Sundance 2024: Robert Downey Jr, Jodie Foster to present on opening night

The upcoming Sundance Film Festival promises to bring glamour and star power as the festival has roped in actors like Jodie Foster, Robert Downey Jr., Jesse Eisenberg, and others to present on the opening night gala. The film festival will kick off on January 18. It will b beheld at the DeJoria Center.

Taking centrestage on the opening night, Robert Downey Jr., will offer a tribute to his Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan as he receives the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award for an acclaimed career and contributions to independent cinema. Jesse Eisenberg will present to former co-star and friend Kristen Stewart who will win a Visionary Award “for her work as an uncompromising artist, contributions to the field of independent film, and her long history with the Sundance Film Festival.”

Jodie Foster will present documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi with a Vanguard Award for nonfiction presented by Acura. Veteran producer Christine Vachon will present to Past Lives filmmaker Celine Song, who will be honored with a Vanguard Award for fiction.

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Then, Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will present journalist and producer Pat Mitchell with the Vanguard Award for philanthropy.

For the unversed, the opening night gala helps the Sundance Institute raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, grants, and public programming.

The Sundance Film Festival runs January 18–28, in Park City and Salt Lake City, as well as online from January 25–28.