Sundance Institute today announced that its President & Founder Robert Redford will present journalist and film critic Roger Ebert with the Vanguard Leadership Award in recognition of his advocacy of independent cinema. The award presentation will take place at the third annual 'Celebrate Sundance Institute' benefit, chaired by Institute Trustee Lyn Lear and her husband, Norman, on June 5, 2013 in Los Angeles.
Ebert is known for the Chicago Sun-Times film review column he has written since 1967. As of 2010, his reviews were syndicated in more than 200 newspapers worldwide. He is equally known for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The Movies, all of which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel and for which they secured multiple Emmy Award nominations. He has written more than 15 books and since 1999 has hosted the annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival in Champaign, Illinois. He is a frequent attendee of the Sundance Film Festival, where he discovered and championed films including Man Push Cart, Come Early Morning, Longtime Companion, Metropolitan, The Brothers McMullen, Crumb, Picture Bride, American Movie and The War Zone.Videos