Chloé Zhao, NiaDaCosta, Geeta Gandbhir to Receive Honors at 2026 Sundance Institute Fundraiser
The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced additional honorees 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. During the evening, Chloé Zhao will receive the annual Trailblazer Award Presented by Google, Nia DaCosta will be presented with the annual Vanguard Award Presented by Acura for Fiction, and Geeta Gandbhir will receive the annual Vanguard Award Presented by Acura for Nonfiction.
Additional special guest participants include Amy Redford, Ava DuVernay, Ethan Hawke, David Lowery, Tessa Thompson, and more. The 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.
As previously announced, the evening will be a meaningful tribute to Sundance Institute’s Founder, Robert Redford — his legacy, vision, and enduring mission to support independent storytellers, and the inaugural Robert Redford Luminary Award will be presented to Gyula Gazdag and Ed Harris. The annual event enables the nonprofit to raise funds to support artists year-round through labs, intensives, grants, fellowships, a continuum of support, and public programming.
Recognizing an artist’s unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of independent film, the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award Presented by Google will be presented to Academy Award–winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao. Previous honorees include Christopher Nolan and James Mangold.
Chloé Zhao is a Beijing-born writer, director, editor, and producer. Her debut feature, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), was supported by the 2012 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs and later premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Zhao’s other films include The Rider (2017), Eternals (2021), and Nomadland (2020), which won three Oscars. Most recently, she directed, co-wrote, and co-edited Focus Features’ Hamnet (2025), from the bestselling novel of the same name. Led by her masterful creative vision and collaborative storytelling, the film has earned nine audience awards, as well as Golden Globe and Critics Choice Association nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. She launched the production company Book of Shadows in 2023 and Kodansha Studios in 2025.
“Sundance Institute was where my journey as a filmmaker truly began, so to be honored with the Trailblazer Award by this community feels like coming home,” said Chloé Zhao. “I’m deeply grateful for the support, friendship, and inspiration I’ve found here over the years, and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this empathetic and fearless community of storytellers.”
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 for Fiction will be presented to Nia DaCosta, director of Hedda (2025), and the Vanguard Award for Nonfiction will go to Geeta Gandbhir,director of The Perfect Neighbor (2025).Previous honorees include 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.
Nia DaCosta wrote, directed, and produced Hedda, which was released this fall. Previously, DaCosta directed and co-wrote The Marvels (2023), Candyman (2021), and Little Woods (2018), her debut feature supported by the 2015 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs. Her next film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, will be released in theaters on January 16, 2026.
“It is such an honor to be receiving the Vanguard Award from the Sundance Film Festival,” said Nia DaCosta. “It’s also incredibly fitting because all of the qualities of creative independence and intentional storytelling I am being recognized for are things I learned there, on the mountain during the Sundance Institute labs with Bob Redford, Michelle Satter, and their wonderful team. I can’t wait to accept this award, but most importantly I cannot wait to celebrate Bob, the Festival, and all of the amazing filmmakers in Park City next year.”
Director Geeta Gandbhir is an Emmy, Independent Spirit, and Peabody Award–winning filmmaker. Her documentary The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition category at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won the juried Directing Award: U.S. Documentary. As a director, her other recent credits include Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (2025), Eyes on the Prize (2025), The Devil Is Busy (2024), How We Get Free (2023), Born in Synanon (2023), and Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (2022).
“For many years, the Sundance Film Festival has been a guiding light for me — a place where bold, uncompromising stories find their home,” said Geeta Gandbhir. “The Festival has always embodied the kind of filmmaking I strive for: courageous, deeply human, and unafraid to confront difficult truths. What has meant the most to me is how the Festival continues to build community — one that not only celebrates artistic excellence but actively uplifts underrepresented voices and filmmakers who challenge the status quo. As someone whose work is rooted in justice, empathy, and the power of storytelling to spark change, being recognized with the Vanguard Award is profoundly meaningful. I’m deeply honored to be part of this community and this legacy of truth-telling and transformation.”
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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