Kristen Stewart — the star of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Spencer” and the “Twilight” film franchise — will be honored at the opening night celebrations at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Stewart, an Academy Award nominee for portraying Princess Diana in “Spencer,” will be given Sundance’s Visionary Award at a gala set for Jan. 18, the first night of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The award will go to Stewart “in recognition of her work as an uncompromising artist and contributions to the field of independent film,” according to a release from the film festival.
“Sundance’s purity, lack of fussy pretension and its commitment to supporting independence in an industry that doesn’t always value the radical or the sidelined is what makes it by far the homiest place for me to go see, discuss and present films,” Stewart said in a statement released Thursday by the Sundance Institute. She added that she is “truly honored to be acknowledged by this beloved institution.”
According to the institute, Stewart has had 10 films screen at the festival, including “The Runaways” (in which she played a young Joan Jett), “Adventureland” (playing opposite Jesse Eisenberg) and “Lizzie” (in which she played a maid in a steamy relationship with Lizzie Borden). Stewart made her debut as a director at the 2017 festival with the short “Come Swim.”
(Justine Yeung | Sundance Institutre) Kristen Stewart, left, and Steven Yeun star in the science-fiction drama "Love Me," directed by Sam Zuchero and Andy Zuchero, an official selection in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
At the 2024 festival, Stewart will star in two films: “Love Me,” a science-fiction romance co-starring Steven Yuen, which is playing in the U.S. Dramatic competition and already has been awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for films with a science or technology theme; and “Love Lies Bleeding,” a dark drama, in the Midnight section, in which she plays a gym manager who has an affair with a visiting bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian).
“Kristen’s captivating performances across a wide, diverse body of work make her a truly unique talent. With over 10 Sundance films under her belt, she has always remained committed to the art of independent cinema,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO.
Stewart will be honored alongside other award recipients: “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan will receive the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award; directors Celine Song (”Past Lives”) and Maite Alberdi (”The Eternal Memory”) will receive the Vanguard Award, for fiction and nonfiction, respectively; and Pat Mitchell, a producer and the former president/CEO of PBS, will be given the Vanguard Award for philanthropy.
(Sundance Institute) Lou (Kristen Stewart, right), a gym manager, begins a relationship with a bodybuilder, Jackie (Katy O'Brian), in director Rose Glass' "Love Lies Bleeding," an official selection in the Midnight program of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.