When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the family drama “Josephine” received rave reviews for the performances of Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, and newcomer Mason Reeves, and won the festival’s Grand Jury Award for American Drama and the Audience Award for American Narrative.
“Josephine” director Beth de Araujo fought back tears as she won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Friday for her portrayal of a young girl who witnesses a crime based on her own career. “Thank you to the audience for keeping me employed,” Ms. de Araujo said. “Movies are my church. I’m so happy to be here and receive this.”
“Nuisance Bear,” about the impact of tourism and other anthropogenic activities on polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, won the U.S. documentary award, and “To Hold a Mountain,” the story of a mother and daughter’s struggle to save their ancestral mountain from becoming a NATO military training range, won the World Film Documentary Award. “Shame and Money,” a drama about a couple who lose their livelihood in rural Kosovo, won the grand prize in the world film category. The ceremony was politically charged, with many of the winning entries talking about immigrants and activists.
“As this government attacks the concept of diversity, I want this film to show that diversity is not and will never be a dirty word,” said David Alvarado, director of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, which won the Audience Award for Documentary.
Many award-winning films, such as “Nuisance Bear” and “Josephine,” have attracted the attention of distributors. Their victory could spark bidding from studios and streamers.
The NEXT Innovator Award went to “The Incomer” and the NEXT Special Jury Award went to “TheyDream”. “The Incomer” is the story of two brothers (Gail Rankin and Grant O’Rourke) living on a remote Scottish island whose world is forever changed by the arrival of an outsider (Domhnall Gleeson). “TheyDream” uses miniatures and motion capture technology to tell the story of a Puerto Rican family over 20 years.
“One in a Million” won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary, and “Hold On to Me” won the Audience Award for World Cinema Drama. The audience award at the NEXT competition went to “Aanikoobijigan (Ancestors/Great-Grandparents/Great-Grandchildren),” which focuses on tribal repatriation professionals working to return and reburial Indigenous remains.
Director Joseph Kubota Uwadika won the award for best director in the US Drama category for “Shake Your Ass!” Meanwhile, JM Harper won the U.S. documentary director award for “Soul Patrol.” “Ha-chan,” a crowd-pleasing drama about a grief-stricken woman whose love of ballroom dancing soothes her, has been purchased by Sony Pictures Classics.
The World Film Dramatic Director Award went to Andrius Blazevicius for How to Divorce in a War, while the World Film Documentary Director Award went to Itab Azzam and Jack McInnes for One In A Million.
The Waldo Salt Writing Award for U.S. Drama went to Liz Sargent (“Take Me Home”), and the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award for U.S. Documentary went to Matt Hixson for “Barbara Forever.” “Bedford Park,” a drama about a woman who develops a bond with the person responsible for her mother’s traffic accident, won the Special Jury Award for her feature debut.
Recent films that have won top awards at Sundance include Sorry, Baby, Twinless, The Perfect Neighbor, A Real Pain, Dìdi, CODA, and Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be TVed). Some of those movies have won Oscars, including “CODA,” “A Real Pain,” and “Summer of Soul.” Other films, such as “Twinless” and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” failed to attract audiences upon theatrical release, despite winning accolades at Sundance.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival jury includes Janitya Bravo, Nisha Ganatra and Azazel Jacobs in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category. Natalia Almada, Justin Chan, and Jenny Livingston in the U.S. Documentary Competition category; Anna Katz, Soyoung Kim and Tatiana Maslany are selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Toni Kamau, Bao Nguyen and Kirsten Shafer in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. AV Rockwell, Liv Constable-Maxwell and Martin Starr short film program competition. The next section is by John Cooper and Trevor Gross.
