Sundance announces winners

A Thousand And One and UK's Scrapper take top prizes

by Amber Wilkinson

Top L–R: A Thousand and One, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Eternal Memory, Scrapper.
Center L–R: KOKOMO CITY, Radical, The Persian Version, Beyond Utopia.
Bottom L–R: Shayda, The Accidental Getaway Driver, 20 Days in Mariupol, When You Left Me On That Boulevard
Top L–R: A Thousand and One, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Eternal Memory, Scrapper. Center L–R: KOKOMO CITY, Radical, The Persian Version, Beyond Utopia. Bottom L–R: Shayda, The Accidental Getaway Driver, 20 Days in Mariupol, When You Left Me On That Boulevard Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

As the Sundance Film Festival draws to a close in Utah - after celebrating its first in-person event since 2020, the awards have been announced ahead of the final weekend of screenings. The US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize went to A Thousand and One, written and directed by AV Rockwell, which sees a mum kidnap her son from foster care.

It was a good day for the UK too as Charlotte Regan's debut Scrapper - about a girl and her estranged dad - won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize.

Poet profile Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, won the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize, while The Eternal Memory, about facing Alzheimier's and directed by Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent) won the World Documentary equivalent.

Audience winners included The Persian Version, directed by Maryam Keshavarz, Beyond Utopia, directed by Madeleine Gavin, for documentary and Kokomo City, directed by D Smith. The award for festival favorite went to Day One film Radical, directed by Christopher Zalla.

The full list of winners is:

US Dramatic Competition

  • Grand Jury Prize: A Thousand And One, directed by AV Rockwell
  • Audience Award: The Persian Version, directed by Maryam Keshavarz
  • Director: Sing J Lee for The Accidental Getaway Driver
  • Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Maryam Keshavarz for The Persian Version
  • Special Jury Award for Acting: Lio Mehiel for Mutt
  • Special Jury Award for Ensemble: The cast of Theater Camp, directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman
  • Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: The creative team of Magazine Dreams, directed by Elijah Bynum
  • Festival Favorite Award: Radical, directed by Christopher Zalla

US Documentary Competition

  • Grand Jury Prize: Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
  • Audience Award: Beyond Utopia, directed by Madeleine Gavin
  • Director: Luke Lorentzen for A Still Small Voice
  • Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: Daniela I Quiroz for Going Varsity In Mariachi
  • Special Jury Award for Clarity of Vision: The Stroll, directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucke
  • Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression, Bad Press

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

  • Grand Jury Prize: Scrapper
  • Audience Award: Shayda, directed by Noora Niasari
  • Director: Marija Kavtaradze for Slow
  • Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Lílis Soares for Mami Wata
  • Special Jury Award for Best Performance: Rosa Marchant, When It Melts
  • Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Sofia Alaoui for Animalia

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Shorts

  • Grand Jury Prize: When You Left Me on That Boulevard, directed by Kayla Abuda Galang
  • Jury Award: US Fiction: Rest Stop, directed by Crystal Kayiza
  • Jury Award: International Fiction: The Kidnapping Of The Bride, Sophia Mocorrea
  • Jury Award: Non-Fiction: Will You Look at Me, directed by Shuli Huang
  • Special Jury Award, International: Directing: AliEN0089, directed by Valeria Hofmann
  • Special Jury Award, US: Directing: The Vacation, directed by Jarreau Carrillo
  • Other Awards

  • NEXT Audience Award: Kokomo City
  • NEXT Innovator Award: Kokomo City
  • Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: The Pod Generation
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