SZNS MAG

(Photo via Sundance Institute/The New York Times)

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival announced award winners at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 26. Below is a summary of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Awards and winners who caught our eye.

Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network,” “Zombieland,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”) earned the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for his drama “A Real Pain,” starring himself and Kieran Culkin (“Succession,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” “Igby Goes Down”). Together, Eisenberg and Culkin’s characters visit Poland after their grandmother’s death, eventually joining a Holocaust tour. Eisenberg’s script was considered poignant, nuanced and unexpected.

“The writer’s ability to marry darkness with comedy really impressed us,” the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony jury wrote. “We never knew where a sentence would land or where a character would end up — and that is why we felt the screenwriting should be highlighted and acknowledged with this prestigious award.”

David Schwimmer (“Friends,” “Madagascar”) appears in “Little Death,” earning the NEXT Innovator Award, presented by Adobe. “Little Death,” produced by Darren Aronofsky and directed by Jack Begert, follows a comedy writer who meets two drug addicts looking for a missing backpack. Schwimmer shares the role with Gabby Hoffmann (Girls, Transparent), and each star alongside Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games” series, “The Neon Dragon”), Dominic Fike (“Euphoria,” “Earth Mama”) and Talia Ryder (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” “Dumb Money,” “West Side Story”).

Nico Parker (“The Last of Us,” “Dumbo,” “Reminiscence”) earned the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance in “Suncoast,” where she plays a young woman caring for her dying brother. Parker co-stars with Laura Linney (“Ozark,” “The Big C,” “The Truman Show”), who plays her mother, and Woody Harrelson (“True Detective,” “Natural Born Killers”).

“We felt this performance was not only nuanced and powerful, but it was also extremely impressive due to the fact that she had to share the screen with such seasoned actors and was tasked with being the center of such an emotionally charged film,” the jury wrote. “We feel this performance should be highlighted and talked about for years to come.”

“In The Summers” was awarded the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for drama, and director Alessandra Lacorazza (“Mama,” “Til the Crying Fades”) earned the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic. “In The Summers” tells the story of two sisters throughout the years, as they visit their father in Las Cruces, Mexico, each summer.

The jury found “In The Summers” mesmerizing, and the film could have gone unnoticed if not for its presence at Sundance. Awards were readily given so the film could reach a larger audience, as well as recognizing Lacorazza’s storytelling ability.

The U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble was given to Izaac Wang (“Raya and the Last Dragon”), Joan Chen (“Marco Polo,” “Judge Dredd”), Shirley Chen (“Krista,” “Beast Beast”) and Chang Li Hua for “Dìdi (弟弟),” a coming-of-age film about a teenage Taiwanese-American boy. Special consideration was given to the cast’s differences in age, acting experience and ultimately their chemistry. “Dìdi (弟弟)” also earned the Audience Award for a U.S. drama.

“Porcelain War,” covering the ongoing war in Ukraine, earned the U.S Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. “Sugarcane,” which exposes the brutal abuses towards children in an Indian boarding school at St. Joseph’s Mission near Williams Lake, British Columbia, earned the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary for directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie.

“Daughters” earned both the Festival Favorite Award and Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, and “Girls Will Be Girls,” earned the Audience Award: World Dramatic Cinema and World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award. “Daughters” follows four girls separated from their fathers, while “Girls Will Be Girls” follows Mira, played by award recipient Preeti Panigrahi, as she navigates her emerging sexuality at a Mongolian boarding school.

Kate Jean Hollowell (“Tecovas: Check ‘Em Out,” “Are They Smiling?”), director of “Say Hi After You Die,” received the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction. Starring Hollowell, “Say Hi After You Die” tells the tale of a woman who has visions of her dead best friend as a portable toilet.

“This film took us on an unexpected journey of grief, skillfully blending heartfelt moments with humor and a dash of the absurd,” the jury wrote. “It made us appreciate true friendship and see porta-pottys in a new way.”

More short film awards were given to directors Phoebe Jane Hart for her animated short “Bug Diner,” An Chu’s fiction “The Stag” and Jack Dunphy’s nonfiction “Bob’s Funeral.” The Short Film Special Jury Prize was presented to both Masha Ko, for her film “The Looming,” and Makoto Nagahisa, for “Pisko the Crab Child is in Love.”

Richard Linklater’s episodic series “God Save Texas” also premiered at Sundance, and will air on HBO starting Feb. 27. Each episode was directed by a Texas native: Linklater from Huntsville, Alex Stapleton from Houston and Iliana Sosa from El Paso. Another Linklater project screened at Sundance was “Hit Man,” starring Austin native Glen Powell and will be available to stream on Netflix on June 7. Sundance award-winner Jesse Eisenberg also stars in “Sasquatch Sunset,” which premiered at this year’s festival and was directed by Austin-based brothers David and Nathan Zellner.

For a complete list of award winners from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, read more on the official Sundance website. For more about Texas film, keep reading SZNSMAG.com.