The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley hosted a starry Celebrating Sundance Institute that also honored James Mangold, Cynthia Erivo and filmmakers Sean Wang, Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.

This month, the Sundance Film Festival is once again providing a showcase for independent filmmakers and documentarians from around the world. But that isn't all that Sundance does. "Sunday Morning" goes behind the scenes.

This month, in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, the Sundance Film Festival is once again providing a showcase for independent filmmakers and documentarians from around the world. But that isn't all that Sundance does.

The Sundance Film Festival truly rolled double last year when the picked the honorees for tonight’s Gala fundraiser at the newly opened Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. However, even with newly minted Oscar nominees Cynthia Erivo and James Mangold in the house to receive the Visionary Award and Trailblazer Award respectively,

While the future home for Sundance, the iconic indie film festival actor Robert Redford helped create, remains up for debate, there’s no argument about the 2025 lineup in Utah. It’s dynamite, and includes a smattering of films with Bay Area ties.

“Artists are the gatekeepers of the truth,” Satter said during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Gala on Friday night at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. “We’re civilization’s anchor. We’re the compass for humanity’s consciousness.”

Michelle Satter, the founding director of the non-profit's filmmaker labs, was showered with praise at the festival's annual gala.

It's the halfway point of the fest and themes are beginning to emerge — technological detachment, pets — along with stars Dev Patel, Steven Yeun and Rachel Sennott.

Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh O Connor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, and many more celebrate film projects and awards in Park City, Utah.

The Sundance Film Festival catalogue can be overwhelming to navigate, with around 90 feature films playing across 11 days.

While the Sundance Film Festival mulls a big move for 2027, the 2025 is under way. The event’s 41st edition kicked off January 23 in Utah, and you can look below for all of Deadline’s reviews from the fest so far.