‘Atropia’ Wins Sundance’s Top Grand Jury Prize — See the Full List
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival — and perhaps its second-to-last in Park City — has wound down with the annual awards ceremony.
On January 31, jurors presented prizes in the competitive sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the NEXT lineup. Jurors across the sections looked at nearly 90 films representing more than 30 countries and territories.
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Hailey Gates’ Iraq war satire, starring Alia Shawkat and produced by (among others) Luca Guadagnino, won the festival’s top award: the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic competition. The politically charged comedy, which follows an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility, is still looking for U.S. distribution amid mixed reviews out of Sundance. Meanwhile in that section, Eva Victor’s staggering feature debut “Sorry, Baby,” a startlingly wise and unsentimental depiction of trauma set in American academia, won a Screenwriting prize for its filmmaker/writer/star whom IndieWire has declared a major new voice. It’s one of the most acclaimed films seeking a buyer out of the festival. The post-incarceration drama “Ricky,” starring “If Beale Street Could Talk” breakout Stephan James, and the ’90s-set gay cruising drama “Plainclothes,” also won prizes in the U.S. Dramatic section.
Audience Awards, voted on by festival attendees, were also handed out Friday morning at the Ray Theatre in Park City, with writer/director/star James Sweeney’s buzzy and twisted bromance comedy “Twinless” taking the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic. Other Audience winners include “André Is an Idiot,” “East of Wall,” “DJ Ahmet,” and “Prime Minister.” “Twinless” also won a special acting award in the U.S. Dramatic section for Dylan O’Brien, who plays gay and straight twins with alternately dark, dramatic and over-the-top flamboyant flair.
Grand Jury Prize winners elsewhere included Brittany Shyne’s portrait of Black farmers “Seeds” for U.S. Documentary, Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s Indian queer portrait “Sabar Bonda” in World Cinema Dramatic, and Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni’s Iranian patriarchy-tackling “Cutting Through Rocks” in the World Cinema Documentary section.
For a refresh, last year’s big U.S. Dramatic Competition winner was “In the Summers,” where filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza also won the Directing prize in that category. Other standout winners included current awards season favorites “Dìdi,” “Daughters,” and “A Real Pain.”
This year’s jurors included “King Richard” director Reinaldo Marcus Green, “Succession” alum Arian Moayed, and “Past Lives” director Celine Song for the U.S. Dramatic Competition.
“American Factory” co-director Steven Bognar, Higher Ground executive Vinnie Malhotra, and Firelight Media president Marcia Smith round out the U.S. Documentary Competition jury.
Meanwhile, the World Cinema Dramatic jury includes Cannes Critics’ Week artistic director Ava Cahen, “Rafiki” director Wanuri Kahiu, and Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya.
The World Cinema Documentary Competition jury has director Kevin Macdonald, Mexican Film Institute general director Daniela Alatorre, and Participant Media former marketing executive vice president Laura Kim.
Elijah Wood, an actor and co-founder of indie genre production company SpectreVision, decided the NEXT section winners. Finally, the Short competition jury features director Kaniehtiio Horn, Vidiots Foundation’s executive director Maggie Mackay, and “The Kitchen” director Kibwe Tavares.
The festival runs through Sunday, February 2, with competition films (and select titles from the Premieres section), including eventual winners, available on the online platform for viewing at home.
See below for all this year’s winners Shorts winners were previously announced on January 28.
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 W?odarski, 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 (????? ??????) / 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).
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