Christopher Nolan honoured with the Trailblazer Award at the Sundance Film Festival

The Oppenheimer and Memento director received the award from actor Robert Downey Jr.

Liselotte goes to Hollywood
2 min readJan 24, 2024

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Robert Downey Jr. and Christopher Nolan. Photo is courtesy of Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Christopher Nolan can add another prestigious accolade to his immense palmares as he received the first Trailblazer Award during the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival on the 18th of January.

The award, which, according to the press release, recognizes “an artist’s unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of independent film”, was awarded by Robert Downey Jr.. The actor, who stars in Nolan’s latest blockbuster Oppenheimer, joked that the director isn’t very pleased with the fact that because of Oppenheimer’s immense success, he’s being recognized on the street. Downey Jr. said that Nolan is “a trailblazer who ventures where no one has gone before and is hard to follow. This delights him — the very possibility of not having to see anybody along the way in front of him at all. Ever.”

When receiving the award, Nolan reflected on his early years as a director and independent filmmaker. He attended the Sundance Film Festival in 2001 with his independent feature Memento, and according to the filmmaker himself , “the experiences you have at Sundance as a filmmaker are unique. You carry it with…

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Liselotte goes to Hollywood

Film journalist living in London. If you have a film to review or interview opportunities, contact me via liselottevanophem@hotmail.com :)