Pictures and will be theatrically released in the fall. She was nominated for the 2022 Gotham Award for Breakthrough Director for her debut film, Soft & Quiet. Soft & Quiet premiered at SXSW in 2022 and subsequently was acquired by Blumhouse and distributed by eOne.  

 

“I am deeply honored to receive the Vanguard Award for Fiction and join the first annual celebration of the Sundance Film Festival in Boulder,” said Beth de Araújo. “The Sundance Institute community has built and fostered a home for countless artists, one that encourages us to share our stories with uncompromising vision. Without this support, I could not have started this career. I am so excited to see the Festival and the Institute programs that I hold so dear thrive and grow in Boulder.”

 

Dawn Porter is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the founder of Trilogy Films. A former attorney, she is a four-time Sundance Film Festival director whose work gives attention to the overlooked and traces the human consequences of policy and social action. Her films and series have appeared on HBO, Netflix, ESPN, PBS, Hulu, Apple TV, and Showtime. In 2024, President Joe Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal at the White House.

 

“Sundance Institute has been such a critical partner in my career path,” said Dawn Porter. “From the documentary labs to Festival premieres and so much more, my career would not be what it is without Sundance Institute. It is truly an honor to mark this new chapter with the Vanguard Award for Nonfiction!”

 

The 2027 Sundance Film Festival Single Film Tickets for in-person and online screenings go on sale January 8 at 10 a.m. MT, and limited quantities of select passes and packages remain on sale. Visit the Sundance Film Festival website for more information: festival.sundance.org.

 

Sundance Film Festival®

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute, is the preeminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide. The Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past decades, including Prime Minister, Pee-wee as Himself, Dìdi (弟弟), A Real Pain, Daughters, Thelma, Will & Harper, Past Lives, 20 Days in Mariupol, The Eternal Memory, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, A Thousand and One, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Rye Lane, Navalny, Fire of Love, Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Minari, Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, O.J.: Made in America, On the Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs, and sex, lies, and videotape. The program consists of fiction and nonfiction features and short films, series and episodic content, innovative storytelling, as well as conversations and other events. The 2027 Sundance Film Festival will make its Boulder, Colorado, debut on January 21–31, 2027. Be a part of the Festival at festival.sundance.org and follow the Festival on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and Bluesky.

 

The Festival is a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute. To date 2027 Sundance Film Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, Adobe, United Airlines, Capital One; Leadership Sponsors – Audible, Merrell, Omnicom; Sustaining Sponsors – Boulder Community Health, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Crazy Mountain Non-Alc Brew, IMDbPro, Planar, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Whiskey, Sundance Now, UCHealth; Media Sponsors – The Ankler, Los Angeles Times, SPIN Magazine, Variety. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year round programs for independent artists. The University of Colorado Boulder is the Official University Partner of the Sundance Film Festival. Please visit festival.sundance.org for more.

 

Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance Institute advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Dìdi (弟弟), Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, Fruitvale Station, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, RBG, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Nia DaCosta, Ryan Coogler, The Daniels, Robert Eggers, Rick Famuyiwa, David Gordon Green, Sterlin Harjo, Marielle Heller, Miranda July, Nikyatu Jusu, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Boots Riley, A.V. Rockwell, Ira Sachs, Walter Salles, Quentin Tarantino, Erica Tremblay, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and Bluesky.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Rachel Walker, rachel_walker@sundance.org; Alex Courides, alex_courides@sundance.org; celebratingsundance@ssmandl.com