Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

2021 Sundance Film Festival: Juries Announced

22/01/2021

Park City, UT - 23 celebrated voices across film, art and culture will bestow this year's awards to feature-length and short film at the Sundance Film Festival, at a digital ceremony taking place February 2nd. This year's Festival is fully available online at Festival.Sundance.org; Awards Night will be live-streamed. Award-winning films will be available for special extended-run viewing the day after the ceremony.

The awards, which recognize standout artistic and story elements, are decided on by each of 6 section juries. As in years past, Festival audiences have a role in deciding the 2021 Audience Awards, open to films in the U.S. Competition, World Competition and NEXT categories.

Our jurors have reached a high level of achievement in their individual fields, and can bring their unique perspective to the process of analyzing and evaluating films, said Kim Yutani, the Festival's Director of Programming. We're pleased to bring this accomplished, creative group together, and look forward to hearing their thoughts.

The juried Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize was awarded to Son of Monarchs; information on those jury members is included below.

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival Jury members are:

U.S. DRAMATIC JURY

Twenty-eight years ago, filmmaker Julie Dash broke through racial and gender boundaries with Daughters of the Dust (Best Cinematography, 1991 Sundance Film Festival), and she became the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film. In 2004 the Library of Congress placed Daughters of the Dust in the National Film Registry, where it joins a select group of American films preserved and protected as national treasures. Dash has written and directed television projects including episodes of Queen Sugar for the Oprah Winfrey Network. She also directed The Rosa Parks Story, Incognito, Funny Valentines, Love Song, and Subway Stories.

Cynthia Erivo is a Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning actress and singer as well as an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild nominee. Erivo burst onto West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple and has since taken the world by storm in movies such as Harriet. Currently, Erivo can be seen on the HBO series The Outsider. She will play Aretha Franklin on National Geographic's Genius: Aretha in March, will be releasing her debut album in the Summer of 2021 and will soon star in Universal's Talent Show.

Hanya Yanagihara is the author of the novels The People in the Trees and A Little Life. She is the editor-in-chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine and lives in New York.

U.S. DOCUMENTARY JURY

Ashley Clark is the curatorial director at the Criterion Collection. He previously worked as director of film programming at Brooklyn Academy of Music and has organized film series at venues including MoMA, TIFF Bell Lightbox, and BFI Southbank. Clark has written features and criticism for publications including the New York Times, Sight & Sound, Reverse Shot and 4Columns. He is the author of the book Facing Blackness: Media and Minstrelsy in Spike Lee's Bamboozled (2015).

Joshua Oppenheimer's films include the diptych The Act of Killing (2013) and The Look of Silence (2015), which sheds light on one of history's worst atrocities, the Indonesian genocide, and its terrible legacy of corruption and fear. His filmmaking explores impunity, fantasy, and guilt, investigating how our past haunts our present. Oppenheimer has received two Oscar nominations, a MacArthur Fellowship, a BAFTA Award, a Film Independent Spirit Award, and the Venice International Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize.

Lana Wilson is an Emmy-winning director. Her latest film, Miss Americana, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was a New York Times and IndieWire Critics' Pick. Previous work includes The Departure (2017 Tribeca Film Festival, Independent Spirit Award nominee for best documentary), A Cure for Fear (International Documentary Association Award nominee for best short-form series), and After Tiller, which premiered at Sundance in 2013 and won an Emmy for best documentary.

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC JURY

Zeynep Atakan is a producer in stanbul. She won the European Film Academy's Best European Co-Producer award. Her production Winter Sleep won the Palme d'Or at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. She is the vice president of the European Women's Audiovisual Network and the art director of the Sabanci Foundation Short Film Platform. Atakan is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the European Film Academy, and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy.

Isaac Julien CBE RA has had films in festivals at Cannes, Venice, and Berlin and in the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, and Tate collections. Young Soul Rebels won the Semaine de la Critique prize at Cannes, and Looking for Langston has garnered 30 years of acclaim. Currently, 10-screen film installation Lessons of the Hour is at McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco, and nine-screen film A Marvellous Entanglement is at MAXXI, Rome.

Daniela Vega is a Chilean actress known for starring in the Academy Award-winning feature A Fantastic Woman. She was the first transgender woman to present an award at the Oscars, and she was one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in 2018. Vega has won awards at several festivals and won the 2018 Platino Award for Best Actress. She currently works as executive producer and host on the upcoming docuseries Peace Peace Now Now.

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY JURY

Kim Longinotto attended the National Film and Television School, where she made Pride of Place and Theatre Girls. The Day I Will Never Forget premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003. Other films include Rough Aunties, Pink Saris, and Salma. Dreamcatcher and Shooting the Ma
LINK: http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/2021-festival-jury-announced...
See more stories from sundance

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

14/04/2026

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 Playout and Live News Workflows

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Mobile Video Transmitter

Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026. ...

14/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Stripe TVs Matthew Pavey on Making Live-Production Tech More Portable, Intuitive, and Accessible

Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...

14/04/2026

Studio Berlin Adds LDX 135 and LDX 180 Camera Systems from Grass Valley

Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano and Edward Cox to Vice President Roles

LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...

14/04/2026

Agor and Sennheiser to Deploy Largest Spectera System to Date at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...

14/04/2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet Announce Prediction Market Partnership Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...

14/04/2026

Deltatre Completes Digital Platform for Serie A as Part of Four-Season Partnership

Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Daktronics to Exhibit with Grass Valley

Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22. Daktronics will showcase a...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backblaze to Host Partner Showcases

Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: BRAHMA AI to Exhibit Enterprise AI Content Platform

BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...

14/04/2026

Bridge Technologies VB440 Integrated into NEP Platform

Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com to Demonstrate Expanded Intercom Ecosystem

Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: EZDRM to Introduce Revenue Security Prism Framework

EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Product Preview

Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026: TV and Media Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Panasonic to Showcase IP and IT Production Solutions

Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...

14/04/2026

Behind the Mic: WNBA Adds Sue Bird, Sophie Cunningham to Networks Commentary Teams; John Buccigross Signed to ESPN Extension

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces Multiple New Products

Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI, Adding Camera and Lighting Component to Riedel Group Portfolio

The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...

14/04/2026

Taming the Untamed: Producing the 2026 Absa Cape EPIC Mountain-Bike Race

BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...

14/04/2026

SVG Announces Sports AI Innovation Lab to Advance the Use of AI in Live Production

The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...

14/04/2026

AIR Music Tech release Fabric Vintage Synths Vol.1

Captures a trio of renowned polysynths The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...

14/04/2026

United Plugins introduce UnitedFreeBundle

Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...

14/04/2026

Celemony update Tonalic

Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...

14/04/2026

Supporting Safe Space Flights with WESCAM MX-Series Imaging Systems

WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....

14/04/2026

L3Harris Demonstrates Autonomous Electronic Warfare Capability During US Army Experiment

DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...

14/04/2026

GOES-19 One Year Later: Protecting Communities Through Advanced Technology

GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...

14/04/2026

Reimagining Earth Measurement for the AI Era: L3Harris and Xoople Develop a New Spacebourne Capability

For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...

14/04/2026

Nielsen Appoints Roberto Ruiz to Lead Measurement Science

Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision. He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano, Edward Cox to Leadership Positions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Grass Valley Adds Telestream Vantage, Pulse and UP to AMPP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

XenData Announces Backup, Archive and Cloud-Connect for LucidLink

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Pann...

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB 2026 New system removes PTZ pan restrictions for teleprompter-based productions Shotoku US...

14/04/2026

Telestream and Grass Valley Connect Live and File-Based W...

Integration of Vantage, Pulse, and Telestream UP with Grass Valley AMPP Ecosystem enables scalable, interoperable workflows spanning live production and file-ba...

14/04/2026

Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as President and Chief Revenu...

Enterprise growth leader to scale Dalet's next phase of innovation and global expansion New York, NY April 14, 2026 Dalet, a leading technology and ser...

14/04/2026

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event Directed by Tia Fuller, the Prince Project (April 16-17) brings together more than ...

14/04/2026

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound. April 14, ...

14/04/2026

Appear Expands X Platform from Core to Edge at NAB Show 2...

Appear launches include XM estate management and new X Platform processing enhancements to add density for next-generation hybrid & IP workflows, X5 is also now...

14/04/2026

Synamedia turns OTT content into TikTok-style feeds with...

Addressing the needs of a new generation's viewing habits, Synamedia launches GO Shorts. The AI-powered module turns existing catalogues into TikTok-style ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026 - Vubiquity and Eluvio Showcase Streaming Soluti...

Vubiquity, an Amdocs company and global leader in technology-led media services, will be showcasing a new end-to-end streaming solution in collaboration with El...

14/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB S...

LiveU today announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, introducing integrated support for Sony's file-based workflow solu...

14/04/2026

BBC World Service TV selects Open Broadcast Systems for I...

Open Broadcast Systems (https://www.obe.tv/) has announced that BBC World Service has selected its decoders for IP Television distribution. The high-quality, lo...

14/04/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21 Brie Clayton April 14, 2026 0 Comments Major update adds new Photo page bringing Hollywood's most a...