Instead it was Michelle Satter, whose name the general public may not know but was beloved in the room at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Park City.
Satter is the Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs for the Sundance Institute.
Satter launched the Filmmakers Lab for the Sundance Institute and directly mentored filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Chloé Zhao, Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Taika Waititi, and more.
Glenn Close, in one of three introductions for Satter, said she was “totally in awe of this particular human being.” “The depth and breadth of her influence is incalculable,” Close said.
The annual event helped to raise funds for the non-profit Sundance Institute that will be put toward the Institute’s other year-round work supporting independent film programs and grants.
The star of Sundance’s annual gala in 2025 wasn’t Oscar winner Olivia Colman, newly nominated Cynthia Erivo, or even Sara Bareilles, who received a standing ovation for a short performance to end the evening. The person who was adored in the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Park City was Michelle Satter, whose name the general public might not be familiar with.
Satter is the Sundance Institute’s founding senior director of artist programs. She has been a part of the non-profit since the very beginning. During her speech at the honorees dinner, Satter recalled gaining five minutes of Robert Redford’s time and summoning the bravery to inform him that she was needed to open a Sundance Institute office in Los Angeles.
He replied, “Yes. Once you arrive, give me a call. The rest is history.
Filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Chloé Zhao, Dee Rees, Ryan Coogler, Taika Waititi, and others were mentored directly by Satter, who also founded the Sundance Institute’s Filmmakers Lab.
Many of those people were in a video tribute to Satter, which was a heartwarming compilation of home videos in which Kieran Culkin, Tarantino, and Waititi were all just aspiring storytellers with baby faces. Several speakers in the video, including Ed Harris, Sally Field, the Daniels, and others, referred to her as Sundance’s unsung hero and the “silent voice” that has supported all of the great artists. The reason for this is that, despite not being listed as a producer on these movies, the filmmakers talked about how she made an impression on them by giving them uplifting criticism and having a strong belief in them.
A chorus of voices also trotted out to support her, as did Sundance. In one of Satter’s three opening remarks, Glenn Close expressed her admiration for this specific human being. “.”.
“There is no way to quantify the extent and magnitude of her impact,” Close stated. Like only a woman, she is tough and resilient. “.”.
“Nightbitch” director Marielle Heller, who collaborated with Satter on her first film, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” described her as simply “one of the best people” and “one of those points of light” that embody the positive aspects of the world.
The festival’s Trailblazer Award winner, James Mangold, stated that Redford’s choice to hire Satter was the “most significant and impactful decision he’s made.”. He still says, “I’m still yearning to convince you you were right,” after visiting the Sundance labs to write his script for Cop Land. “.”.
Additionally, Robert Redford, who was not present but whose daughter Amy Redford read the letter, called her “steadfast” in the face of four decades of shifting administrations and the pandemic and described her as “instrumental” in forming Sundance into what it is today.
The lighthouse is you. Redford wrote, in part, “You.”. But since you have always been so intent on the art, the artist, and their needs, it has never been about you. Maybe it’s to get them to back off or to keep digging. Perhaps give them a little buttshake or an embrace. “.”.
Satter took the stage to a standing ovation and delivered a moving speech about the recent loss of her family’s Palisades home due to the Los Angeles fires.
In the end, we are the village, even though we lost it. “”.
In Park City, the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley hosted this year’s “Celebrating Sundance Institute Presented by Google TV.”. Funds raised by the yearly event will support the non-profit Sundance Institute’s other year-round initiatives to support independent film grants and programs.
Increasingly, the Gala coincides with the Oscar campaign. This year, the Gala was held the day after the announcement of Oscar nominations, and Sundance honored Erivo, Mangold, and the directors of “Sugarcane,” Emily Kassie, who won the Vanguard Award for Non-Fiction, and Julian Brave NoiseCat, who received nominations. The winner of the U.S. S. In addition to winning the festival’s Vanguard Award for Fiction, the director of “The Wedding Banquet,” Andrew Ahn, also presented the Dramatic Jury Prize for last year’s “Didi.”.
Colman presented Erivo’s Visionary Award while sporting a tiara and jokingly remarked that she adores “how casual” Sundance is. When she initially saw Erivo in “Widows,” she recalled thinking, “This is a talented young American actress who will make a big impact someday.”. Even now, Erivo’s British accent is something she does for herself in private, according to Colman.
“As filmmakers, we don’t need to make thing that let people pass idle time,” Mangold added in a powerful speech. He argued for more earnestness in films, which Sundance excels at, and supported films that show their feelings prominently.
“We shouldn’t feel ashamed to express our emotions,” he said.