Jessica Lange to Receive Sun Valley Vision Award

Jessica Lange will receive the Vision Award at the 2026 Sun Valley Film Festival, adding a career tribute to an event that will also bring one of her major stage roles to the screen. The two-time Academy Award winner is scheduled to take part in an onstage conversation during the festival in Sun Valley, Idaho.

A tribute built around conversation

The award, presented in partnership with Deadline, recognizes Lange’s work across film, television and theater. Festival founder and executive director Teddy Grennan said the event will give audiences a chance to hear the actor discuss the craft and experiences behind a career that has stretched across five decades.

The festival runs December 2 through December 6. Its official program describes a mix of screenings, industry conversations and special events, a format that makes Lange’s live discussion more than a standard award presentation. The Vision Award has previously honored artists including Annette Bening, Clint Eastwood, Geena Davis, Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore and Meg Ryan.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night joins the program

Sun Valley will also screen director Jonathan Kent’s adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Lange plays Mary Tyrone opposite Ed Harris as James Tyrone, with Ben Foster and Derek Carroll also in the cast. David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the screenplay.

The role carries special significance in Lange’s stage career. She played Mary Tyrone on Broadway and won a Tony Award for the performance in 2016. Bringing the filmed adaptation to the festival allows the tribute to connect her screen legacy with the theater work that has remained a central part of her career.

A career spanning several mediums

Lange made her screen debut in the 1976 version of King Kong and later won Oscars for Tootsie and Blue Sky. Her television work includes Emmy-winning performances in Grey Gardens and American Horror Story, while her stage credits also include A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie.

She has continued moving between those mediums, recently returning to American Horror Story and appearing in The Great Lillian Hall. The Sun Valley honor reflects that range, pairing a retrospective conversation with a current project rather than treating the award as a purely nostalgic celebration.