At its annual ceremony on Friday, January 31, in Park City, Utah, the 2025 Sundance Film Festival awards were announced. The festival took place from January 23 to February 2 and featured premieres, screenings, talks, events, celebrations, and more in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.Only two films by Black filmmakers made the cut: Seeds and Ricky. Highly anticipated projects like Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Love, Brooklyn from Rachael Abigail Holder, Hold Me Close from Aurora Brachman, LaTajh Simmons-Weave, or Opus, from director, screenwriter, and producer: Mark Anthony Green.
Seeds took the Grand Jury Prize (U.S. Documentary Competition) is from director and producer: Brittany Shyne and producers Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon. The film is an exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South and reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land.
Rashad Frett was awarded the Directing Award: US Dramatic, for Ricky, which he directed, wrote and produced, starring Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Stephan James. Screenwriter: Lin Que Ayoung, Producers: Pierre M. Coleman, Simon TaufiQue, Sterling Brim, DC Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Josh Peters and Mark Steele. The film follows 30 year old Ricky, newly released from being incarcerated since his teens, navigates the realities of life post-prison, and the complexities of independence for the first time. Cast: Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Titus Welliver, Maliq Johnson, Imani Lewis, Simbi Kali, Andrene Ward-Hammond
Other awardees for filmmakers of color or starring actors of color, include:
The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Indian American director Geeta Gandbhir for The Perfect Neighbor, which she directed and produced. An Emmy, Independent Spirit and NAACP-winner and Oscar nominated, her film is look into the consequences Florida’s stand-your-ground law. Seen from the vantage point of police bodice footage, we are taken along as a minor dispute escalates into deadly violence. Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu and Alisa Payne (daughter of filmmaker Sam Pollard)
The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to comedian and first time director/screenwriter Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby starring Eva Victor and Naomi Acki and produced by Barry Jenkins. A drama about trauma which manages to make its audience laugh is hard to do correctly. Audiences seem to think Victor has nailed.it. The project has all the buzz at the festival. Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack.
The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was awarded to: Latino director/screenwriter Jazmin Garcia for Trokas Duras. Screenwriter: Benjamin Benji Moreno, Producers: Sally Su Jin Oh, Mayte Avina, Scott O’Donnell — Journeying through the interior landscapes of a Jornalero’s dreams, his waking reality in Los Angeles, and what it looks like when a group of people relegated to serving others labors for their own elevation of body and spirit. Cast: Benjamin Benji Moreno, La Chapis, El Barrio, Luis Valentan, Elmer Mayorga, Tricia Sarmento.
The U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling was presented to Selena y Los Dinos from Mexican-American director Isabel Castro. Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Sing. Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archive.
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing was awarded to: Cherokee and Kiowa filmmaker Loren Waters for Tiger which she directed, wrote and produced. The film is a portrait of the award-winning, internationally acclaimed Indigenous artist and elder Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger T-shirt company.
The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was awarded to: Cambodian director and screenwriter Chheangkea for Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites. Producers: Daniel Mattes, Karen Madar.
During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that her Queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman. Cast: Bonrotanak Rith, Saroeun Nay, Sokun Theary Ty, Phalla Im, Chansophorn Buth, Ponleu Chab.The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Fiction went to Joe Pirro for The Wedding Banquet starring Bowen Yang, Joan Chen and Kelly Marie Tran. Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Ahn, Screenwriter and Producer: James Schamus, Producers: Anita Gou, Joe Pirro, Caroline Clark. Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend, Chris, and out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green card marriage with his friend Angela in exchange for expensive in vitro fertilization treatments for her partner, Lee. Plans change when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an elaborate Korean wedding banquet. Cast: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen (Improv Queen), Youn Yuh-jung.
The Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for SEEDS Nonfiction went to Danielle Varga for Seeds / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brittany Shyne, Producers: Danielle Varga, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon — An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land.
This year, the Festival jury included: Reinaldo Marcus Green, Arian Moayed, and Celine Song for the U.S. Dramatic Competition; Steven Bognar, Vinnie Malhotra, and Marcia Smith for the U.S. Documentary Competition; Ava Cahen, Wanuri Kahiu, and Daniel Kaluuya for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition; Daniela Alatorre, Laura Kim, and Kevin Macdonald for the World Cinema Documentary Competition; Kaniehtiio Horn, Maggie Mackay, and Kibwe Tavares for the Short Film Program Competition; and Elijah Wood for the NEXT section.
“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, 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.”
“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,” said Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming. “We share our gratitude with the State of Utah, audiences, staff, volunteers, and everyone who makes the Sundance Film Festival possible.”
“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,” added Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “Our programming team is so thrilled to have introduced these moving and impactful works to our audiences this Festival, and we look forward to following the journeys of each of these talented artists and their projects.”
Feature film award winners in previous years include: A Real Pain, Dìdi (弟弟), Porcelain War, Sujo, Daughters, Kneecap, A Thousand and One, 20 Days in Mariupol, The Eternal Memory, Nanny, CODA, Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Flee, Minari, Boys State, Clemency, One Child Nation, Honeyland, The Souvenir, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Whiplash, Fruitvale Station, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Twenty Feet from Stardom, Searching for Sugarman, The Square, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Cartel Land, The Wolf Pack, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Dope, Dear White People, The Cove, and Man on Wire.
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