As is the case every year, the second Saturday of the Sundance Film Festival ended in a highly anticipated awards ceremony. With acquisitions and career futures on the line, the stakes don’t get much higher. Yet, in the spirit of the Sundance Institute, the atmosphere of the festivities is far from competitive. Undoubtedly, many leave disappointed, but getting into Sundance is in itself an achievement, which sources a current of deep and mutual respect among the filmmakers. Whether an audience, or a jury for that matter, responds to a film is entirely subjective and out of the filmmaker’s control, so why not support one another? Therefore in that same spirit of Sundance, we invite you to celebrate those that took home awards for their work…and those who didn’t. 2019 Sundance Film Festival Awards Night. photo by Rin Ehlers Sheldon The only true guarantee in the awards for each category are the Audience Award, the Grand Jury Prize (essentially Best Picture), and the Best Direction Prize, (or in the case of NEXT, the Innovator Award). The audiences at Sundance are given ballots as they enter a theatre to rank a film “Fair, Good, Better, or Best” upon leaving. Any other “Special Grand Jury” awards are at the discretion of the jury. If they find a film has a quality worth celebrating, they create an award to honor the filmmaker responsible. Here’s how the night panned out. WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: The Souvenir, directed by Joanna Hogg. (Acquired by 1091...
Published By: CineD - Saturday, 9 February, 2019