SUNDANCE 2024 AWARDS: ‘In The Summers,’ ‘Sujo,’ and ‘Daughters’ Top The Winners List

The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the Jury and Audience award winners for its 2024 edition.

The U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury prize went to first-time director Alessandra Lacorazza’s In the Summers, about two sisters who navigate their loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, NM. It stars René Pérez Joglar a.k.a. Residente, Sasha Calle, Lío Meheil, and Leslie Grace. Lacorazza also picked up the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award for the film.

Other Grand Jury winners unveiled today include Astrid Rondero & Fernanda Valdez’s Sujo in the World Cinema Dramatic competition, Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev’s Porcelain War in the U.S. Documentary competition, and Silje Evensmo Jacobsen’s A New Kind of Wilderness in the World Cinema Documentary competition.

Angela Patton and Natalie Rae’s documentary Daughters picked up both the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite award, the latter of which Park City audiences select across all new feature films presented at the festival. It follows four young girls preparing for a special Daddy-Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique program in a Washington, D.C. prison. Other audience award winners include Sean Wang’s Dìdi (弟弟) in the U.S. Dramatic competition, Benjamin Ree’s Ibelin in the World Cinema Documentary competition, Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls in the World Cinema Dramatic competition, and Rick Peppiatt’s Kneecap in the NEXT competition.

The jurors included Debra Granik, Adrian Tomine, and Lena Waithe for U.S. Dramatic Competition; Shane Boris, Nicole Newnham, and Rudy Valdez for U.S. Documentary Competition; Anita Gou, Mira Nair, and Rui Poças for World Cinema Dramatic Competition; Mandy Chang, Monica Hellström, and Shaunak Sen for World Cinema Documentary Competition; Christina Oh, Danny Pudi, and Charlotte Regan for Short Film Program Competition; and Zal Batmanglij for the NEXT competition section.

“This year was especially meaningful to all of us for being the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “We congratulate all of our artists in the program this year for their contributions to an incredible slate and Festival experience. Something we were pleasantly surprised by was how much room there was to look ahead during a time of reflection on our rich history as a launchpad for countless stories and artists that have shaped the culture over four decades. We celebrated that rich legacy while enjoying eleven days of meeting the visionaries of tomorrow. It was a joy to hear from audiences that were encountering stories that entertained, moved, and challenged them.”

See below the full list of winners in both the features and shorts categories.

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to In The Summers / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alessandra Lacorazza, Producers: Alexander Dinelaris, Rob Quadrino, Fernando Rodriguez-Vila, Lynette Coll, Sergio Lira, Cristóbal Güell)

The Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Alessandra Lacorazza for In The Summers / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alessandra Lacorazza, Producers: Alexander Dinelaris, Rob Quadrino, Fernando Rodriguez-Vila, Lynette Coll, Sergio Lira, Cristóbal Güell)

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Jesse Eisenberg for A Real Pain / U.S.A., Poland (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jesse Eisenberg, Producers: Dave McCary, Ali Herting, Emma Stone, Jennifer Semler, Ewa Puszczyńska)

A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble was presented to the cast of Dìdi (弟弟) / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sean Wang, Producers: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush)

A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance was presented to Nico Parker for Suncoast / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Laura Chinn, Producers: Jeremy Plager, Francesca Silvestri, Kevin Chinoy, Oly Obst)

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to Porcelain War / U.S.A., Ukraine (Director and Screenwriter: Brendan Bellomo, Director: Slava Leontyev, Producers and Screenwriters: Aniela Sidorska, Paula DuPré Pesmen, Producers: Camilla Mazzaferro, Olivia Ahnemann)

The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie for Sugarcane / U.S.A., Canada (Director: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Director and Producer: Emily Kassie, Producer: Kellen Quinn)

A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Sound was presented to Gaucho Gaucho / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Producers: Cameron O’Reilly, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Matthew Perniciaro)

The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Carla Gutiérrez for FRIDA / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Carla Gutiérrez, Producers: Katia Maguire, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Loren Hammonds, Alexandra Johnes)

A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change was presented to Union / U.S.A. (Directors: Stephen Maing, Brett Story, Producers: Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Selected by audience votes from the feature films that screened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the Festival Favorite Award was presented to Daughters / U.S.A. (Directors: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae, Producers: Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft)

The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, Presented by Acura was awarded to Dìdi (弟弟) / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sean Wang, Producers: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush)

The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary, Presented by United Airlines was awarded to Ibelin / Norway (Director: Benjamin Ree, Producer: Ingvil Giske)

The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, Presented by Acura was awarded to Daughters / U.S.A. (Directors: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae, Producers: Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft)

The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic, Presented by United Airlines was awarded to Girls Will Be Girls / India, France, Norway (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Shuchi Talati, Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne)

The Audience Award: NEXT, Presented by Adobe was awarded to Kneecap / Ireland, U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Rich Peppiatt, Producers: Jack Tarling, Trevor Birney)

NEXT AWARDS

The NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was presented to Little Death / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jack Begert, Screenwriter: Dani Goffstein, Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Andy S. Cohen, Dylan Golden, Brendan Naylor, Sam Canter, Noor Alfallah)

A Special Jury Award for NEXT presented by Adobe was presented to Desire Lines / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jules Rosskam, Screenwriter: Nate Gualtieri, Producers: André Pérez, Amy E. Powell, Brittani Ward)

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Sujo / Mexico, U.S.A., France (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez, Producers: Diana Arcega, Jewerl Keats Ross, Virginie Devesa, Jean-Baptiste Bailly-Maitre)

The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi for In The Land Of Brothers / Iran, France, Netherlands (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Ghasemi, Producers: Adrien Barrouillet, Frank Hoeve, Charles Meresse, Emma Binet, Arya Ghamavian)

A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting was presented to Preeti Panigrahi for Girls Will Be Girls / India, France, Norway (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Shuchi Talati, Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne)

A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Original Music was presented to Peter Raeburn for Handling the Undead/ Norway (Director and Screenwriter: Thea Hvistendahl, Screenwriter: John Ajvide Lindqvist, Producers: Kristin Emblem, Guri Neby)

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY AWARDS

A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Craft was presented to Nocturnes / India, U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Anirban Dutta, Director: Anupama Srinivasan)

A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation was presented to Johan Grimonprez for Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat / Belgium, France, Netherlands (Director and Screenwriter: Johan Grimonprez, Producers: Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety)

The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary was presented to Benjamin Ree for Ibelin / Norway (Director: Benjamin Ree, Producer: Ingvil Giske)

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to A New Kind of Wilderness / Norway (Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, Producer: Mari Bakke Riise)

SHORT FILM AWARDS 

The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to: Kate Jean Hollowell for Say Hi After You Die / U.S.A. (Director: Kate Jean Hollowell, Screenwriters: Kate Jean Hollowell, Ruby Caster, Producer: Miranda Kahn)

The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to: An Chu for The Stag / Taiwan (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: An Chu, Producer: Tzu-Yuan Wang)

The Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction was presented to: Jack Dunphy for Bob’s Funeral / U.S.A (Director, Screenwriter, Animator, and Producer: Jack Dunphy)

The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was presented to: Phoebe Jane Hart for Bug Diner / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Phoebe Jane Hart)

A Short Film Special Jury Prize for Directing was presented to: Masha Ko, for The Looming / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Masha Ko, Producers: Caroline Gluck, Andrey Nikolaev, Kolten Horner)

A Short Film Special Jury Prize for Directing was presented to: Makoto Nagahisa for Pisko the Crab Child is in Love / Japan (Director and Screenwriter: Makoto Nagahisa, Producer: Yasuo Suzuki)