鈥淚n the Summers,鈥� an affecting, years-spanning drama about a complicated parent-children relationship, nabbed the Grand Jury prize at the while the top honor for documentary went to 鈥淧orcelain War,鈥� about a Ukrainian couple who craft fragile, intricately painted ceramics while war rages around them.
Those two awards, announced Friday in Park City, Utah, both honored directorial debuts. 鈥淚n the Summers,鈥� written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza, poetically follows an imperfect father and his daughters over nearly two decades. Lacorazza also won for directing.
鈥淭o the queers, to the Latin, to the immigrants, this is for you," said Lacorazza, a Colombian American filmmaker whose film is set in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
鈥淧orcelain War,鈥� which follows last year鈥檚 as a that captures the war in Ukraine, was made by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev.
鈥淭his award is because of the bravery of the people of Ukraine,鈥� said Bellomo. 鈥淎nd this award is for the beauty of the people of Ukraine.鈥�
鈥淪ujo,鈥� about an orphaned boy trying to escape the grip of Mexican cartel violence, took the Grand Jury prize for world dramatic cinema. 鈥淎 New Kind of Wilderness,鈥� about a Norwegian family living off the grid, won the jury award for world documentary.
The Festival Award, voted on by Sundance audiences, went to Natalie Rae and Angela Patton鈥檚 moving documentary following four girls as they prepare for a special daddy-daughter dance with their imprisoned fathers. 鈥淒aughters鈥� also won the audience award for U.S. documentary.
Sean Wang's 鈥淒矛di,鈥� a coming-of-age film about a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, took the audience award for U.S. dramatic film. 鈥淒矛di鈥� also won a juried award for its ensemble.
鈥淚belin,鈥� which was acquired by Netflix out of Sundance, won the audience award for world cinema documentary and a juried award for Benjamin Ree's direction. The film follows the story of Mats Steen, a Norwegian who died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. Only after his death did his parents discover how widely known and celebrated Steen was online for his personal blog and via World of Warcraft.
鈥淕irls Will Be Girls,鈥� about a Himalayan boarding school, won the audience award for world cinema drama. The Darren Aronofsky-produced 鈥淟ittle Death,鈥� starring David Schwimmer as a TV writer, won the NEXT Innovator award. The NEXT audience award winner was the Irish drama 鈥淜neecap,鈥� about a Belfast rap trio, co-starring Michael Fassbender.
Award winners are available to stream on the festival's website through the close of Sundance on Sunday.
Sundance winners often go on to be some of the most acclaimed films of the year. Last year's festival produced nominated for best picture and best screenplay on Tuesday by the Academy Awards. Other Sundance titles to reach the Oscars include 2022 best picture-winner and
The 40th edition brought high-profile films including starring him and Kieran Culkin; the Will Ferrell, Harper Steele road trip 鈥淲ill & Harper"; and the emotional documentary 鈥淪uper/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.鈥�
This year, 鈥淎 Real Pain," which also picked up a screenwriting award for Eisenberg, was among the top sales, selling for $10 million to Searchlight Pictures. Neon acquired Steven Soderbergh's ghost story 鈥淧resence.鈥� And the buzzy horror thriller 鈥淚t's What's Inside" sold to Netflix for $17 million.
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For more coverage of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, visit
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
