The Sun Valley Film Festival, which will be returning in-person for its 11th annual event from March 30 to April 3, has announced additional awards and films that will be screened this year.
Variety will present this year’s Pioneer Award to Danny Strong on April 1. As a writer, director, actor and producer, Strong has earned two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two WGA awards, a PGA Award and a Peabody Award — with credits ranging from both parts of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” to “Dopesick.” Previous Pioneer Award winners include Shaka King, Aaron Paul, Eliza Hittman and Mark Duplass.
Also on April 1, the Rising Star Award will be given to Netflix’s “Outer Banks” cast members Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Austin North, Drew Starkey and Carlacia Grant. Recipients of the Rising Star Award in the past include Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Winston Duke, Eliza Hittman, Alex Ross Perry and Allison Williams.
The Sun Valley Film Festival has previously announced that, in addition to the Pioneer Award and the Rising Star Award, Woody Harrelson and Amy Poehler will receive Vision Awards. Dr. Nathalie Dougé will be the recipient of National Geographic’s Further Award.
The Sun Valley Film Festival is set to screen over 25 narrative and documentary features this year — opening with National Geographic Documentary Films’ “Fire of Love” and closing with CNN’s “Navalny.”
Directed by Sara Dosa, “Fire of Love” dives into the lives and legacy of French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who researched the mystery of volcanoes. “Navalny,” directed by Daniel Roher, follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s quest to find the men who poisoned him in August 2020. “Navalny” premiered at the 2022 Sundance film festival, where it won the US documentary audience award and the festival favorite award.
Over two dozen short films will also be screened at this year’s festival — with two world premieres, one U.S. premiere and 17 Idaho premieres — including “After the Beep,” “Daddy’s Girl,” “Mary Anne & Frank,” “Remember” and “Written By.”
The 2022 Sun Valley Film Festival is also welcoming an impressive slate of judges. Judges in the feature documentary category include Julie Parker Benello, Trevor Groth and Heather Rae. Jo Addy, Eric Bress and Mariama Diallo will be among judges for feature narrative. For short films, judges include Kimberly Browning, Lindsay Calleran and Steven Snyder.