The Sundance Film Festival announced it’s 2009 batch of winners. As usual, I managed to avoid seeing any of them. It’s a knack really. I crammed dozens of films into just a few days while I was there and saw some pretty fantastic stuff. Unfortunately I saw almost nothing that anyone actually voted for. Wait, Paper Heart won a writing award! I feel vindicated.

Luckily Cinema Blend’s own Steve West and Kelly West were there, on the ground with me, and their taste in films seems to skew more towards the Sundance voter mainstream. Check out their reviews of many of the movie’s listed below as this year’s winner in our complete Sundance coverage right here. For the record the best thing I saw this year was 500 Days of Summer which as a premiere was, unfortunately, ineligible. Among the eligible films I made it too, Big Fan and Paper Heart are worth a look. Now here are the real winners:

The 2009 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners

Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary - We Live in Public

Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic - Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire

World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary - Rough Aunties

World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic - The Maid

Audience Award presented by Honda: U.S. Documentary - The Cove

Audience Award presented by Honda: U.S. Dramatic - Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire

World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary - Afghan Star

World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic - An Education

Directing Award: U.S. Documentary - El General

Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic - Sin Nombre

World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary - Afghan Star

World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic - Five Minutes of Heaven

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award - Paper Heart

World Cinema Screenwriting Award - Five Minutes of Heaven

U.S. Documentary Editing Award - Sergio

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award - Burma VJ

Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary - The September Issue

Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Dramatic - Sin Nombre

World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary - Big River Man

World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic - An Education

World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Originality - Louise-Michel

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary - Tibet in Song

World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting - Catalina Saavedra, The Maid

Special Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary - Good Hair

Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence - Humpday

Special Jury Prize for Acting - Mo'Nique, Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire

Alfred P. Sloan Prize - Adam