SUNDANCE 2023 AWARDS: ‘A Thousand and One,’ ‘The Eternal Memory,’ Win Grand Jury Prizes (Full List)

The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the Jury and Audience award winners for 2023.

First-time filmmaker A.V. Rockwell’s drama A Thousand and One was announced as the U.S. Dramatic Competition Grandy Jury Prize Winner. The U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Joe Brewster & Michèle Stephenson’s Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. The World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize was handed to The Eternal Memory from Oscar-nominee Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent), centering on a longtime, loving couple facing Alzheimer’s. The World Cinema Narrative Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Charlotte Regan’s U.K.-set Scrapper. Both the NEXT Audience and Innovator Awards were presented to D. Smith’s Kokomo City, which examines the lives of four black transgender sex workers.

The Jurors included Jeremy O. Harris and Marlee Matlin for U.S. Dramatic Competition, Ramona Diaz and Carla Gutierrez for U.S. Documentary Competition, Funa Maduka for World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and Madeleine Olnek for NEXT.

“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections for sharing their stories with the Sundance community.”

“In addition to acknowledging our artists, I want to thank this year’s jurors for their time and thoughtful consideration,” added Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “Their efforts help contextualize our artists’ work beyond the Festival program and elevate their stories to new audiences around the globe. The winners themselves represent a diverse mix of bold storytelling, thought-provoking reflections, and critical representations of our world today.”

The 2023 festival featured 111 features and 64 shorts, selected from over 15,000 submissions, which were screened in Park City, Salt Lake City, and at the Sundance Resort. Over 75% of both short and feature-length works will be available for streaming via the fest’s online platform through January 29. Tickets for all award-screening films are available beginning at 1:00 p.m. MT today.

See the full winners list below:

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Grand Jury Prize

A Thousand And One
Director: A.V. Rockwell

Audience Award

The Persian Version
Director: Maryam Keshavarz

Directing Award

Sing J. Lee
The Accidental Getaway Driver

Jury Award: Creative Vision

Magazine Dreams
Director: Elijah Bynum

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

Maryam Keshavarz
The Persian Version

Special Jury Award: Acting

Lio Mehiel
Mutt

Jury Award: Ensemble 

Theater Camp
Directors: Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Grand Jury Prize

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson

NEXT

Innovator Award

Kokomo City
Director: D. Smith

Audience Award

Kokomo City 
Director: D. Smith

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Grand Jury Prize

Scrapper (UK)
Director: Charlotte Regan

Audience Award

Shayda (Australia)
Director: Noora Niasari

Directing Award

Marija Kavtaradze
Slow (Lithuania/Spain/Sweden)

Special Jury Award: Cinematography

Lílis Soares
Mami Wata (Nigeria)

Special Jury Award: Best Performance

Rosa Marchant
When It Melts (Belgium/Netherlands)

Special Jury Award: Creative Vision

Animalia (France/Morocco/Qatar)
Director: Sofia Alaoui

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Grand Jury Prize

The Eternal Memory (Chile)
Director: Maite Alberdi

Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary

20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine)
Director: Mstylav Chernov

Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary