While this awards season has been not inclusive, the Sundance Film Festival kicked off 2020 with a whole lot of diversity and inclusion. The top overall U.S. Grand Jury prizes went to Lee Isaac Chung’s Korean immigrant story, Minari, and the documentary, Boys State. On top of that, all of the directing prizes went to Black women.
The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Garrett Bradley for Time, the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Radha Blank for The 40-Year-Old Version and the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Maïmouna Doucouré for Cuties.
In another jury-prize, Angel Manuel Soto’s Charm City Kings received a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. The cast includes Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Teyonah Parris, Donielle Tremaine Hansley and Kezii Curtis. Edson Oda’s Nine Days, starring Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz, was awarded the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.
A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Visionary Filmmaking was presented to Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese for This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection. Also, a World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing was presented to Mila Aung-Thwin, Sam Soko and Ryan Mullins for Softie.
Earlier in the week, the Sundance Institute awarded the Amazon Studios Producers Award for Narrative Features to Huriyyah Muhammad for Farewell Amor.
Check out the full list of winners below:
Grand Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – Minari (Lee Isaac Chung)
- U.S. Documentary Competition – Boys State (Jesse Moss)
- World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness (Massoud Bakhshi)
- World Cinema Documentary Competition – The Reason I Jump (Jerry Rothwell)
Audience Awards
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – Minari (Lee Isaac Chung)
- U.S. Documentary Competition – Crip Camp (Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham)
- World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Identifying Features (Fernanda Valadez)
- World Cinema Documentary Competition – The Reason I Jump (Jerry Rothwell)
- NEXT – I Carry You With Me (Heidi Ewing)
Directing
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – Radha Blank for The 40-Year-Old Version
- U.S. Documentary Competition – Garrett Bradley for Time
- World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Maïmouna Doucouré for Cuties
- World Cinema Documentary Competition – Iryna Tsilyk for The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
- Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – Edson Oda for Nine Days
- NEXT Innovator Prize – Heidi Ewing for I Carry You With Me
Special Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast – The cast of Charm City Kings
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Auteur Filmmaking – Josephine Decker for Shirley
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Neo-Realism – Eliza Hittman for Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing – Tyler H. Walk for Welcome to Chechnya
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling – Kirsten Johnson for Dick Johnson Is Dead
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker – Arthur Jones for Feels Good Man
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking – Eli Despres, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg for The Fight
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting – Ben Whishaw for Surge
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Visionary Filmmaking – Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese for This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay – Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez for Identifying Features
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling – Benjamin Ree for The Painter and the Thief
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography – Radu Ciorniciuc and Mircea Topoleanu for Acasa, My Home
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing – Mila Aung-Thwin, Ryan Mullins and Sam Soko for Softie
- Alfred P. Sloan Award – Tesla (Michael Almereyda)
- Gayle Stevens Volunteer Award – Devon Edwards
READ MORE:
Teen Angst Has Devastating But Hopeful Results In Electric ‘Charm City Kings’
‘The 40-Year-Old Version’ Is An Ode To Black Womanhood And Putting Yourself On
Kenyan Documentary ‘Softie’ Unpacks The Hefty Personal Cost Of Revolution
Photo: Getty Images
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