Sundance Film Festival 2025 Award Winners

Adam Manery | Sundance Award Winners | 2025

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival —potentially one of the last in Park City — wrapped its annual awards ceremony on January 31, handing out prizes in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the NEXT section. Among the big winners announced: ATROPIA earned the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, Mstyslav Chernov was honored with the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary for 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA, and Eva Victor won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic for SORRY, BABY. Audience Awards — voted on by festivalgoers — were also revealed at the Ray Theatre.

2025 Sundance Film Festival – Logo

Reinaldo Marcus Green (KING RICHARD), Arian Moayed (SUCCESSION), and Celine Song (PAST LIVES) presided over this year’s U.S. Dramatic Competition, with Steven Bognar (AMERICAN FACTORY), Vinnie Malhotra (Higher Ground), and Marcia Smith (Firelight Media) leading the U.S. Documentary jury. The World Cinema Dramatic panel included Cannes Critics’ Week artistic director Ava Cahen, RAFIKI filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu, and Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya, while Kevin Macdonald (THE MAURITANIAN), Daniela Alatorre (Mexican Film Institute), and Laura Kim (Participant Media) judged the World Cinema Documentary lineup. Actor Elijah Wood — co-founder of indie production label SpectreVision — served as the sole juror for NEXT, which spotlights emerging filmmakers. The Short Film Competition jury featured director Kaniehtiio Horn, Vidiots Foundation executive director Maggie Mackay, and THE KITCHEN filmmaker Kibwe Tavares.

Nearly 90 films from more than 30 countries and territories screened at this year’s event. For reference, in 2024 the U.S. Dramatic Competition’s big winner was IN THE SUMMERS, with director Alessandra Lacorazza also taking home the Directing prize. Other notable 2024 titles like DÌDI, DAUGHTERS, and A REAL PAIN have continued to thrive on the awards circuit.

The festival runs through Sunday, February 2, and many competition films — including these newly crowned winners — remain available online during the final stretch. Tickets can be purchased at
festival.sundance.org/tickets/online through February 2.

Below is a breakdown of this year’s award categories, alongside last year’s notable winners for reference.

SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: US DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Presented by Celine Song

US Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic

2025 Winner: Atropia

2024 Winner: In The Summers

Directing Award: US Dramatic

2025 Winner: Rashad Frett for Ricky

2024 Winner: Alessandra Lacorazza for In The Summers

US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast

2025 Winner: Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia, Christian Cooke, Gabe Fazio, Amy Forsyth for Plainclothes

2024 Winner: Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Chang Li Hua for Dìdi (弟弟)

US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting

2025 Winner: Dylan O’Brien for Twinless

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: US Dramatic

2025 Winner: Sorry, Baby

2024 Winner: Jesse Eisenberg for A Real Pain

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SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: US DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Presented by Steve Bognar & Marcia Smith

US Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling

2025 Winner: Selena y Los Dinos

US Documentary Special Jury Award

2025 Winner: Life After

Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: US Documentary

2025 Winner: Parker Laramie for André is an Idiot

2024 Winner: Carla Gutiérrez for FRIDA

Directing Award: US Documentary

2025 Winner: Geeta Gandbhir for The Perfect Neighbor.

2024 Winner: Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie for Sugarcane

US Grand Jury Prize: Documentary

2025 Winner: Seeds

2024 Winner: Porcelain War

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SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: AUDIENCE AWARDS

Presented by Raúl Esparza

Audience Award: NEXT

2025 Winner: East of Wall

2024 Winner: Kneecap

Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary

2025 Winner: Prime Minister

2024 Winner: Ibelin

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic

2025 Winner: DJ Ahmet

2024 Winner: Girls Will Be Girls

Audience Award: US Documentary

2025 Winner: André is an Idiot

2024 Winner: Daughters

Audience Award: US Dramatic

2025 Winner: Twinless

2024 Winner: Dìdi (弟弟)

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SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: NEXT AWARDS

Presented by Jack Begert

NEXT Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast

2025 Winner: Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)

2024 Winner: Desire Lines

NEXT Innovator Award

2025 Winner: Zodiac Killer Project directed by Charlie Shackleton

2024 Winner: Little Death directed by Jack Begert

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SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS

Presented by Wanuri Kahiu

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision

2025 Winner: Georgi M Unkovski for DJ Ahmet

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Writing

2025 Winner: Chloe Robichaud & Catherine Leger for Two Women

Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic

2025 Winner: Alireza Khatami for The Things You Kill

2024 Winner: Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi for In the Land of Brothers

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic

2025 Winner: Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)

2024 Winner: Sujo

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SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS

Presented by Cristina Costantini

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award

2025 Winner: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression

2025 Winner: Coexistence, My Ass!

Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary

2025 Winner: Mstyslav Chernov for 2000 Meters to Andriivka

2024 Winner: Benjamin Ree for Ibelin

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary

2025 Winner: Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار)

2024 Winner: A New Kind of Wilderness

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