Los
Angeles, CA:
Sundance Institute will remember and celebrate journalist and film critic Roger Ebert by
honoring him with the Vanguard Leadership
Award in Memoriam, in recognition of his advocacy of independent cinema. He
was a frequent attendee of the Sundance Film Festival, where he discovered and
supported films like Hoop Dreams, Man Push Cart, Come Early
Morning, Longtime Companion, Metropolitan, The Brothers
McMullen, Crumb, Picture Bride, American Movie, and The
War Zone. Sundance alumni who count him as an advocate include Steve James,
Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Errol Morris
and Werner Herzog. Beginning in 1967 with his film review column in the Chicago
Sun Times, Ebert was a fierce and tireless champion of original
storytelling. He is equally known for the television programs Sneak Previews,
At the Movies, Siskel & Ebert, and Ebert & Roeper.
Ebert will be the second recipient of the Vanguard Leadership Award. The first
was presented this year to philanthropist and Sundance Institute Trustee George
Gund.
Robert
Redford,
President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “Roger Ebert was one of the
great champions of freedom of artistic expression. When the power of
independent film was still unknown and few would support it, Roger was there
for our artists. His personal passion for cinema was boundless, and that is
sure to be his legacy for generations to come.” Redford will present the award
to Ebert’s wife, Chaz.
Sundance Institute also announced filmmaker Ryan
Coogler (Fruitvale Station) will be honored with the Vanguard
Award, presented by Tiffany & Co. Actress Kerry Washington will
present the award to Coogler at the third annual ‘Celebrate Sundance Institute’
benefit on June 5, 2013 in Los Angeles. Director Coogler’s first feature film, Fruitvale
Station, was selected for Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program
Screenwriters Lab and Artist Granting Fund and went on to win both the Grand
Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Fruitvale Station will screen in the “Un Certain Regard” section
at Cannes this month and will be released by The Weinstein Company in July
2013.
Sundance Institute relies on the generosity
of donors who share a commitment to nurturing new artists, supporting unique
and diverse creative voices, and furthering the reach of independent feature
and documentary films around the world. The event will raise crucial funds to
offset the non-profit Institute’s year-round programs for artists, including
Labs, grants and the Sundance Film Festival. For information on benefit event
tickets and tables or sponsorship opportunities, visit the events site at http://www.sundance.org/labenefit.
