Identifying Features

Source: Cinando

‘Identifying Features’

FEBRUARY 4 UPDATE: Mexican missing persons drama Identifying Features has won the World Cinema Dramatic audience award and the section’s juried screenplay prize for director Fernanda Valadez and co-writer Astrid Rondero at the Sundance awards ceremony.

Saturday’s (February 1) event in Park City, Utah, also honoured the UK’s Ben Whishaw with the World Cinema Dramatic special jury award for acting for Aneil Karia’s Surge, which Protagonist Pictures sells internationally, while Cuties on the Netflix slate from director Maïmouna Doucouré won the World Cinema Dramatic directing award.

Kino Lorber acquired North American rights to Identifying Features at the festival, and Alpha Violet represents international rights.

Of the 28 prizes awarded to 25 films comprising the work of 29 filmmakers, 12 (48%) were directed by one or more women; 10 (40%) by one or more people of colour; and two (8%) by a person who identifies as LGBTQ+.

Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic award and Boys State by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine won the U.S grand jury prize: documentary. Audience awards went to Chung’s Minari in U.S. Dramatic, and Crip Camp by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht in U.S. Documentary.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic prize was awarded to Massoud Bakhshi’s Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness, and corresponding documentary honours went to Hubert Sauper’s Epicentro.

*Giving Voice directed by Jim Stern was named winner of the Festival Favorite Award on February 4. Runners-up were Boys State and On The Record.

Sundance 2020 screened 128 features and 74 short films selected from more than 15,100 submissions.

2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL FEATURE FILM AWARDS

U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Boys State (USA)
Dirs: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine,

U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Minari (USA)
Dir: Lee Isaac Chung

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Epicentro (Austria/France/USA)
Dir: Hubert Sauper,

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness (Iran/France/Germany/Switzerland/Luxembourg)
Dir: Massoud Bakhshi

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary
Crip Camp (USA)
Dirs: Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht

Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic
Minari (USA)
Dir: Lee Isaac Chung

Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary
The Reason I Jump (UK)
Dir: Jerry Rothwell

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic
dentifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares, Mexico/Spain)
Dir: Fernanda Valadez

Audience Award: NEXT
I Carry You With Me (USA/Mexico)
Dir: Heidi Ewing

Directing Award: U.S. Documentary
Time
(USA)
Dir: Garrett Bradley

Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic
Radha Blank
The 40-Year-Old Version (USA)

Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary
Iryna Tsilyk
The Earth Is Blue As An Orange (Ukraine/Lithuania)

Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic
Maïmouna Doucouré
Cuties (France)

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic
Edson Oda
Nine Days (USA)
Dolby Institute Fellowship

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast
Charm City Kings for Charm City Kings (USA)

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Auteur Filmmaking
Josephine Decker
Shirley (USA)

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Neo-Realism
Eliza Hittman
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (USA)

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing
Tyler H. Walk
Welcome To Chechnya (USA)

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling

Dir: Kirsten Johnson
Dick Johnson Is Dead (USA)

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker
Arthur Jones
Feels Good Man (USA)

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking
Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, Eli Despres
The Fight (USA)

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting
Ben Whishaw
Surge (UK)

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Visionary Filmmaking
Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection (Lesotho/South Africa/Italy)

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay
Fernanda Valadez, Astrid Rondero
Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares Mexico/Spain)

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling
Benjamin Ree
The Painter And The Thief (Norway)

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography
Mircea Topoleanu, Radu Ciorniciuc
Acasa, My Home (Romania/Germany/Finland )

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing
Mila Aung-Thwin, Sam Soko, Ryan Mullins
Softie (Kenya)

NEXT Innovator Prize
Heidi Ewing
I Carry You With Me (USA/Mexico)