t’s difficult to gauge movie buzz for films that play at Sundance. Sometimes films will win awards and are never heard of again. However, the film festival, which originated in 1978, is seen as the film festival that sets the bar for what independent and low budget features Hollywood studios will look to push to the moon in terms of prestige and accolades come Oscar season. In 2012, festival hits included such films as Beasts of the Southern Wild (Grand Jury prize winner – now nominated for Best Picture), The Sessions (then titled The Surrogate – nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Helen Hunt), plus documentaries The Invisible War, 5 Broken Cameras, Searching for Sugar Man (all three are nominated for Best Documentary).
This year, the clear cut favorite is Fruitvale, a film The Weinstein Company scooped up with plans to release it in the fall. Written and directed by 26-year-old Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale is the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old who was shot to death by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer in Oakland, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009. The film recounts the last 24 hours of his life where he crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. The film took home the Grand Jury Prize and also won the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film. It’s the first time a dramatic feature has taken both awards since 2009’s Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire.
The Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary went to Blood Brother, Steve Hoover’s look at his best friend, who moves to India to help children with HIV. The film also won the Audience Award for U.S. documentary. The last time a documentary took both awards was in 2006 for God Grew Tired of Us.
A complete list of winners:
U. S. Grand Jury Prize: [Dramatic] Fruitvale
U. S. Grand Jury Prize: [Documentary] Blood Brother
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: [Dramatic] Jiseul
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: [Documentary] A River Changes Course
Audience Award: World Cinema: [Dramatic] Metro Manila
Audience Award: World Cinema: [Documentary] The Square
Audience Award: [U. S. Dramatic] Fruitvale
Audience Award: [U.S. Documentary] Blood Brother
Audience Award: [Best of NEXT] This is Martin Bonner
Directing Award: [U. S. Dramatic] Afternoon Delight
Directing Award: [U. S. Documentary] Cutie and the Boxer
Directing Award: [World Cinema Dramatic] Crystal Fairy
Directing Award: [World Cinema Documentary] The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear
Cinematography Award: [World Cinema] Dramatic Lasting
Cinematography Award: [U. S. Documentary] Dirty Wars
Cinematography Award: [U. S. Dramatic] Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Cinematography Award: [U. S. Dramatic] Mother of George
Cinematography Award: [World Cinema Documentary] Who Is Dayani Cristal?
U. S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking: Inequality for All
U. S. Documentary Special Jury award for Achievement in Filmmaking: American Promise
U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Miles Teller & Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now
U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design: Shane Carruth & Johnny Marshall, Upstream Color
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Circles
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Punk Spirit: Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer
Editing Award: [World Cinema Documentary] The Summit
Editing Award: [U. S. Documentary] Gideon’s Army
Screenwriting Award: [World Cinema Dramatic] Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: [U.S. Dramatic] In A World…
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: Computer Chess
Short Film Grand Jury Prize: The Whistle
Short Film Jury Award: [US Fiction] Whiplash
Short Film Jury Award: [International Fiction] The Date
Short Film Jury Award: [Non-fiction] Skinningrove
Short Film Jury Award: [Animation] Irish Folk Furniture
Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting: Joel Nagle, Palimpsest
Short Film Special Jury Award: Kahlil Joseph, Until the Quiet Comes
Short Film Audience Award: Catnip: Egress to Oblivion
