Sundance announces prizewinners

Top gongs go to In The Summers, Sujo, A New Wilderness and The Porcelain War

by Amber Wilkinson

In The Summers
In The Summers Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Jesse Eisenberg picks up the screenwriting award for A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg picks up the screenwriting award for A Real Pain Photo: Amber Wilkinson

The prizes were announced for the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival this morning in Utah.

The big winne rin the US Dramatic competition was Alessandra Lacorazza's In The Summers, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and best director. She said she was "blown away" by the news. Her film tells the story of two sisters' yearly visits to see their volatile dad in New Mexico. The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize went to Sujo about a young man growing up in the shadow of cartel violence.

The Porcelain War, which focuses on artists in Ukraine and their activism in the war, won the Grand Jury Prize for US Documentary. In the World Cinema Documentary A New Wilderness, which charts a family coming to terms with loss, won the top award.

Robert Steen paid tribute to his son, family and director Benjamin Ree
Robert Steen paid tribute to his son, family and director Benjamin Ree Photo: Amber Wilkinson
The ceremony had several poignant moments, not least when Robert Steen, the father of Mats Steen who is the subject of Ibelin, which won an audience award and a directing award, paid tribute to his son and director Benjamin Lee.

The full list of winners is below:

  • US Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - In The Summers, dir: Alessandra Lacorazza
  • US Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - Porcelain War, dir. Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev,
  • World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - Sujo, dir. Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez
  • World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, A New Kind Of Wilderness, dir. Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
  • Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, A Real Pain, Writer: Jesse Eisenberg
  • NEXT Innovator Award - Little Death, dir. Jack Begert
  • Festival Favorite Award - Daughters dir. Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
  • Audience Award: US Documentary - Daughters. dir. Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
  • Audience Award: US Dramatic - Didi, dir. Sean Wang
  • Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary - Ibelin, dir. Director: Benjamin Ree
  • Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic - Girls Will Be Girls, dir. Shuchi Talati
  • Audience Award: NEXT - Kneecap, dir. Rich Peppiatt

Special Jury Awards

  • World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft - Nocturnes, dir. Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan
  • World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation - Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat, dir. Johan Grimonprez
  • World Cinema Documentary Directing Award, Ibelin, dir. Benjamin Ree
  • World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award - In The Land Of Brothers, dir. Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi
  • World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Original Music - Handling The Undead, Composer: Peter Raeburn
  • World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting, Preeti Panigrahi, Girls Will Be Girls
  • US Documentary Directing Award - Sugarcane, dir. Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
  • US Documentary Special Jury Award for Sound - Gaucho Gaucho, dir. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
  • Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: US Documentary - Frida, dir. Carla Gutiérrez
  • US Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change - Union, dir. Stephen Maing, Brett Story
  • US Dramatic Directing Award - In The Summers, dir: Alessandra Lacorazza
  • US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance - Nico Parker, Suncoast
  • US Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble - Didi
  • Special Jury Award for NEXT - Desire Lines, dir. Jules Rosskam

  • Alfred P Sloan Science-In-Film Initiative Feature Film Award - Love Me, dir: Sam and Andy Zuchero

Short Film Awards

  • Grand Jury Prize - The Masterpiece (Spain), dir: Alex Lora Cercos
  • Jury Award: US Fiction - Say Hi After You Die, dir: Kate Jean Hollowell
  • Jury Award: International Fiction - The Stag (Taiwan, dir: An Chu
  • Jury Award: Nonfiction - Bob’s Funeral (US), dir: Jack Dunphy
  • Jury Award: Animation - Bug Diner (US), dir: Phoebe Jane Hart
  • Special Jury Prize for Directing - The Looming (US), dir: Masha Ko ex aqueo with Pisko The Crab Child Is In Love (Japan), dir: Makoto Nagahisa

Share this with others on...
News

Inviting curiosity Ildikó Enyedi on the value of science, perception, discovery and Silent Friend

Streaming Spotlight: the rites of Spring We shine our Beltane spotlight on films in which the old ways linger

Fighting fit for a debut feature Valéry Carnoy talks toxic masculinity, memory, confidence and Belgian 'soft-power'

Collective power We look ahead at the programme of this year's Folk Film Gathering

Writing hidden messages Arnaud Desplechin on guilt, melodrama, feeling haunted, and Two Pianos

Clever crafting with Idiots Chris Barfoot on his six-camera set up and three-day shoot of his debut feature

More news and features

We're bringing you news and reviews from the San Francisco Independent Film Festival and Queer East.



We're looking forward to Cannes.



We've recently brought you coverage of Visions du Réel, Fantaspoa, Overlook, BFI Flare and SXSW, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest from the spring events:


Cannes 16 titles added to line-up


Cannes Carla Simón heads short film jury


Cannes Directors' Fortnight selection


Cannes Payal Kapadia heads Critics' Week jury