[UPDATED 2/4/20]
SAGindie kicked off a new decade by once again heading to the Sundance Film Festival. The 2020 festival – which said farewell to longtime festival director John Cooper – took place from January 23-February 2, (in Park City, UT, as per usual) and SAGindie returned to host the 23rd Annual Actors Only Brunch and 23rd Annual Filmmakers Luncheon. A big thanks to all who attended – and to our hosts, actors Rachel Brosnahan, Colman Domingo, Garret Dillahunt, Richard Jenkins, Logan Lerman, Sunita Mani, Andrea Riseborough, Miriam Shor, and Robin Thede; and filmmakers Max Barbakow, Radha Blank, Alex Huston Fischer, Liz Garbus, Natalie Erika James, Braden King, Lawrence Michael Levine, and Eleanor Wilson!
But beyond the party-hosting, the SAGindie staff also managed to see some movies. Check out our favorites below, along with a list of this year’s award-winners.
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Darrien’s Favorites:
I didn’t get to see very many movies this Sundance, too many other events/panels/receptions got in the way. However, I did manage to see a few and out of that small sampling, two stood out.
Blast Beat – an immigration story about a Colombian family trying to make it in America. Not your typical look at immigration, which made me like it even more.
Sylvie’s Love – really good film. Beautifully shot, great performances by Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha, and the ’60s period clothing? Gorgeous!!!
Eliza’s Favorites:
lol
uhhhh
I saw 3 total, I think?
Colin’s Favorites:
The best movie I saw at Sundance 2020 was Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets. I loved it. Then I read about (spoiler?) how it was made and I’m… conflicted.
Still, great movie. But is it a documentary? I dunno! Discuss.
Shefali’s Favorites:
My two favorite films of Sundance this year were… drumroll… Zola and Save Yourselves! After all the dramas I watched these two felt like the necessary breath of fresh air I craved. It definitely helped that they also both had super wild and different plots from the rest of the films I saw.
Runner ups: Nine Days, Shirley, The Father, and Miss Americana
2020 Sundance Film Festival Winners:
Grand Jury Awards – Dramatic
- U.S. Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic: Minari
- Directing Award – U.S. Dramatic: Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version
- Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – U.S. Dramatic: Edson Oda, Nine Days
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast: Charm City Kings
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking: Josephine Decker, Shirley
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Neorealism: Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- World Cinema Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic: Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness
- Directing Award – World Cinema Dramatic: Maïmouna Doucouré, Cuties
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Ben Whishaw, Surge
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Visionary Filmmaking: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay: Fernanda Valadez amd Astrid Rondero, Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares)
Grand Jury Awards – Documentary
- U.S. Grand Jury Prize – Documentary: Boys State
- Directing Award – U.S. Documentary: Garrett Bradley, Time
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: Tyler H. Walk, Welcome to Chechnya
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling: Dick Johnson Is Dead
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaking: Arthur Jones, Feels Good Man
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking: The Fight
- World Cinema Grand Jury Prize – Documentary: Epicentro
- Directing Award – World Cinema Dramatic: Iryna Tsilyk, The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling: The Painter and the Thief
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Mircea Topoleanu and Radu Ciorniciuc, Acasa, My Home
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: Mila Aung-Thwin, Sam Soko, and Ryan Mullins, Softie
Grand Jury Awards – Shorts
- Short Film Grand Jury Prize: So What If The Goats Die
- Short Film Jury Award – U.S. Fiction: -Ship: A Visual Poem
- Short Film Jury Award – International Fiction: The Devil’s Harmony
- Short Film Jury Award – Non-Fiction: John Was Trying to Contact Aliens
- Short Film Jury Award – Animation: Daughter
- Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting: Sadaf Asgari, Exam
- Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing: Michael Arcos, Valerio’s Day Out
Audience Awards
- Audience Award – U.S. Dramatic: Minari
- Audience Award – U.S. Documentary: Crip Camp
- Audience Award – NEXT: I Carry You With Me
- Audience Award – World Cinema Dramatic: Indentifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares)
- Audience Award – World Cinema Documentary: The Reason I Jump
Additional Awards
- Festival Favorite Award: Giving Voice
- Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: Tesla
- NEXT Innovator Prize: I Carry You With Me
- Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award – Narrative Feature: Huriyyah Muhammad, Farewell Amor
- Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award – Documentary Feature: Diane Becker and Melanie Miller, Whirlybird
- Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Narrative: Affonso Gonçalves
- Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Documentary: Carla Guttierez
- Sundance Institute/NHK Award: Kristen Tan
Congrats to all of the award-winners!
WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE SUNDANCE 2020 MOVIES?
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