2008 SUNDANCE Film Festival Announces Awards

The jury and audience award-winners of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony hosted by William H. Macy in Park City, Utah. Films receiving jury awards were selected from the four feature-length Documentary and Dramatic competition categories by distinguished jurors. Films in these categories were also eligible for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Film Festival audiences. Highlights from the Awards Ceremony can be seen on the Sundance Channel, the Official Television Network of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, beginning Sunday, January 27 as well as on the Festival website, www.sundance.org/festival.

In addition to awards for feature-length films, the Shorts Jury awarded Jury Prizes in Short Filmmaking to American and international short-form films. Other awards recognized at the ceremony included the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, awarded to a film which excels in addressing compelling topics in science or technology, and the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award, created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays.
"The Festival has been incredibly fortunate this year to have esteemed, diverse jurors committed to advancing independent film, filmmakers willing to take risks with their work and audiences in search of yet-to-be-discovered voices," said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival. "This year's award recipients, including eleven first-time feature filmmakers, have taken on the world through a personal lens and audiences have responded."
"When we programmed the Festival in November, we knew we would be working with an amazing group of directors, writers and cinematographers," said John Cooper, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival. "It is always an incredible experience to watch audiences discover new talent and connect with filmmakers in unexpected ways. We are thrilled by the jury and audience response and excited to see these films out in the world."
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival Juries consisted of: Dramatic Competition: Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Harron, Diego Luna, Sandra Oh and Quentin Tarantino; Documentary Competition: Michelle Byrd, Heidi Ewing, Eugene Jarecki, Steven Okazaki and Annie Sundberg; World Dramatic Competition: Shunji Iwai (Japan), Lucrecia Martel (Argentina) and Jan Schütte (Germany); World Documentary Competition: Amir Bar-Lev (US), Leena Pasanen (Finland/Denmark) and Ilda Santiago (Brazil); American and International Shorts: Jon Bloom, Melonie Diaz and Jason Reitman; and The Alfred P. Sloan Prize: Alan Alda, Michael Polish, Evan Schwartz, Benedict Schwegler and John Underkoffler.