The Sundance Institute announced the recipients of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Audience and Grand Jury prizes in a ceremony from Park City, Utah tonight. As usual, the juries spread the wealth a bit, but the surprises came in the audience awards.
Drake Doremus’ “Like Crazy” took home the Grand Jury Prize for the U.S. Dramatic competition as well as a special jury prize for acting for star Felicity Jones. Sean Durkin was honored with the directing prize for his moody “Martha Marcy Mae Marlene” and a seemingly shocked Sam Levinson was awarded the Waldo Salt screenwriting award for “Another Happy Day,” one of the few prominent titles that hasn’t been picked up so far. The surprise came in the low-buzzed “Circumstance” winning the audience award. The picture about a young Iranian woman struggling with her sexuality is still searching for distribution.
On the documentary side, “How To Die In Oregon” took the Grand Jury Prize with “Buck” another surprise winner for the Audience honor. The World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic Award went to “Happy Happy” and the World Cinema Jury Prize Documentary Award went to critic’s favorite “Hell and Back Again.”
The Sundance jury awards are not necessarily seen as prestigious as their counterparts at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, but on the dramatic side they’ve actually become a possible indicator for a best picture nomination. Both of the last two Grand Jury Dramatic Jury winners, “Precious” and “Winter’s Bone,” both received the Academy honor. Will “Like Crazy” make it three for three? We’ll find out about a year from now.
A complete list of all this year’s winners is as follows:
Grand Jury Prize U.S. Dramatic:
“Like Crazy” by Drake Doremus
Grand Jury Prize U.S. Documentary:
“How To Die in Oregon,” directed by Peter D. Richardson
U.S. Dramatic Direction Award:
Sean Durkin for “Martha Marcy Mae Marlene”
U.S. Documentary Direction Award:
John Foy, “Resurrect the Dead: The Mystery of the Toybee Tiles”
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
Sam Levinson, “Another Happy Day”
U.S. Documentary Editing Award:
“If A Tree Falls: A story of the Earth Liberation Front”
U.S. Dramatic Cinematography:
Bradford Young, “Pariah”
U.S. Documentary Cinematography Award:
“The Redemption of General Butt Naked”
Special Jury Award for Originality:
Mike Cahill and Brit Marling for “Another Earth”
Special Jury Award:
Felicity Jones, “Like Crazy”
Special Jury Dramatic Prize for “creating a documentary for all ages”:
“Being Elmo” directed by Constance Marks
U.S. Dramatic Audience Award:
“Circumstance”
U.S. Documentary Audience Award:
“Buck,” directed by Cindy Meehl
World Cinema Audience Award:
“Kinyarwanda,” Directed and Written by Alrick Brown
World Cinema Direction:
Paddy Considine, “Tyrannasour”
World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic:
“Happy Happy”
World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary:
“Senna”, Directed by Asif Kapadia
World Cinema Cinematography Award, Dramatic:
“All Your Dead Ones”
World Cinema Cinematography Award, Documentary:
“Hell and Back Again”
World Cinema Documentary Editing Award:
“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975”
World Cinema Directing Award, Documentary:
“Project Nim,” directed by James Marsh
World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary
“Position Among The Stars”
World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Dramatic
“Tyrannosaur,” for acting
Alfred P. Sloan Prize
“Another Earth,” directed by Mike Cahill
Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award:
Cherien Dabis
For a complete list of the best and worst of this year’s festival according to HitFix’s editors, click here.