Sundance's top prizes go to ‘Atropia' and ‘Seeds'

Los Angeles Times

31-01-2025

The Sundance Film Festival announced its annual awards during a ceremony in Park City, Utah, on Friday. 'Atropia,' directed by Hailey Gates, won the U.S. dramatic competition's grand jury prize for its darkly comedic take on the intersection of war and performance, while Brittany Shyne's 'Seeds,' an intimate exploration of Black generational farmers in the South, was awarded the U.S. documentary competition's top honor.
A biting satire set inside a military role-playing facility, 'Atropia,' which stars Alia Shankar, Callum Turner and Chloë Sevigny, follows an aspiring actor who falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, forcing them both to reckon with the blurred lines between performance and reality. The jury praised Gates' feature debut as 'both hilarious and damning in its portrayal of the theater of war.' 'Seeds' was recognized for its poetic and deeply personal portrait of Black farmers fighting to preserve their land and heritage.
In the world cinema categories, the dramatic grand jury prize was awarded to 'Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)', a co-production from India, the U.K. and Canada directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade. The film tells the story of a city dweller returning to his rural hometown for a mourning period and forming an unexpected bond with a local farmer. The documentary grand jury prize went to 'Cutting Through Rocks,' directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, which follows a groundbreaking councilwoman in a rural Iranian village as she fights against patriarchal traditions.
The NEXT Innovator Award, given to a film in the festival's section that highlights bold and unconventional storytelling, was awarded to Charlie Shackleton's 'Zodiac Killer Project,' a meditation on the true-crime genre told through 16mm footage of locations the filmmaker had to abandon after his option rights for a novel were declined.
'Twinless,' a dramedy about two men who meet in a twin bereavement support group, won the U.S. dramatic audience award, while 'André Is an Idiot,' a darkly comic documentary about a man confronting his own mortality, was honored in the U.S. documentary category. In the world cinema competition, 'DJ Ahmet,' about a North Macedonian teenager navigating family expectations and his love for music, took the audience award for drama, while 'Prime Minister,' a behind-the-scenes portrait of former New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern, won for documentary. The NEXT audience award went to 'East of Wall,' a neo-Western about a rebellious horse trainer and a group of wayward teenagers.
Among other jury awards, the directing prize in the U.S. dramatic competition went to Rashad Frett for 'Ricky,' about a man struggling with the challenges of life after incarceration, while the U.S. documentary directing award was presented to Geeta Gandbhir for 'The Perfect Neighbor,' an examination of Florida's controversial 'stand your ground' laws. The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award went to Eva Victor for 'Sorry, Baby,' a dark comedy about a young woman processing trauma.
Dylan O'Brien received a special jury award for acting in 'Twinless,' while 'Plainclothes,' a drama about an undercover officer assigned to entrap gay men in the 1990s, was honored for ensemble cast. In the documentary category, 'Selena y Los Dinos,' a portrait of the late Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla, was awarded a special jury prize for archival storytelling, and 'Life After' won a special jury award for its thought-provoking investigation of a historic right-to-die case.
While this year's festival was relatively quiet on the deal-making front, the honorees hope to follow the trajectory of other recent Sundance prize winners that went on to Oscar glory, including 'CODA,' '20 Days in Mariupol,' 'Summer of Soul' and 'Minari.'
The 41st edition of the festival concludes on Sunday.