2006 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARDS FOR DOCUMENTARY AND DRAMATIC FILMS IN INDEPENDENT FILM AND WORLD CINEMA COMPETITIONS

The winners of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prizes, World Cinema Jury Prizes, and Audience Awards were announced tonight at the closing award ceremony in Park City, Utah. For the first time in the Festival‘s history, both the Grand Jury Prizes and Audience Awards for Documentary and Dramatic Competitions were presented to the same two films. The award-winning films were selected by distinguished jurors for the Independent Film Competition: Documentary; Independent Film Competition: Dramatic; World Cinema Competition: Documentary; and World Cinema Competition: Dramatic. Audience Awards were also bestowed on films within each of these categories based on the results of ballots cast by Festival filmgoers. Additionally, the Shorts Jury awarded the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to an American short and the Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking to an international short film. The Festival is the premier showcase for American independent film, and an important new platform for international independent film, screening films that embody risk-taking, diversity, and aesthetic innovation.

“On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Sundance Institute and the close of the 22nd Sundance Film Festival, we celebrate the winning artists and their films, and have been fortunate to share their stories, diverse voices, and original aesthetics with our Sundance audiences,” says Geoffrey Gilmore, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. “This year we‘ve seen a number of films that deal sensitively with the timely and complex issues of cultural assimilation and community. Clearly, these compelling stories along with the quality of filmmaking have resonated with audiences and jury members alike.” more