PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 25: Alia Shawkat attends the "Atropia" Premiere during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theatre on January 25, 2025 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival honored this year’s standout independent films with its jury and audience awards, celebrating projects that tackled themes of resilience, political influence, and personal transformation.
The awards were announced two days before the festival’s conclusion on Feb. 2, following an impressive lineup of 94 feature-length films and 57 short films—selected from over 15,000 submissions—screened in Park City, Salt Lake City, and online.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was awarded to Atropia, starring Alia Shawkat, while Seeds took home the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary, recognized for its compelling portrayal of Black generational farmers in the American South. In the international categories, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) and Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) claimed the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Documentary, respectively.
Audience awards, presented by Acura and United Airlines, highlighted films that resonated strongly with festivalgoers. Twinless won U.S. Dramatic, André is an Idiot earned U.S. Documentary, while DJ Ahmet and Prime Minister were honored in the World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary categories, respectively.
“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 of the 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.”
Sundance Film Festival Director Eugene Hernandez echoed this sentiment: “Arriving at our Awards Ceremony after seven days of connection and discovery is especially rewarding this year. We are thrilled to honor these filmmakers for their inventiveness, generosity, and for the valuable conversations, moments of levity, and deep insights their work has offered.”
Festival Director of Programming Kim Yutani added, “We have such admiration and respect for all of the films in this year’s program, and we want to congratulate everyone who had a hand in creating the works being honored at our Awards Ceremony today.”
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival continued through February 2, with select award-winning films available online for audiences nationwide.
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