Kristen Stewart swears her love for Sundance: 'Love being here'

Kristen Stewart, known for her cool and nonchalant persona, arrived at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival with a bang, literally and figuratively.

The actress had a mic drop moment on Thursday night as she was wrapping off her acceptance speech following her Sundance Film Festival Visionary Award. The event is officially called the Opening Night Gala: Celebrating 40 Years. It took place in the DeJoria Centre in the neighbouring town of Kamas, Utah, and was presented by Chase Sapphire.

Stewart, who is 33 years old, has already attended Sundance ten times and will be returning this year with two more films: Rose Glass's Love Lies Bleeding and Sam and Andy Zuchero's Love Me, which stars Steven Yeun. Wearing a tweed suit from the French fashion house, the Chanel muse took a brief trip down memory lane to reminisce on her first visit to Park City and explain why the vibes were so strong.

“I really love this festival — my whole life I have loved this festival. I came here for the first time 20 years ago, I realized today. I could barely speak English when spoken to. I got my first pair of Ugg boots, and I actually got to be where the cool kids were. I knew that in my bones this was just a place full of yes, in a world full of no. I couldn’t even understand why yet, but I knew it and I know that I was right,” said Stewart, who also said the honour arrived perfectly timed as well.

“Words were only as meaningful as the people and places that give them to you and to be accepted by the community I have admired so personally, it is so lovely and enlivening. It is so well-timed. I need this.”

In a programme that also honoured Christopher Nolan, director of Past Lives Celine Song, director of The Eternal Memory Maite Alberdi, and benefactor and Sundance board chair Pat Mitchell, Stewart accepted the trophy.