STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Filmmaker Gus Van Sant, whose films include “The Dating Game” and “Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul,” will receive the Sun Valley Film Festival’s Vision Award this year.

Van Sant will receive the award at the Vision Dinner presented by Deadline and MNTN during the festival, which runs Dec. 3-7.

Van Sant will participate in a free Coffee Talk on Friday, Dec. 5, to talk about his films that have influenced contemporary cinema, including Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Elephant and Good Will Hunting, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards.

The festival also will screen his latest film “Dead Man’s Wire,” a historical crime film based on the true story of kidnapping by Tony Kiritsis in the 1970s. Kiritsis walked into a mortgage office with a sawed-off shotgun wired to both his hostage and himself, triggering a 63-hour televised standoff that gripped the nation.

The film, which stars Bill Skarsgård, Cary Elwes and Al Pacino, is a psychological thriller and character study that explores media spectacle, mental health, and the fragile line between justice and chaos

“Gus Van Sant is a master filmmaker whose work has challenged convention and inspired generations,” said Teddy Grennan, executive director of the Sun Valley Film Festival. “Having him join us in Sun Valley says everything about what this festival stands for. We’ve always been a place for bold voices, for stories that take risks and break rules.

“This year’s lineup captures that same energy, with filmmakers pushing the boundaries of what cinema can be,” Grennan added. “It’s thrilling to gather in these mountains in December, when the world slows down but creativity ignites.”

Past Vision Award honorees include last year’s recipient Demi Moore (who went on to receive a Best Actress Academy Award nomination), Clint Eastwood, Gwyneth Paltrow, Oliver Stone, David O. Russell, Amy Poehler, Annette Bening, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson.