WIF congratulates the women who were celebrated at this year’s Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony, especially Siân Heder, director of CODA, which not only is the first film in the festival’s history to win all three top prizes in the U.S. Dramatic feature category—the Grand Jury Prize, the Directing Award, and the Audience Award—but also broke records when it was bought for $25 million after its premiere. CODA additionally received the Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble, including actors Emilia Jones and Marlee Matlin.
In the U.S. Documentary competition, Natalia Almada won the Directing Prize, for USERS; Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award, for HOMEROOM; and Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt won the Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker, for CUSP. In the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Blerta Basholli of Kosovo also took home the triple crown, her film HIVE winning the Grand Jury Prize, Directing Award, and Audience Award. In the World Cinema Documentary Competition, Rintu Thomas won the Special Jury Award for Impact for Change, for WRITING WITH FIRE, which also won the Audience Award; and Camilla Nielsson won the Special Jury Award for Vérité Filmmaking, for PRESIDENT.
We also congratulate Marion Hill, who won the NEXT Audience Award for MY BELLE, MY BEAUTY; animation director Jane Samborski who won the NEXT Innovator Award for CRYPTOZOO; Natalie Qasabian, who won the Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Narrative Features, for RUN; Nicole Salazar, who won the Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Documentary Features, for PHILLY D.A.; Meryam Joobeur, who won the Sundance Institute NHK Award, for MOTHERHOOD; Juli Vizza, who won the Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction; and Terilyn Shropshire, who won the Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction.
WATCH NOW: WIF @ Sundance
“Let’s Talk About Sex, Maybe”
Join WIF and a panel of brilliant intimacy coordinators and their collaborators for a conversation about the vital work being done across independent film and big budget productions to ensure better storytelling and safety on set. Who are the professionals helping to set our industry standards for intimate content? What are the different ways they balance addressing the needs of actors and crew while also facilitating the artistic vision of creative decision-makers? How do they practice and encourage mindful engagement on set, particularly when faced with challenging subject matter or sensitive themes? Guests to include Amanda Blumenthal, Olivia Troy, and Michael Mohan.
A Sound, A Mood, A Place” How Music Supervisors Set the Stage
Join WIF for a fascinating discussion with music supervisor Alexandra Eckhardt about the ways she curated jazz music that accurately reflected the transition from Chicago-style blues and New Orleans brass bands to jazz orchestras in the Harlem Renaissance for Rebecca Hall’s PASSING, screening now at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. This riveting conversation will be a captivating look at how music supervisors help convey a tone, express character, propel a narrative, and immerse audiences in a world. Other guests to be announced.