Sundance: Here are your 2023 winners!
Friday, January 27, 2023 at 6:45PM 
Another year, another Sundance Film Festival reaches its end, concluding a grand celebration of independent cinema in the snowy Utah landscape. This edition, the reviews were especially glowing across the international press, with many a title earning acclaim - sadly, that's not always guaranteed. One of those productions was the eventual winner of the U.S. Dramatic Competition – A.V. Rockwell's A Thousand and One. The jurors (Jeremy O. Harris, Eliza Hittman, and Marlee Matlin) praised the film's tenderness and how it felt real, so and full of pain. In its citation, the jury further mentioned the project's fearless commitment to emotional truth born of oppressive circumstances. American audiences won't have to wait long to see this award-winning feat in theaters, as the film's scheduled for a March 31st release.
After the jump, find the full list of winners and some stray observations…
U.S. DRAMATIC
Grand Jury Prize: A Thousand and One, A.V. Rockwell
Directing Award: Sing J. Lee, The Accidental Getaway Driver
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Maryam Keshavarz, The Persian Version
Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble: Theater Camp
Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Magazine Dreams, Elijah Bynum
Special Jury Award for Best Acting: Lio Mehiel, Mutt
Producers Award for Fiction: Kara Durrett, The Starling Girl
Audience Award: The Persian Version, Maryam Keshavarz
With all these honors and only twelve films in the competition lineup, it's easier to notice who got completely ignored rather than who was recognized. Among those unlucky titles, we can find A24's well-reviewed All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt with Sheila Atim in the lead role and Randall Park's Shortcomings. For comparison's sake, some of last year's victors include Nikyatu Jusu's horror drama Nanny and the Spirit Award-nominee Palm Trees and Power Lines.
"Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project"
U.S. DOCUMENTARY
Grand Jury Prize: Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, Joe Brewster & Michèle Stephenson
Directing Award: Luke Lorentzen, A Still Small Voice
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: Daniela I. Quirroz, Going Varsity in Mariachi
Special Jury Award for Clarity of Vision: The Stroll, Kristen Lovell & Zachary Drucker
Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression: Bad Press, Rebecca Landsberry-Baker & Joe Peeler
Audience Award: Beyond Utopia, Madeleine Gavin
The jury was composed of W. Kamau Bell, Ramona Diaz, and Carla Gutierrez. Some well-reviewed but unrewarded films include Nicole Newnham's The Disappearance of Shere Hite and Lisa Cortés' Little Ricard: I Am Everything. Last year's winners included Ben Klein and Violet Columbus' The Exiles, Margaret Brown's Descendant, and Reid Davenport's I Didn't See You There.
"Scrapper"
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC
Grand Jury Prize: Scrapper, Charlotte Regan (U.K.)
Directing Award: Marija Kavtaradze, Slow (Lithuania, Spain, Sweden)
Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Sofia Alaoui, Animalia (France, Morocco, Qatar)
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Lílis Soares, Mami Wata (Nigeria)
Special Jury Award for Best Performance: Rosa Marchant, When It Melts (Belgium)
Audience Award: Shayda, Noora Niasari (Australia)
This section's jury consisted of Shozo Ichiyama, Annemarie Jacir, and Funa Maduka. Alice Englert's feature directorial debut Bad Behaviour got some of the festival's most divisive notices, so it's no wonder it got no prizes, while Patricia Ortega's unheralded MAMACRUZ was one of the best-reviewed titles making its empty mantle more puzzling. Some of last year's winners include Bolivia's Oscar submission Utama, Ukrania's Klondike, and Finland's Girl Picture.
"The Eternal Memory"
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY
Grand Jury Prize: The Eternal Memory, Maite Alberdi (Chile)
Directing Award: Anna Hints, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Estonia, France, Iceland)
Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Fantastic Machine, Azel Danielson & Maximilien Van Aertryck (Sweden, Denmark)
Special Jury Award for Verite Filmmaking: Against the Tide, Sarnik Kaur (India)
Audience Award: 20 Days in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov (Ukraine)
The jury was formed by Karim Amer, Petra Costa, and Alexander Nanau. Some of last year's winners include the Oscar-nominated All That Breathes and A House Made of Splinters. It'll be interesting to see if any new victors can follow their predecessors' golden path.
"When You Left Me On That Boulevard"
SHORT FILM AWARDS
Grand Jury Prize: When You Left Me On That Boulevard, Kayla Abuda Galang (U.S.A.)
Jury Award for U.S. Fiction: Rest Stop, Crystal Kayiza
Jury Award for International Fiction: The Kidnapping of the Bride, Sophia Mocorrea (Germany)
Jury Award for Animation: The Flying Sailor, Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis (Canada)
Jury Award for Non-Fiction: Will You Look At Me, Shuli Huang (China)
Special Jury Award for U.S. Director: Jarreau Carrillo, The Vacation
Special Jury Award for International Director: Valeria Hofmann, AliEN0089 (Chile)
Destin Daniel Cretton, Marie-Louise Khondji, and Deborah Stratman made up the jury for the Short Film Program. It's interesting to note that The Flying Sailor is currently nominated for an Oscar, having qualified for eligibility at previous festivals. Last year's winners included such films as The Headhunter's Daughter, Warsha, and Night Bus.
"KOKOMO CITY"
Additional honors include the NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe to the Black trans documentary KOKOMO CITY by D. Smith. Madeleine Olnek was the sole juror for this section. That doc also won the NEXT Audience Award, while Christopher Zalla's Radical won the much-coveted Festival Favorite Award. All the winning films will screen in person and online this weekend. Tickets go on sale today.
Check our Sundance tag to find The Film Experience's festival coverage. There are already multiple reviews to discover.
Reader Comments (3)
I watched Kokomo City last night (get your streaming tickets at sundance.org!). And I was surprised by the lighthearted way in which a very not-lighthearted subject is presented. And I found it really effective. Kudos to D.Smith and the ladies of Kokomo City.
I saw Eight montains and Joyland among last year’s films, otherwise they would have ended in my Sundance TOP5 of best films (all together have managed to watch 16 films so far and plan to get that number to 20 at least, before the festival ends).
The TOP5, I mentioned consists of (at the moment):
1. Fair play (maybe original screenplay oscar player? Weird combination of classic thriller, but from a very well working psychological perpective of gender expectations in corporate world, and how it effects the love and relationship…it builds an interesting topic for discussion with other people from different genders.)
2. Smoke sauna sisterhood (maybe best documentary feature oscar player? lots of short, but deep stories in one film, building a larger picture of important topics…amazing that it was filmed over 7 years time and in hot sauna)
3. A thousand and one (maybe leading actress oscar player? screenplay should also be considered.)
4. Shayda (I doubt, but not impossible for a leading actress oscar player?)
5. Scrapper (can’t see oscars going to that film, unless maybe orginal screenplay…but I doubt it…sort of original though, but not a mustsee)
Was kind of disappointed on Cat person, Sometimes I think about dying, Heroic, Bad behaviour and All dirt roads taste of salt.
Jonathan Majors could be considered for best leading actor for the role in Magazine dreams…but it is too soon to call any of these hopefuls yet, I guess.
Can’t wait to see Beyond utopia… everybody who have watched it seem to be raving…maybe a very early best doc call even based on only all the excellent comments.
Watched Fair Play and Bad Bevahiour last night.
Fair Play was much better than I expected. A nicely constructed thriller that touches on gender politics in a high stakes hedge fund atmosphere. Dynevor and Ehrenreich are good, and they are supported by Eddie Marsan, who gives a nice supporting performance (the cold stares he gives add to the tension!). The cinematography and editing seemed top notch, but the script is a little dramatic at times. Good on Netflix for picking this one up. It probably won't make a bunch of Top Tens for 2023, but it's a solid watch.
Bad Behaviour was a mess. It was like 6 different "ideas" in one (all seemingly good ideas, though, I think?), but not a single character or story is really connected or fully fleshed out. The tone is all over the place. Jennifer Connelly deserves so much better. Such a shame.