You can tell which Sundance Film Festival attendees are first-timers, says Jennifer Lawrence. “Because they’re the ones that aren’t wearing proper snow boots.”

And in 2010 during the award-winning debut of Winter’s Bone, the film that launched her to superstardom, “that was me,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. 

“I was in, like, Louboutin boots sliding all over the place,” recalls the actress of her first time at the snowy Park City, Utah, fest — now celebrating its 40th anniversary after Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute created the event. 

“Trying to walk in high heels through frozen streets,” Lawrence says, “that stood out.”

Robert Redford Stresses Importance of Diversity at Sundance, but Says He’s Not ‘Into the Oscars’

What the Silver Linings Playbook Oscar winner mainly recalls of that “beautiful and so cold” experience, of course, was her first real exposure to Hollywood’s spotlight. “I remember it being the first time that somebody wanted to interview me and was really interested because they thought I was a good actor.”

Winter’s Bone, from director and co-writer Debra Granik, stars the then-19-year-old Lawrence as a teenaged survivalist in the rural Ozarks of Missouri on a quest to find her father. It won a Grand Jury Prize and screenplay honor at the 2010 fest. She and supporting actor John Hawkes were then nominated for Oscars at the 2011 ceremony — the first of Lawrence’s four total nods — where the film was also a Best Picture contender.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jennifer Lawrence Says She Changed Her Opinion on Paparazzi After Baby: ‘A Little Bit More Relaxed’

Navigating the snow at Sundance is “fun, it just makes things harder to get to,” she adds. “It’s also the first time I learned the term ‘catty corner!’”

Asked what she loves about the annual event, the Hunger Games star says, “I love the films that come out of there and I love the kind of audience that it draws.”

And she can’t resist shouting out one of her favorite television phenomena, taking place right next door to the fest: “Of course I want to give a shout-out to the ladies of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.”

Among Lawrence’s upcoming projects is playing Hollywood agent Sue Mengers in the biopic Sue. Her performance in last year’s No Hard Feelings earned a 2024 Golden Globe nomination, her sixth.

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 18 to Jan. 28. It’s celebrating 40 years of launching indie cinema into the mainstream, including such titles as Little Miss Sunshine, The Blair Witch Project, Get Out and this year’s Best Picture Oscar nominee Past Lives.