Sundance Award Winners Announced

And with that, the first film festival of 2012 is in the books, and not without some big time buzz.

This year’s Sundance Film Festival has wrapped, and the big winner here is the film Fruitvale. From director Ryan Coogler, the film took home the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and Dramatic Audience Award. The film stars Michael B. Jordan and follows the story of a man who was shot and killed after being pulled off of a train, only to have the entire event captured on a cell phone. Both the director and his star have garnered so much buzz that not only has The Weinstein Company grabbed the film’s rights, but that it is already garnering Oscar buzz, much like films like Beasts Of The Southern Wild did last year.

Other winners include The Spectacular Now for its cast, and IFC owned Ain’t Them Bodies Saints which shared a cinematography award with Mother Of George. The big debut, Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color took home a sound design award, and Lake Bell nabbed a writing award for her film, In A World…

Here is the full list of winners. I myself can’t wait for all of the ones mentioned above, particularly Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, a film that I think is shaping up to be this early year’s big surprise.

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 presented by Acura – Fruitvale

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary presented by Acura – 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, Presented by YouTube – Catnip: Egress to Oblivion

Source Sundance