U.S. Grand Jury Prizes
The ranking award is the Grand Jury Prize, which recognizes a film in both the U.S. Dramatic and U.S. Documentary Competitions as the best from the independent film community this year
World Cinema Grand Jury Prizes
The highest award for international films, the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize recognizes the best dramatic and documentary work in international independent filmmaking this year
Directing Award
The Directing Award honors directors in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and World Cinema Documentary Competition
Special Jury Prizes
Jurors give a number of Special Jury Prizes recognizing excellence in the craft of filmmaking. These prizes are chosen by their respective jury members as they deem appropriate. The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award is given to a U.S. Dramatic film for excellence in screenwriting
NEXT Innovator Prize
This award recognizes the most innovative and forward-thinking film screened in the NEXT category. The prize is awarded by an iconic figure regarded as an important innovator in their respective field. This single juror will choose one film that they believe to be the most innovative
Audience Awards
Audience Awards are chosen by Festivalgoers themselves through ballots cast at the theaters after screenings. Audience Awards are presented to films in the Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and NEXT
Festival Favorite Award
All feature films presented at the Festival are eligible for the Festival Favorite Award, which is determined by audience ballots across all Festival screenings. Similar to the Festival’s long-standing Audience Awards for each competition section, this award designates the feature film from any of the Festival’s sections that best connects with audiences
Sundance Institute/NHK Award
This annual award was created to support the next generation of emerging directors
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
Provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, this juried award is presented to the writer and director of an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character
Jury Prizes
and Awards in Short Filmmaking
The following prizes and awards are bestowed on short films in the Festival that exemplify outstanding vision and creativity in their respective categories:
Short Film Grand Jury Prize
Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction
Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction
Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction
Short Film Jury Award: Animation
Short Film Special Jury Awards
