Sundance Institute Announces Feature Film Awards For 06 Sundance Film Festival

Park City, UT - Sundance Institute tonight announced the prizes in feature filmmaking at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, with top awards going to Between Sea and Land, The Birth of a Nation, First Girl I Loved, Jim: The James Foley Story, Sand Storm, Sonita and Weiner. The Birth of a Nation and Sonita won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for their respective sections, marking the third time in Festival history two films have done this in the same year, and continuing a four-year streak of at least one film winning both awards for its section. Full video of the ceremony, hosted by director Taika Waititi in Park City, Utah, is at youtube.com/sff.

(L-R) The Birth of a Nation, Credit: Elliot Davis; Sonita, Credit: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami; Between Sea and Land, Credit: Sundance Film Festival.

The ceremony is the culmination of the 2016 Festival, which presented 123 feature-length and 72 short films - selected from 12,793 submissions - to independent film-loving audiences in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

Jury prizes were awarded by six groups of film and culture leaders, who screened all films in their respective sections and jointly decided which standout artistic and story elements to recognize. This year's jurors were: Simon Kilmurry, Jill Lepore, Shola Lynch, Louie Psihoyos, Amy Ziering, Mark Adams, Lena Dunham, Jon Hamm, Avy Kaufman, Franklin Leonard, Randall Poster, Fernanda Sol rzano, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Mila Aung-Thwin, Tine Fischer and Asif Kapadia. In addition, Festival audiences voted for their favorite films to receive five Audience Awards in each of the U.S. and World Competitions and NEXT.

Feature film award winners in previous years include: 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.

The much-buzzed-about AbracaDeborah did not receive any Festival awards, as its not an actual film.

2016 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL FEATURE FILM AWARDS

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Louis Psihoyos to: Weiner / U.S.A. (Directors: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg) - With unrestricted access to Anthony Weiners New York City mayoral campaign, this film reveals the human story behind the scenes of a high-profile political scandal as it unfolds, and offers an unfiltered look at how much todays politics is driven by an appetite for spectacle.

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Franklin Leonard to: The Birth of a Nation / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nate Parker) - Set against the antebellum South, this story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom. Cast: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union, Mark Boone Jr.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Asif Kapadia to: Sonita / Germany, Iran, Switzerland (Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami) - If 18-year-old Sonita had a say, Michael Jackson and Rihanna would be her parents and shed be a rapper who tells the story of Afghan women and their fate as child brides. She finds out that her family plans to sell her to an unknown husband for $9,000.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Apichatpong Weerasethakul to: Sand Storm / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Elite Zexer) - When their entire lives are shattered, two Bedouin women struggle to change the unchangeable rules, each in her own individual way. Cast: Lamis Ammar, Ruba Blal-Asfour, Hitham Omari, Khadija Alakel, Jalal Masrwa.

The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, Presented by Acura was presented by Matt Ross to: Jim: The James Foley Story / U.S.A. (Director: Brian Oakes) - The public execution of American conflict journalist James Foley captured the world's attention, but he was more than just a man in an orange jumpsuit. Seen through the lens of his close childhood friend, Jim: The James Foley Story moves from adrenaline-fueled front lines and devastated neighborhoods of Syria into the hands of ISIS.

The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, Presented by Acura was presented by Matt Ross to: The Birth of a Nation / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nate Parker) - Set against the antebellum South, this story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom. Cast: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union, Mark Boone Jr.

The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary was presented by Rose McGowan to:Sonita / Germany, Iran, Switzerland (Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami) - If 18-year-old Sonita had a say, Michael Jackson and Rihanna would be her parents and shed be a rapper who tells the story of Afghan women and their fate as child brides. She finds out that her family plans to sell her to an unknown husband for $9,000.

The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented by Rose McGowan to: Between Sea and Land / Colombia (Director: Carlos del Castillo, Screenwriter: Manolo Cruz) - Alberto, who suffers from an illness that binds him into a body that doesn't obey him, lives with his loving mom, who dedicates her life to him. His sickness impedes him from achieving his greatest dream of knowing the sea, despite one being located just across the street. Cast: Manolo Cruz, Vicky Hernand z, Viviana Serna, Jor

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