The Sundance Film Festival awards held between January 23 and February 2 this year found their owners. In American cinema "Minari" and in the world cinema "Yalda" won The Grand Jury Prize.

The production that came to the fore in the American cinema department was the “Minari” by Lee Isaac Chung. Telling the story of a Korean family who moved from Los Angeles to Arkansas to farm in the 80s, the film won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. In the world cinema, Iranian "Yalda" was deemed worthy to the Grand Jury Prize. Mexican production "Sin Señas Particulares" was another production drawing attention in this category by winning both the Audience Award and the Special Jury Prize (Script).

It was also announced that Tabitha Jackson would take John Cooper’s place as the new director of the Sundance Film Festival during the ceremony where the awards found their owners. Tabitha Jackson had been dealing with the Documentary Film program of the Sundance Institute.

The fact that digital platforms such as Netflix and Amazon compete with large studios to get the rights of remarkable movies has also led to the signing of important agreements at the Sundance Film Festival this year. While Neon and Hulu broke a new record by paying $17.5 million to purchase the rights of “Palm Springs”, which was one of the most remarkable films of the festival, the new films such as “The Night House” and “Uncle Frank” were also subjected to significant agreements that were worth more than 10 million dollars.

2020 Sundance Film Festival Awards

 USD-Drama

Grand Jury Award

Minari

Audience Award

Minari

Director Award

Radha Blank – The 40-Year-Old Version

Waldo Salt Script Award

Edson Oda – Nine Days

Special Jury Award (Player Community)

Charm City Kings

Special Jury Award (Auteur)

Josephine Decker – Shirley

Special Jury Award (Neorealism)

Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always

 

 US-Documentary

Grand Jury Award

Boys State

Audience Award

Crip Camp

Director Award

Garrett Bradley – Time

Special Jury Award (Breakthrough Filmmaker)

Arthur Jones – Feels Good Man

Special Jury Award (Social Impact)

Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, Eli Despres – The Fight

Special Jury Award (Editing)

Tyler H. Walk – Welcome to Chechnya

Special Jury Award (Innovation in Non-Fictional Storytelling)

Kirsten Johnson – Dick Johnson Is Dead

  World Cinema-Drama

Grand Jury Award

Yalda

Audience Award

Sin Señas Particulares

Director Award

Maïmouna Doucouré – Mignonnes

Special Jury Award (Actor Performance)

Ben Whishaw – Surge

Special Jury Award (Visionary Filmmaker)

Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese – This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection

Special Jury Award (Script)

Fernanda Valadez & Astrid Rondero – Sin Señas Particulares

 World Cinema-Documentary

Grand Jury Prize

Epicentro

Audience Award

The Reason I Jump

Director Award

Iryna Tsilyk – The Earth is Blue as an Orange

Special Jury Award (Creative Storytelling)

Benjamin Ree – The Painter and the Thief

Special Jury Award (Image Director)

Micrea Topoleanu, Radu Ciorniciuc – Acasa, My Home

Special Jury Award (Editing)

Mila Aung Thwin, Sam Soko, Ryan Mullins – Softie

 Short Film

Grand Jury Award

So What If The Goats Die

Director Award

Michael Arcos – Valerio’s Day Out

Jury Award (International-Fiction)

The Devil’s Harmony

Jury Award (USA-Fiction)

Ship: A Visual Poem

Jury Award (Non-Fiction)

John Was Trying to Contact Aliens

Jury Award (Animation)

Dcera

Actor Award

Sadaf Asgari – Exam

 Other Awards

NEXT Audience Award

I Carry You With Me

NEXT Innovative Award

I Carry You With Me

Alfred P. Sloan Feature-Length Film Fiction Award

Tesla

Sundance Institute NHK Award

Kirsten Tan – Higher