This year, Sundance Film Festival went virtual, and the award winners have been announced. Siân Heder’s CODA received four U.S. Dramatic Competition awards, making it the biggest winner of this year’s festival. Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (U.S. Documentary), Flee (World Cinema Documentary) and Hive (World Cinema Dramatic) also walked out big. 73 features in total with 50 shorts screened over the entire week.
Although the festival itself may have taken place virtually, Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam had this to say about the festivities and honoring the art.
“We’ve been able to elevate independent art and celebrate a wonderful slate of films by gathering in new ways, ways that worked thanks to adventurous audiences everywhere, eager to connect and engage with the work and with one another. Watching people come together to connect and discuss exciting new work has been incredibly rewarding – and a resounding confirmation that great independent storytelling inspires rich conversation.”
The projects were judged by a jury made up of Julie Dash, Cynthia Erivo, Hanya Yanagihara, Ashley Clark, Joshua Oppenheimer, Lana Wilson, Zeynep Atakan, Isaac Julien, Daniela Vega, Kim Longinotto, Mohamed Saïd Ouma, and Jean Tsien. The Audience Awards this year were presented by Alison Brie, Shira Haas, and Diego Luna.
You can check out the complete list of winners below.
Grand Jury Prizes
U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
CODA
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Flee
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Hive
Audience Awards
Audience Award: U.S. Documentary
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic
CODA
Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic
Hive
Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary
Writing With Fire
Audience Award: NEXT
Ma Belle, My Beauty
Directing, Screenwriting, and Editing Awards
Directing Award: U.S. Documentary
Natalia Almada, Users
Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic
Siân Heder, CODA
Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary
Hogir Hirori, Sabaya
Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic
Blerta Basholli, Hive
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic
Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, On the Count of Three
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary
Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno, Homeroom
Special Jury Awards
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast
CODA
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Actor
Clifton Collins Jr., Jockey
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Emerging Filmmaker
Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt, Cusp
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Nonfiction Experimentation
Theo Anthony, All Light, Everywhere
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Vérité Filmmaking
Camilla Nielsson, President
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change
Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, Writing With Fire
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Acting
Jesmark Scicluna, Luzzu
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision
Baz Poonpiriya, One for the Road
NEXT Innovator Award
Dash Shaw, Cryptozoo
Short Film Grand Jury Prize
Lizard
Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction
The Touch of the Master’s Hand
Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction
Bambirak
Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma
Short Film Jury Award: Animation
Souvenir Souvenir
Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting
Wiggle Room
Short Film Special Jury Award for Screenwriting
The Criminals
2021 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
Sons of Monarchs
Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction
Nicole Salazar, Philly D.A.
Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction
Natalie Qasabian, Run
Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction
Juli Vizza
Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction
Terilyn Shropshire
Sundance Institute/NHK Award
Meryman Joobeur, Motherhood
