James Mangold Delivers Call to Action for Filmmakers in Sundance Speech

James Mangold, fresh from seeing his Bob Dylan offering A Complete Unknown snag eight Oscar nominations, received a hero’s welcome this weekend upon returning to the Sundance Film Festival where he got his start as an auteur.

Following in the footsteps of inaugural honoree Christopher Nolan, Mangold received a Trailblazer Award during the Celebrating Sundance Institute gala fundraiser presented by Google TV and held at Park City’s Grand Hyatt Deer Valley on Friday night. The filmmaker, who has amassed an impressively diverse resume that spans genres, budgets and blockbusters, made the most of his time in the spotlight by retracing his festival roots and delivering a call to action to all of the storytellers in the room.

He was joined on the fundraiser program by fellow honorees Michelle Satter of the Sundance Institute, Cynthia Erivo (Visionary Award), Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie (Vanguard Award for Fiction) and Sean Wang (Vanguard Award for Nonfiction).

Though his award had trailblazer in its title, Mangold said he knows that some may think of him as a “strange trailblazer.” In fact, “me too,” he said.

“Maybe none of us should ever think of ourselves that way. But I’ve always been fascinated by the filmmakers of the past, and so I kind of never felt like a ‘blazer’ as much as a follower of great masters. Some of whose trails may have been overgrown with brushes over time.”

Mangold’s career trail can be traced back to Sundance, which he said has always been a kind of beacon for him when he was starting out, “a far off place that I read about and saw on TV.” He visited first as a fan and later to attend the Sundance Lab to develop what would end up becoming his 1997 feature Cop Land. His first film, Heavy, was invited to the festival and it won him a director’s prize. His other credits include Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Ford v Ferrari, Logan, The Wolverine, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, Girl, Interrupted and Identity, among others.

As Mangold’s career skyrocketed, he hasn’t forgotten his roots by staying close to Sundance while serving as an advisor and mentor to other filmmakers through the years. “It really is a two-way street for us anyway, through all these years. It’s been a place where I made lifelong friends, and among them Robert Redford and Michelle Satter,” he noted. “It’s immeasurable how deeply these two people have shaped the course of filmmaking, not just Sundance, but filmmaking worldwide from the late 20th century until now with kind and gentle and firm and loving support of new voices.”

Or all of the voices, actually. “I don’t know a single filmmaker of note who has not had some sort of enlightening experience here, and that’s just kind of an incredible thing to say,” Mangold said. “I just don’t know anyone who hasn’t had something wonderful happen among these mountains with these people.”

Mangold, who was feted by Joel Edgerton in person and Edward Norton on video, then closed his speech with a call to action for filmmakers. “We don’t make anesthesia. We don’t need to make things that help people pass idle time,” he said near the end of his speech which was interrupted by a female heckler in the back of the ballroom who said something about “that’s what TikTok is for” in reference to passing idle time.

Mangold recovered easily from the outburst and said this: “In this time of irony and snark and internet nightmares, we need sincerity and earnestness more than ever. That doesn’t mean every film needs to be a history lesson or depressing or weepy. It just means we shouldn’t be embarrassed to feel shit and show it. We can battle the sleepwalking of our culture, not only with issue oriented films, but also as Michelle said, entertaining ones that feel and feel earnest and vital and emotional and true. Anyway, that’s how, in some small way, I hope some of my work is remembered, and I’m sure that’s how the work of Sundance will be remembered. It is my honor to be here tonight and join you all, and thank you again for this wonderful honor.”