Sundance Institute announced details for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s annual fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford, taking place on Friday, January 23, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Utah. The evening will honor Sundance Institute’s Founder, Robert Redford — his legacy, vision, and enduring mission to support independent storytellers. In paying tribute this year, the inaugural Robert Redford Luminary Award will be established and presented to Ed Harris and Gyula Gazdag, two artists deeply dedicated to the Sundance Institute labs and committed to elevating bold storytellers. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will be held from January 22–February 1, 2026, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with the at-home program available online from January 29–February 1, 2026, for audiences across the country.
Guests will come together to celebrate Robert Redford and the profound impact of his vision in nurturing independent voices and the next generation of filmmakers through Sundance Institute’s year-round artist programs, Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Collab, and beyond. For over four decades, the Institute — a nonprofit he founded in 1981 to discover and develop groundbreaking artists — has shaped independent cinema and uplifted the power of storytelling and will continue to carry forward that mission.
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. Harris and Gazdag will be acknowledged for their decades-long contributions as creative advisors for the Sundance Institute Directors Lab, where they offer guidance to artists as they develop and refine their projects and skills as writers and directors in a nurturing, immersive environment. They will be honored for their dedication to Robert Redford’s vision of elevating new voices, championing independent storytelling, and upholding that artistic endeavor for years to come.
“This will be a profoundly meaningful year for Sundance Institute as we honor our Founder, Robert Redford. This special evening supports the mission that he built this organization upon,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair. “This annual event enables the nonprofit Institute to continue to launch and uplift the work of independent artists from all over the world through labs, grants, and public programs. We look forward to our guests joining us in honoring and celebrating the vision that we will carry forward.”
“We are immensely honored to recognize the legacy of Robert Redford through this annual event,” said Amanda Kelso, Acting CEO of Sundance Institute. “We are pleased to introduce the Robert Redford Luminary Award to Ed Harris and Gyula Gazdag, who have played crucial roles in the Sundance Institute labs for over two decades and strongly exemplify the mission that Mr. Redford set for the organization. By dedicating their time to mentoring artists and collaborating with the fellows who have come through the labs, they have been influential in the development of generations of filmmakers. We are proud to continue this important work with them.”
Ed Harris has an acclaimed film, television, and theater career spanning five decades. He is a four-time Academy Award nominee, a two-time Golden Globe winner, and an Emmy nominee for his performances in The Hours, The Truman Show, Apollo 13, Game Change, Empire Falls, Westworld, and Pollock — his feature film directing debut. He has been a creative advisor for the Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs since 2002.
“My association with Sundance Institute has primarily been with the Directors Lab,” said Ed Harris. “I’ve fortunately been asked to take part in the lab as an advisor for the past 19 years. Those weeks have been at the top of the list of the most rewarding, fulfilling, invaluable experiences of my life. The work and the people I’ve met and learned from and loved have enriched my life considerably. I’m eternally grateful to Robert Redford for his vision and passion. And I humbly accept this honor.”
Gyula Gazdag is a screenwriter, film and theater director, distinguished professor emeritus (UCLA), creative advisor (Binger Film Lab, Amsterdam), and mentor at Script Station (Berlinale Talents). He was named one of the 10 best film teachers in America by Daily Variety (2010). He has been a creative advisor for the Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs since 1994 and artistic director for the Directors Lab since 1997.
“The Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs became my second home throughout the years, where everything is about nurturing independent art, and that is second nature to every person who is part of it,” said Gyula Gazdag. “It has provided me with fresh air, inspiration, camaraderie, moral support, and love. I always felt that making an effort to reciprocate all of that results in a fruitful process of free creation. Becoming part of the Sundance Institute family is one of the best things that ever happened to me. This award, bearing Robert Redford’s name, to whom I am eternally grateful for what he created, is a great honor for me. It is extremely precious, since it is coming from the place that I cherish and admire.”
The annual event enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, intensives, grants, fellowships, a continuum of support, and public programming. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival Single Film Tickets for in-person and online screenings go on sale January 14 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.
