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
