SUNDANCE 2025 AWARD WINNERS: ‘Atropia,’ ‘Seeds,’ and ‘Zodiac Killer Project’ Among the Top Recipients

After a week of buzzy premieres and cinematic revelations, the Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the Jury and Audience award winners for its 2025 edition.
Over the past week, the festival screened 94 feature-length and episodic works, and 57 short films — curated from a total of 15,775 submissions — which have screened to audiences in Park City, Salt Lake City, and online.
The U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury prize went to first-time director Hailey Gates’ Atropia, centering on an aspiring actress (Alia Shawkat) who falls for a soldier (Callum Turner) while working on a U.S. military base that simulates an Iraqi war zone. The Luca Guadagnino-produced film also stars Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, Chloe East, and Jane Levy.
Other Grand Jury Award winners include Brittany Shyne’s feature documentary debut Seeds in the U.S. Documentary Competition, Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s India-set queer romance Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni’s Cutting Through Rocks in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, and Charlie Shackleton’s visionary documentary Zodiac Killer Project in the NEXT Competition.
Writer-director-actor James Sweeney’s Twinless swooped up two awards: the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting to his co-star Dylan O’Brien. Other audience award winners include Anthony Benna’s André Is An Idiot in the U.S. Documentary Competition, Georgi M. Unkovski’s DJ Ahmet in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Michelle Walshe & Lindsay Utz’s Jacinda Adhern documentary Prime Minister in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, and Kate Beecroft’s East of Wall in the NEXT Competition.
This year’s Festival jurors included: Reinaldo Marcus Green, Arian Moayed, and Celine Song for the U.S. Dramatic Competition; Steven Bognar, Vinnie Malhotra, and Marcia Smith for the U.S. Documentary Competition; Ava Cahen, Wanuri Kahiu, and Daniel Kaluuya for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition; Daniela Alatorre, Laura Kim, and Kevin Macdonald for the World Cinema Documentary Competition; Kaniehtiio Horn, Maggie Mackay, and Kibwe Tavares for the Short Film Program Competition; and Elijah Wood for the NEXT section.
“We congratulate all of our filmmakers and award winners on a successful 2025 Sundance Film Festival and thank them for the stories they shared with our audiences,” said Amanda Kelso, Acting CEO, Sundance Institute. “These works spoke to our commitment to fostering empathy, understanding, and a more vibrant, inclusive society through storytelling, and it was an honor to celebrate them together as a community.”
See the full list of winners below:
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Atropia / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Hailey Gates, Producers: Naima Abed, Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, Lana Kim, Jett Steiger)
The Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Rashad Frett for Ricky / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Rashad Frett, Screenwriter: Lin Que Ayoung, Producers: Pierre M. Coleman, Simon TaufiQue, Sterling Brim, DC Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Josh Peters, Mark Steele)
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Eva Victor, Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins)
A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting was presented to Dylan O’Brien for Twinless / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: David Permut)
A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast was presented to Plainclothes / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Carmen Emmi, Producers: Colby Cote, Arthur Landon, Eric Podwall, Vanessa Pantley)
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to Seeds / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brittany Shyne, Producers: Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon)
The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Geeta Gandbhir for The Perfect Neighbor / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Geeta Gandbhir, Producers: Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee)
The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Parker Laramie for André is an Idiot / U.S.A. (Director: Anthony Benna, Producers: André Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner)
A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award was presented to Life After / U.S.A. (Director: Reid Davenport, Producer: Colleen Cassingham)
A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling was presented to Selena y Los Dinos / U.S.A. (Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh)
AUDIENCE AWARDS
The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, Presented by Acura was awarded to Twinless / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: David Permut)
The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, Presented by Acura was awarded to André is an Idiot / U.S.A. (Director: Anthony Benna, Producers: André Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner)
The Audience Award: NEXT, Presented by Adobe was awarded to East of Wall / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kate Beecroft, Producers: Lila Yacoub, Melanie Ramsayer, Shannon Moss)
The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic, Presented by United Airlines was awarded to DJ Ahmet /North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia (Director and Screenwriter: Georgi M. Unkovski, Producers: Ivan Unkovski, Ivana Shekutkoska)
The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary, Presented by United Airlines was awarded to Prime Minister / U.S.A. (Directors: Michelle Walshe, Lindsay Utz, Producers: Cass Avery, Leon Kirkbeck, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Katie Peck)
NEXT AWARDS
The NEXT Innovator Award Presented by Adobe was awarded to Zodiac Killer Project / U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Producer: Charlie Shackleton, Producers: Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing)
A NEXT Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast was presented to Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Joel Alfonso Vargas, Producer: Paolo Maria Pedullà) ––
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS
The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) /India, U.K., Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, Producers: Neeraj Churi, Mohamed Khaki, Kaushik Ray, Hareesh Reddypalli, Naren Chandavarkar, Sidharth Meer)
The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Alireza Khatami for The Things You Kill /Turkey, France, Poland, Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Alireza Khatami, Producers: Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Cyriac Auriol, Mariusz Włodarski, Michael Solomon)
A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Writing was presented to Two Women / Canada (Director: Chloé Robichaud, Screenwriter and Producer: Catherine Léger, Producer: Martin Paul-Hus)
A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision was presented to Georgi M. Unkovski for DJ Ahmet /North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia (Director and Screenwriter: Georgi M. Unkovski, Producers: Ivan Unkovski, Ivana Shekutkoska)
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY AWARDS
The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) / Iran, Germany, U.S.A., Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, Canada (Directors and Producers: Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni)
The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary was presented to Mstyslav Chernov for 2000 Meters to Andriivka / Ukraine (Director and Producer: Mstyslav Chernov, Producers: Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath)
A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award was presented to Mr. Nobody Against Putin/Denmark, Czech Republic (Director and Screenwriter: David Borenstein, Producer: Helle Faber)
A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression was presented to Coexistence, My Ass! / U.S.A., France(Director and Producer: Amber Fares, Screenwriter and Producer: Rachel Leah Jones, Screenwriter: Rabab Haj Yahya, Producer: Valérie Montmartin)
SHORT FILM AWARDS
The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to: Theo Panagopoulos for The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing / U.K. (Director: Theo Panagopoulos, Producer: Marissa Keating)
The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was awarded to: Jazmin Garcia for Trokas Duras / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jazmin Garcia, Screenwriter: Benjamin Benji Moreno, Producers: Sally Su Jin Oh, Mayte Avina, Scott O’Donnell)
The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was awarded to: Chheangkea for Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites / Cambodia, France (Director and Screenwriter: Chheangkea, Producers: Daniel Mattes, Karen Madar)
The Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction was awarded to: Christopher Radcliff for We Were The Scenery / U.S.A. (Director: Christopher Radcliff, Producers: Cathy Linh Che, Jess X. Snow)
The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was awarded to: Natalia León for Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado / France (Director and Screenwriter: Natalia León, Producer: Luc Camilli)
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing was awarded to: May Kindred-Boothby for The Eating of an Orange / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: May Kindred-Boothby)
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing was awarded to: Loren Waters for Tiger / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Loren Waters, Producer: Dana Tiger)
OTHER PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED WINNERS
The 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize for an outstanding feature film about science or technology was awarded to SALLY, screening in the Premieres category. The filmmakers received a $25,000 cash award from Sundance Institute with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction went to Danielle Varga for Seeds / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brittany Shyne, Producers: Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon)
The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Fiction went to Joe Pirro for The Wedding Banquet/ U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Ahn, Screenwriter and Producer: James Schamus, Producers: Anita Gou, Joe Pirro, Caroline Clark)
The Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Nonfiction went to Vivien Hillgrove, and the Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Fiction went to Brian A. Kates.
The Sundance Institute | NHK Award went to Lloyd Lee Choi for Yakult Ajumma (Korea, Canada, U.S.A).