Beth de Araújo’s Josephine, about a young girl who witnesses a sexual assault, has won 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic grand jury and audience award prizes announced on Friday (January 30).
De Araújo’s second feature stars Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, and newcomer Mason Reeves, and WME Independent and CAA Media Finance represent rights.
Among other grand jury prize-winners, Shame And Money claimed the World Cinema Dramatic Competition prize, and To Hold A Mountain the World Cinema Documentary Competition award.
Louis Paxton’s UK drama The Incomer took the NEXT Innovator Award and the cast of Lady earned the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble.
Sundance brass announced the winners on Friday (January 30) at The Ray Theatre in Park City. All winners are available on the festival’s portal until the final day of the festival’s Park City edition on Sunday (February 21). Sudance relocates to Boulder, Colorado, in January 2027.
2026 Sundance Film Festival award winners:
Grand Jury Prizes
U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Josephine (Beth de Araújo, USA)
U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
Nuisance Bear (Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, USA-Can)
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic
Shame And Money (Visar Morina, Ger-Kos-Slov-Alb-North Macedonia-Bel)
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary
To Hold A Mountain (Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić, Ser-Fr-Mont-Slov-Cro)
NEXT Innovator Award
The Incomer (Louis Paxton, UK)
Audience Awards
U.S. Dramatic
Josephine (Beth de Araújo, USA)
U.S. Documentary
American Pachuco: The Legend Of Luis Valdez (David Alvarado, USA)
World Cinema Dramatic
Hold Onto Me (Myrsini Aristidou, Cyp-Den-Greece)
World Cinema Documentary
One In A Million (Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, UK)
NEXT
Aanikoobijigan (Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, USA-Den)
Jury awards for directing, screenwriting, and editing
Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic
Josef Kubota Wladyka for Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! (USA)
Directing Award: U.S. Documentary
J.M. Harper for Soul Patrol (USA)
Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic
Andrius Blaževičius for How To Divorce During The War (Lith-Lux-Ire-Czech)
Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary
Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes for One In A Million (UK)
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic
Liz Sargent for Take Me Home (USA)
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary
Matt Hixon for Barbara Forever (USA)
Special Jury Awards
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature
Bedford Park (Stephanie Ahn, USA)
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast
The Friend’s House is Here (Hossein Keshavarz Maryam Ataei, USA)
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Excellence
Who Killed Alex Odeh? (Jason Osder, William Lafi Youmans, USA)
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change
The Lake (Abby Ellis, USA)
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision
Filipiñana (Rafael Manuel, Sing-UK, Phil-Fr-Neth)
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble
Lady (UK-Nigeria)
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact
Birds Of War (Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak, UK-Syr)
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance
Everybody To Kenmure Street (Felipe Bustos Sierra, UK)
NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression
TheyDream (William David Caballero, USA)
Previously announced:
2026 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
In The Blink Of An Eye (Andrew Stanton)
Sundance Institute Producers Award for Nonfiction
Dawne Langford for Who Killed Alex Odeh? (USA)
Sundance Institute Producers Award for Fiction
Apoorva Guru Charan for Take Me Home (USA)
Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Nonfiction
Flavia de Souza
Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Fiction
Mollie Goldstein
Sundance Institute | NHK Award
Leo Aguirre for Verano (USA).
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